Review: Spider-Man 3

PLOT: Taking
off pretty soon after the last film ended, Peter Parker has no idea
the troubles that await him. His ex-best friend wants him dead, Mary
Jane has grown tired of his inflated ego, a troubled man made of
sand is terrorizing the city, and a bizarre black entity from space
latches onto his suit, filling him with hate. But amongst all these
conflicts, Spider-Man is soon forced to learn that his greatest
battles may not happen while web slinging across New York or
fighting alongside subway trains. The greatest battles… are
within. [Cue powerful music]

CRITIQUE:
While it does at times tiptoe on the line of being an epic and
brilliant work of cinema, SPIDER-MAN 3 is also a big case of
overkill. There’s way too much going on, and it just seems to keep
on coming.

After a somewhat
shaky series of opening scenes (with that voiceover narration by
Maguire still being as lame as always), the movie quickly finds its
balance. It isn’t until the symbiote subplot (involving the black
Spidey suit) gets into full swing that things become a little too
hectic. Director Sam Raimi pulls off an incredible feat by making
the never-ending onslaught of subplots balance as well as they do,
but the pieces still don’t fit to the extent that you’d hope.

There’s enough plot
here for two or three different movies, with plenty of obstacles for
Peter to overcome and an ample amount of baddies for him to fight.
But in putting the four main plotlines together (i.e., revenge
against Sandman, Peter’s relationship with Harry, the symbiote
suit/Venom, and problems with MJ), the whole experience becomes
overwhelming. There’s not nearly enough time to absorb all the
intertwining threads, no matter how hard the filmmakers obviously
try to make it work.

That’s not to say
this is a bad movie. Far from it. In fact, despite its shortcomings,
this picture still marks one of the most fun times I’ve had at the
movies. It wasn’t even until after I left the screening that I
started to realize how many problems it had. I bet a large
percentage of moviegoers will feel the same, being so taken aback by
the constant action sequences and stream of storylines that they
never even get a chance to notice the film’s faults. That’s the good
news. Bad news is, there’s no way these issues will go unnoticed
upon repeat viewings. While SPIDER-MAN 2 seems to just keep getting
better with each consecutive viewing, I see this one coming up
short. It’s still less problematic than the first film (which
already feels a bit dated), but it just can’t compete with the damn
near flawless second.

One of the few
complaints I had with SPIDEY 2 was the "raindrops are falling
on my head" sequence. It was silly and awkward, not fitting
well with the rest of the film’s style… Well, this sequel tops it.
After the symbiote takes over Parker, there’s a lengthy montage
sequence of him (now turned emo) strutting down the street, dancing
around and pelvic thrusting at women. It’s basically him hopping
about to music while looking like a jackass. And it gets worse,
although I’ll spare you the specific details, so as not to ruin that
stuff for you.

Fortunately, the
whole movie isn’t plagued by scenes like these. It’s only rarely
that things start getting ridiculous or cheesy to the point where
you can’t help but roll your eyes. The other problem comes in the
way of bits of awkward dialogue and rushed character development.
There’s about an 80% hit rate where everything in the script is as
smooth as can be, but that last 20% block does hurt the a few vital
aspects of the storytelling. Particularly when it comes to fleshing
out character motives and emotional conflicts (something that was
given almost complete focus in the first two movies).

At least the action
sequences stand strong as some of the most spectacular since…
well, SPIDER-MAN 2. They take full advantage of the characters’
abilities and surroundings, and then fuse the two together to create
a number of downright breathtaking moments. The CGI isn’t quite
flawless yet, but it’s still a visual feast for the eyes. The only
disappointment is the use of Venom. He does get some time to shine
in the movie’s third act (or possibly ninth, taking into account how
many different stories overlap), but Topher Grace removes all of the
character’s menace. It really hurts me to write that, considering
how wonderfully handled everything was concerning Brock’s character
before that point. But alas, despite Grace’s strong and amiable
efforts, his voice is just too awkward coming out of Venom’s mouth.
And all they needed was some slight voice alteration to fix the
problem. Drats.

It’s hard to cast this third (and possibly final) installment of the SPIDEY franchise in a more positive light, because frankly, there’s nowhere to go but down. SPIDER-MAN 2 is a
masterpiece! It created a perfect blend of action, story, and just good ol’ comic book fun. SPIDER-MAN 3 does its best to follow through on this unreachable standard, and surprisingly enough, it comes very close to succeeding. Sure, the problems it has stand out like a sore thumb, but that doesn’t stop the movie from sharing that same wonderful energy that was so very evident in the first two films.

It may not be a
flawless endeavor, but it’s certainly epic. Raimi and company reach
for the stars, and instead end up making it halfway across the
universe. It’s one bumpy and crazy ride getting there, but when
things go well, they go really damn well. And while some movie
trilogies end on a note that make you yearn for one last installment
to redeem the series (I’m looking at you, X3!), we should be so
lucky to get a conclusive finish to the SPIDER-MAN series. Almost
brings a tear to my eye.

8 out of 10 — by
Quigles

And for
reference…


Spider-Man – 7 out of 10
Spider-Man 2 – 9 out of 10