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Review #456 of 365
Movie Review of Spider-Man 3 (2007) [PG-13] 140 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.25
Where Viewed: Harkins Ciné Capri at Northfield 18, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 5 May 2007
Time: 7:10 p.m.
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer
DVD Release Date: 30 October 2007
Directed by: Sam Raimi (Spider-Man 2)
Written by: Sam Raimi (The Hudsucker Proxy), Ivan Raimi (Army of Darkness), and Alvin Sargent (Spider-Man 2) based on the original Marvel® Comic Books by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Tobey Maguire (The Good German) • Kirsten Dunst (Marie Antoinette) • James Franco (Flyboys) • Thomas Haden Church (Charlotte's Web) • Topher Grace ("That '70s Show") • Bryce Dallas Howard (Lady in the Water) • Rosemary Harris (Being Julia) • J.K. Simmons (The Astronaut Farmer) • James Cromwell (The Queen) • Theresa Russell (Empire Falls)
Soundtrack: Download now from 
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Spider-Man 3 suffers from the same problem that series finales often face. They might be great, but they never quite live up to expectations. Not knowing, and still not knowing for certain if there would or will be a Spider-Man 4, writer / director Sam Raimi who has helmed all three Spider-man films tried very hard to give fans of the film franchise if not the Stan Lee comic franchise something they would love. This is a very tall order. How does one potentially end a franchise gracefully, with triumph, while trying to tie up as many loose ends as possible? Before getting too high and might with my critic's hat on, I stopped to consider all that he tried to accomplish. It seems if he can be faulted for anything it might have been that he tried to do too much. The film probably would have been strong enough with one villain, it has two. The film would have been good enough with Peter Parker finally proposing to Mary Jane Watson, instead their love hits the skids as she grapples with his fame and her misfortune. The film would have been deep enough to have Peter introspect on his life, instead he has to get involved with a curious substance from space that corrupts him.
"…suffers from the same problem that series finales often face. They might be great, but they never quite live up to expectations."
The film would have been courageous enough had Peter and Harry rebuilt their friendship, instead they have to first twice again become mortal enemies. That's a lot of conflict and conflict resolution for any one film to tackle. It's a similar problem that cropped up in last year's X-Men 3 as well. If you've possibly only got one more shot, and Hollywood has never liked 4 movies (except in the case of James Bond where they keep going and going) in a franchise. There's something nice about 3. A trilogy. A three-act story. Too bad they don't often plot these carefully enough from the beginning. That was the beauty of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Peter Jackson was given the right to make three films from the start. So, he knew exactly how to pace them, how much to put in, and how to make all three absolutely stunning. When you put all this together, you put Sam Raimi between a rock and a hard place from the beginning of the announcement of Spider-Man 3. I'm sure, had he known that the studio might consider a 4th film, he would have made an entirely different Spider-Man 3. He could have left at least one if not two of these conflicts unresolved. Yet, he didn't know. So, he attempted to deliver a huge film that would really put the special effects crews, the actors, and the writers on tumultuous ride through the skyscrapers of Manhattan with the goal of ensuring that everyone would be satisfied even it that meant that almost no one would end up being satisfied.
This time around, Spider-Man is a hero for NYC. The film starts off well with Spider-Man saving the daughter for the Chief of Police, Gwen (Bryce Dallas Howard) under the watchful eye of her new boyfriend Eddie Brock (Topher Grace). Eddie has his sights set on making it big as a newspaper photographer and getting better shots of Spider-Man than Peter Parker for the Daily Bugle. Meanwhile, MJ (Kirsten Dunst) is opening a show on Broadway singing and elegant number as if just for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire). Harry Osborn (James Franco) is back with a vengeance to settle the score between his father and Spider-Man. And, finally, it turns out that Uncle Ben was killed by Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), not the person they thought the police thought had done it. Finding and catching Flint might have been hard enough for Spider-Man, but it's made worse when police chase him onto the grounds of a particle physics research center, and he gets molecularly combined with sand—turning him into The Sand Man. Half way through the story, a strange organic chemical life form Peter picked up by accident when in the park with MJ, gets a hold of him and amplifies his dark side creating the inner conflict and the cool new black suit. The main theme of the film is that there are two sides to everything. As good as Peter Parker is, he's repressing a lot of his inner feelings which the space gunk helps release. Mary Jane may be the ideal and doting girlfriend, but she's insecure in feeling she'll never be able to live up to Peter's success. Flint Marko may be a thief, but he's been stealing because he's been trying to raise funds to pay for his daughter's chemotherapy. The duality of good and bad in all of us, is not a new theme, and it's not even new in the superhero lore. It does however, provide a potent subject for this film, and help us to see more dimensions of these characters. Were this to be the final film, it would be a good, not great capstone to a trilogy. Due to the scope of the ambitious script, it ultimately fell a bit short of the goal which is to be somewhat expected. Nonetheless, it's a good movie that logically must be seen at least three times (one of the three on IMAX® of course) to really soak it all in. I found that with X-Men 3. The first time, I absolutely hated it. But, the second time, I was able to really get into it more and appreciate all that the director had attempted to accomplish—and he was told there would be no X-Men 4. Note, if you buy a ticket and enter the theatre and only seats down front are left, exit and exchange your ticket for the next showing. This is not one of those films that can really be enjoyed visually from too close to the screen. I nearly got seasick watching Spider-Man swing from edge to edge sitting in the 10th row from the front on one of Denver's largest (non-IMAX® screens). As for the acting in the film? Well, Tobey Maguire has a lot more fun this time around showing his wild side. I've still never thought he was the best person to cast in the role, but I've been unable to find someone I thought would be better. He and James Franco both occasionally slip almost into a 'babytalk', too sweet to stand, mode that's hard to watch.
This time around, Spider-Man is a hero for NYC. The film starts off well with Spider-Man saving the daughter for the Chief of Police, Gwen (Bryce Dallas Howard) under the watchful eye of her new boyfriend Eddie Brock (Topher Grace). Eddie has his sights set on making it big as a newspaper photographer and getting better shots of Spider-Man than Peter Parker for the Daily Bugle. Meanwhile, MJ (Kirsten Dunst) is opening a show on Broadway singing and elegant number as if just for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire). Harry Osborn (James Franco) is back with a vengeance to settle the score between his father and Spider-Man. And, finally, it turns out that Uncle Ben was killed by Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), not the person they thought the police thought had done it. Finding and catching Flint might have been hard enough for Spider-Man, but it's made worse when police chase him onto the grounds of a particle physics research center, and he gets molecularly combined with sand—turning him into The Sand Man. Half way through the story, a strange organic chemical life form Peter picked up by accident when in the park with MJ, gets a hold of him and amplifies his dark side creating the inner conflict and the cool new black suit. The main theme of the film is that there are two sides to everything. As good as Peter Parker is, he's repressing a lot of his inner feelings which the space gunk helps release. Mary Jane may be the ideal and doting girlfriend, but she's insecure in feeling she'll never be able to live up to Peter's success. Flint Marko may be a thief, but he's been stealing because he's been trying to raise funds to pay for his daughter's chemotherapy. The duality of good and bad in all of us, is not a new theme, and it's not even new in the superhero lore. It does however, provide a potent subject for this film, and help us to see more dimensions of these characters. Were this to be the final film, it would be a good, not great capstone to a trilogy. Due to the scope of the ambitious script, it ultimately fell a bit short of the goal which is to be somewhat expected. Nonetheless, it's a good movie that logically must be seen at least three times (one of the three on IMAX® of course) to really soak it all in. I found that with X-Men 3. The first time, I absolutely hated it. But, the second time, I was able to really get into it more and appreciate all that the director had attempted to accomplish—and he was told there would be no X-Men 4. Note, if you buy a ticket and enter the theatre and only seats down front are left, exit and exchange your ticket for the next showing. This is not one of those films that can really be enjoyed visually from too close to the screen. I nearly got seasick watching Spider-Man swing from edge to edge sitting in the 10th row from the front on one of Denver's largest (non-IMAX® screens). As for the acting in the film? Well, Tobey Maguire has a lot more fun this time around showing his wild side. I've still never thought he was the best person to cast in the role, but I've been unable to find someone I thought would be better. He and James Franco both occasionally slip almost into a 'babytalk', too sweet to stand, mode that's hard to watch.
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Kirsten Dunst stands out this time with only one horrendous scene where she goes to Peter's apartment to see if he's ok and utters one of the film's most important lines as almost a throwaway, "Everybody needs help sometime, Peter." Thomas Hayden Church's Sandman needed a lot of explaining that really detracted from the overall effect of the story while filling in gaps nonetheless. For as much as the duality of human nature plays an important role in the film, so does the idea that forgiveness plays a crucial role in the growth of a human being. Comprehending this is essential for Spider-Man / Peter Parker to grow onward. Lastly, Topher Grace as the new Peter Parker / Spider-Man dual foil Eddie Brock / Venom was a welcome if not perturbing and ghastly addition to the film lore. Topher Grace fits the bill well given that he has to quickly bring us on board with his character. The thing that's missing is the source of his ability to be of such dubious moral character.
Spider-Man 3 may not be as good as 1 or 2 in the scheme of things, and Sam Raimi may have made a movie that is simply too big. Even so, I found it a great film to begin what many, many people are predicting will be the biggest and best summer of movies in a decade with Shrek, Captain Jack Black, Danny Ocean's crew, the Fantastic Foursome, Evan Almighty, Harry Potter and gang, a mad Jason Borne, the all new Transformers, the Simpsons finally on the big screen, and a little guy known as John McClane living free or dying hard still to come, movie fans we have a lot more potentially great or disastrous films to keep us cheering or jeering for months to come.
Spider-Man 3 may not be as good as 1 or 2 in the scheme of things, and Sam Raimi may have made a movie that is simply too big. Even so, I found it a great film to begin what many, many people are predicting will be the biggest and best summer of movies in a decade with Shrek, Captain Jack Black, Danny Ocean's crew, the Fantastic Foursome, Evan Almighty, Harry Potter and gang, a mad Jason Borne, the all new Transformers, the Simpsons finally on the big screen, and a little guy known as John McClane living free or dying hard still to come, movie fans we have a lot more potentially great or disastrous films to keep us cheering or jeering for months to come.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Other Projects Featuring Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Cast Members
Tobey Maguire
• Kirsten Dunst • James FrancoThomas Haden Church
• Topher Grace • Bryce Dallas Howard Rosemary Harris
• J.K. Simmons • James CromwellTheresa Russell
Writer / Director
Sam Raimi
Co-Writers
Ivan Raimi
• Alvin Sargent| Book | CD Soundtrack | DVD |
| VHS | PS2 | Action Figures |
Spider-Man 3 (2007) Review-lite [150-word cap]
With an overly ambitious, series finale-esque approach, Sam Raimi has packed a lot into two hours twenty minutes. The film is filled with great successes and minor disappointments. No doubt it's a special effect dream world that will probably play beautifully in video game form. With the themes of the duality of human nature and the need for forgiveness omnipresent, the film shows both the fun and dark side of the characters making for a film that entertains as much as it might provoke disdain. Nonetheless, if this is the final film, it has ended in good fashion, tying up loose ends and giving us most of what we wanted and needed to see.
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