Spiderman 3
About the time things start going well for Peter Parker (Tobey Maquire) and his alter ego Spiderman, the proverbial poop hits the fan. It would be bad enough if he just had the love triangle between his girlfriend Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and his pal and sometimes nemesis Harry Osborn (James Franco). Unfortunately for Petey, not only does Harry once again turn rogue, but Flint Marko aka the Sandman escapes from prison AND he gets infected by an alien symbiote that causes Pete to look and act like a more arrogant Conor Oberst. If even all that wasn’t bad enough when Petey finally does get rid of the symbiote it infects his professional rival Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) who then turns into the vicious Venom.
The second outing in the Spiderman franchise was so good that when you decide to make a third, it better be better. This one offers some incredibly clever effects filled fight scenes even if they get less impressive as the film goes on. But there really isn’t a cohesive story and we spend so much time being shuffled around that no one story stands out as the center of this film and for a movie where it seems like everyone cries at some point there is just no real emotional core. Sandman would have been a better character if we had spent more time with him. It’s nice that he’s given the motivation that his original comic book appearance lacked, but we are only told the bare minimum to feel sympathy. It just doesn’t work and Harry’s revelation towards the end of the film is simply a plot contrivance to explain away the last thirty minutes.
If you’re a fanboy like me or really a big fan of the first two Spiderman films, I think you’re going to be disappointed. By trying to cram so much into this one film no one thing gets the attention it deserves, most importantly Peter Parkers personal struggle with the black suit itself. For those comic nerds out there who were looking forward to Venom, all I can tell you is that he really doesn’t get a lot of screen time especially for a film that is essentially the story of his origin. I can see this being a set up for a Venom related sequel, but if that’s the case he should have just been teased at the end. The problem we’re left with is that if this is his only appearance in the series, then Venom didn’t get the screen time he deserves. Now, if you plan on bringing him back in Spiderman 4, then we saw too much of him and at the cost of fleshing out other portions of the script.
I would like to offer some advice to parents out there: this film is rated PG-13 for good reason. There’s a lot of violence and people get killed and pretty gruesomely for a little kid to see. So if you’re like the parents in the theater I was in and thinking of dressing your fat little redneck three year old up in his undersized Spiderman costume, getting him cranked up on Coke and Twizzlers, and letting himm run up and down the aisles, don’t.
Look, this is going to be a record breaking film, that’s just a fact. Is it the best comic book movie I’ve ever seen? No, but it is a lot of fun for a summer blockbuster. There’s big action and cool effects, and let’s face it that’s all we really ask of this type of movie. We hope that it will be better than they inevitably turn out, but you really can’t be mad when it ends up as popcorn fodder. Outside of the last thirty minutes where it seems like Sam Raimi realized he was running long and needed to wrap things up quickly, I was reasonably entertained. Besides, if you’re inclined to see Spiderman 3, you’re going to regardless of what I have to say.
The Grade
- Story: C
- Acting: B
- Visuals: B+
- Originality: C+
- Enjoyability: B-
- Overall: B-
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