WHO says we didn't need another Spidey origin story? The dizzyingly inventive Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse sets a stunning new benchmark for superhero movies.
And another familiar figure emerges from the skies in Mary Poppins Returns.
DVD OF THE WEEK: Into The Spider-Verse
(PG) 117mins, out April 22
ASTONISHINGLY inventive take on Marvel’s most familiar property that pushes the boundaries of what a superhero movie can and should be.
If you thought the last thing the world needed was yet another Web Slinger origin story, this knowingly laughs off earlier iterations — spawning a host of Spider-People from across parallel dimensions, each with their own variation on the radioactive-arachnid fable.
It even riffs on that Tobey Maguire strut from Sam Raimi’s lacklustre Spider-Man 3, effortlessly shedding whole movies’ worth of baggage.
What emerges is the most satisfying superhero saga since The Dark Knight — and one of the best animated movies in this golden age for the medium.
With dazzling visuals, heartstopping action, more laughs than most comedies and genuine pathos, this has it all.
The voice cast are excellent and even Liev Schreiber’s Kingpin is more textured and, er, three-dimensional than any comic-book villain has any right to be.
★★★★★
Mary Poppins Returns
(U) 127mins, out now
BREATHLESS, faintly hysterical follow-up to the kids’ classic that creaks under the weight of its goodwill and desperation to please.
The songs hit the mark, the set-pieces are spectacular and Emily Blunt brings the requisite self-possession to the title role.
Hers is a chillier take than on the character than Julie Andrews’, however, closer to the Poppins of the book.
Ben Wishaw battles manfully with his moustache and a rote pay-back-the-loan-or-else plot, while Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda is an upgrade on Dick van Dyke’s, er, “iconic” turn as a chirpy Cockney sparrow.
There’s a lot to like and this will slot happily into Christmas schedules alongside the original for years to come.
It’s just trying so very hard, stuffing that patented Poppins magic into every conceivable chimney.
The pace is exhausting and you can almost see the sweat beading on its array of national treasures in a way Poppins herself would find most unbecoming. Fans will love the Blu-ray’s singalong mode… assuming they can catch their breath first.
★★★☆☆
Sink Or Swim
(15) 116mins, out now
IF you saw Swimming With Men — the gentle 2018 comedy about paunchy deadbeats finding purpose through the redemptive power of synchronised swimming — and found yourself wishing it were in French, Sink Or Swim is the movie for you.
Based on the same Swedish source material, this covers near-identical ground, though with the novelty of seeing former Bond villain Mathieu Amalric (Quantum Of Solace) in Rob Brydon’s central role.
Amalric plays the dad signed off from work as he battles depression and wildly patronising in-laws, though his wife is a more supportive, but less nuanced, presence in this take.
The comedy is amiable rather than blistering, relying too heavily on the notion that men with more hair on their backs than their heads are inherently funny.
There are a few sharp lines and an eye-catching turn from Virginie Efira as their trainer, who has her own troubles to deal with.
Both movies have their moments, but this has more padding between them. Swimming With Men is 30 minutes shorter — and better for it.
★★★☆☆
Prospect
(15) 96mins, out now
LOW-budget space-Western that beautifully captures the drudgery of near-future interplanetary soil study, while bypassing potential pulse-quickeners like chest-bursting xenomorphs and PVC-loving galactic empires.
Debutant Sophie Thatcher is the girl whose deadbeat dad would slot in nicely alongside Sink Or Swim’s squadron of aquatic no-hopers.
Narcos star Pedro Pascal is the rival prospector whose shady shenanigans kick off what passes for the drama.
The film searches for — and occasionally finds — an elegiac tone that is complemented nicely by the sparse, striking score.
But the action is so muted, the dialogue so workmanlike. At least in space, no one can hear you yawn.
★★☆☆☆
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