Movie Review: Spiderman 3

Well, I finally got around to seeing "Spiderman 3." I was hoping to see it in IMAX, but it got sold out. You'd figure it would be easier to catch this movie on a weekday while school is in session! So I saw it at the theater on one of their regular screens in a non-digital format. Of course, even if I had seen it in digital, my opinoin of it would not be any different. I've been reading a lot of different reviews for this one, and most of them said that the movie sucked. My verdict is...it's okay, but that's probably being a bit generous.

"Spiderman 3" does have a hard act to follow in the wake of "Spiderman 2" which itself was one of the best sci, sequels, action, and comic book movies ever made. But you would expect better from all the people involved. The main problem with "Spiderman 3" is that there is just too much going on. Way too much. I already had a problem with the movie before I went in - there are too many damn villains here. Too many bad guys, and there is not enough time to give them more dimension. The first two movies had that, but this one does not have enough of it. It would have been better for the movie to have just one villain for the Spiderman to face. You can get away with two sometimes, but you are better off with one as this movie shows.

I am guessing that Sam Raimi must have thought that this would be last time directing a Spiderman movie, so he wanted to put in all the things that he was not able to put in the other movies. He throws in everything but the kitchen sink and...oh wait, he threw that in as well. Sorry.

Spiderman's first nemesis is the New Goblin. Same as the Old Goblin, but a lot cooler looking. He is also Harry Osborn, played once again by James Franco. Now for him, this is definetly his best Spiderman movie. He gets to go all over the place in this movie. He seethes at Peter Parker because he is still convinced that he killed his father. But no Harry, Peter Parker is your father! NO!!!!!...sorry, I couldn't resist. Anyway, in the process of trying to kill Parker, Harry gets amnesia and forgets about what Peter supposedly did. Harry goes from calculated revenge to sympathetic friend to wounded soul. I think he has the best performance in the movie.

The comes Spidey's next darn nemesis, Sandman (aka Flint Marko) played by Thomas Haden Church who is still on a roll from his "Sideways" comeback. This is an interesting villain in that you can clearly see what drives him - his love for his sick little girl. Thomas is great in this movie, and he shows you the humanity that drives his madness. Too bad he is not in the movie for a long stretch of time in the movie.

When Sandman is not around, we have a long and eagely awaited introduction to Venom. This seems to be the most eagerly awaited character in all of the Spidey movies. Alas, Venom for me was the most disappointing aspect of the movie. Perhaps it's because the character who becomes Venom is so shallow, and is not given any real depth that could have made him more interesting. I have no problem with Topher Grace as an actor. He's done good work in movies like "Traffic." But he is wrong for this role. His performance is much too broad, and you never feel anything for him and for the price he pays in becomming Venom. Venom could have been one awesome villain, but he is caught up in an overstuffed movie that only has so much time for him.

Tobey Maguire as always is a great Spiderman. Some of the best acting he does in this movie is with his eyes and face. He can get you right in the heart with just one look, and he never gives you a false moment in any movie he does.

This is the movie where our friendly neighborhood Spiderman gets to explore his dark side and how it almost consumes him. It's definetly an interesting way to explore the Spiderman character. This worked in some of the stronger moments in (dare I say) "Superman III." At the same time, you feel like they only went so far with the idea and that they cheated themselves out of going any deeper with this idea. Like I said, overstuffed movie.

The moments where Peter Parker is consumed by this slick that descended onto the earth from a meteorite. His bad side has a coolness that he makes no intention of ever hiding. Seeing him do his John Travolta strut a la "Saturday Night Fever" is a kick even when it gets played up too much.

It sucks to see the female characters be underused here. Kirsten Dunst is back as Mary Jane Watson. It's great to see here back, and she has been so good in these movies. But she does not have as much to do here, and her character is again in a perilous state at the movie's climax, hanging on yet again for dear life. You'd figure at some point that she would be better off not being with Peter Parker at all. How many times do you think you could take fighting for your life when your boyfriend is Spiderman?..well, if you're Jack Bauer, I guess you could do it quite a bit. This is regardless of the fact that Spiderman is not Jack Bauer's girlfriend. Anyway...

Bryce Dallas Howard is also in the film as Gwen Stacy, a fan favorite of the Spiderman series. But she gets even less to do here than Kirsten. I think Gwen ended up in the movie because the fans love her so much. Bryce herself can be a fantastic actress, and she is very good and does become Gwen Stacy. But that does not change the fact that she has very little purpose for being in this movie.

The movie is still entertaining, even if it drags here and there. There are always welcome returns. Rosemary Harris returns as Aunt May, and she is the Yoda in Peter Parker's life, giving him the wisdom that he will need in life. J.K. Simmons is as always at his scene-stealing best as J. Jonah Jameson. He had me in hysterics at his first scene in the movie as his secretary reminds him rather loudly about his high blood pressure.

The climax, although familiar, is one of the more exciting moments of the movie as we start really rooting for the characters to save the day. But it brings me to another problem I had with the movie. There are great action scenes and set pieces in the film to be sure, but they feel rather empty compared to Peter keeping that subway train from crashing in the last Spidey flick. They just look like choreographed action pieces, rather lacking in character.

I like how Sam Raimi looked at the futility of revenge and how it destroys the soul, and how it is better to forgive. That is something I need to remind myself of more often. It makes for a strong moment between Peter Parker and the Sandman, and also with Harry Osborn. It's at these moments where you feel the strength and the pain of the characters ever so purely. It would have felt it more often.

So in the end, I can't say that I hated this movie although I do have my problems with it. It's never boring to be sure. But at this point, there are 3 more Spidey movies greenlighted by Columbia Pictures, and I have no idea of where else this series can go now. It obviously peaked with the first sequel. I don't regret paying money for it, but yeah, I wish it was better than what it was. But you still get that great Bruce Campbell cameo where he plays a snooty matire'd who helps Parker out at dinner. Imagine Inspector Clouseau as a waiter, and you have Campbell's character. How groovy it is to see him here.

Anyway, what does it matter what I think of the movie? Even if I were to discourage you from seeing this movie, could I? We all want to see this movie no matter what the critics are saying about it. In the end, there are worse ways to spend an evening at the movies.