Spider-Man 3: Spoiler Filled Review

// May 5th, 2007 // Fun Whatnot

First off, I’m biased. I am the definition of fan boy, so my impressions need to be considered with that in mind.

In general I liked it. Not love, but like. I saw it twice, and it was better the second time, so I find that promising. If you liked the previous two films, you’ll probably enjoy this one. Overall I think the second is best and the first is also better.

Interestingly, this reminds me of X-Men 3: The Last Stand. As the final guaranteed movie in the franchise, they attempt to cram in as many fan satisfying story lines as they can. In this instance it’s four big ones: Harry(New Goblin) and Peter, Peter and MJ’s relationship, Sandman, and Black Suit/Venom. The one that suffers the most is Sandman. They do a far better job keeping all these trains on the track and weaving them together into a single tapestry than with X-Men 3.

I have to commend them for their handling of Gwen Stacy. To me, she is a precious character in Spider-Man mythology. They managed to portray her as a highly intelligent and strong woman. Surprisingly, they were also able to work in a date between her and Peter without making her a hussy. In fact, when she realizes he is using her to hurt MJ, she refuses to be a part of it and apologizes to Mary Jane. Finally, Bryce Dallas Howard is visually the part. More than anything in this film, I feared her inclusion would cheapen the character, but they did not.

Continuing with the positive, Sandman was perfect. The scene where Flint Marko (Thomas Hayden Church) first emerges from the sand as Sandman is the most visually stunning moment in the Spider-Man series. I was even able to buy into the modification of classic story making Marko Uncle Ben’s actual killer. This worked to tie the story together and give Peter one more reason to lean towards the dark pull of vengeance.

Following that note, the overall handling of the villains in this film was great. Harry Osborn as the new Goblin has a far more tasteful suit replacing the garish “Power Ranger” look established in the firsts movie. I wondered how I would feel about the snowboard styled glider and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. It seemed a natural progression and the right modern take on a comic classic.

Topher Grace as Eddie Brock was beyond amazing. In many ways the Eddie Brock character from the comics is underdeveloped. We know he was a reporter and that he hates Spider-Man after exposing a lie he published related to the Sin-Eater serial killings. Other than that though, his character is relatively open to interpretation. The crisp arrogance Grace injected into the character fit nicely. Even the explanation and lead into him becoming Venom was well laid out. Venom himself is really sweet. Again, the nailed this visually and the fingers on chalkboard screech also fit ideally.

On a final note, the Bruce Campbell scene is fantastic, maybe his best of the three.

Now for the bad…
The portrayal of the black suit symbiote as an actual suit when in Peter’s possession sucks. This screws up all kinds of things. First off, if he can take it off and put it in a truck when he wants, why does he have to fight it off himself in the church tower? The suit should have been something he wore 24×7. In the classic telling, the suit can morph into his everyday clothing, or whatever he needs it to look like. If this had been maintained, it would have been much cooler. Additionally, having the suit always on would help to explain his descent into darkness. The longer he wears it, the more aggressive he gets. This is just a missed opportunity.

The scene in the Jazz club while Peter and Gwen are on a date is just plain stupid. Specifically, the dance number he does, jumping all over the place, makes him look like an idiot and is horribly out of place. When did Peter learn to play piano?!? This is exceptionally unfortunate because the premise is good: Peter is taking Gwen out on a date to the place where his ex-girlfriend is working to make her jealous. The conclusion is also good. He gets in a fight with bouncers, accidently punches MJ. This is the moment where he can see he’s gone to far. It just sucks that the middle of this is crappy.

While still criticizing the Peter in black suit section of the movie… I have to also condemn the way the have him strutting down the street like an idiot. Why would he do this? This doesn’t belong…

The glint of positive here is that they still eek out a couple well done scenes. Vengeful Peter exposing Brock’s fake Spidey picture. The black suited fight with Sandman is great. The scene with Peter all over Betty gives the opportunity to show that potential relationship. Finally, the Harry and Peter fight after MJ leaves him. Too bad all that goodness happens with the worst of the film interspersed through it.

My only other complaint is the occasionally terrible dialog. Phrases like “Spider-Man will save us!” or “All may be lost” from news reporters and people on the street feels campy and contrived. This includes mostly tertiary crowd based scenes surrounding bigger events. Mostly during the Spider-Man get keys to the city scene and the battle against Sandman and Venom.

There are also an inordinate number of sappy scenes including the main characters. I’m passionate enough about these characters that I can happily get through those and truly connect with the emotions, but I think I’ll be in the minority on that. One of my friends questioned if maybe George Lucas had written a couple scenes… not exactly a compliment.

In summary though, I’d give this movie a good rating. I expected more, but am content with this as the potential conclusion of a movie series near and dear to my heart.

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3 Responses to “Spider-Man 3: Spoiler Filled Review”

Jenny says:

May 6, 2007 at 6:28 pm

Although not really remembering the Black Suit story line that we have discussed in past comic book discussions, I thought that they did a good job with the Black Suit. The professor said that the longer you stayed in contact with it, the stronger it would bond with you. If that is the case, then Peter wearing it for short periods, but then leaving it on for longer periods, it would make sense that it would be fairly easy for Peter to take off the suit in the beginning, but by the time he was wearing 24/7 (even if he wore clothes over it), it would be hard to take it off.
So I was happy with how they connected it.
What I was wondering about was why it changed Eddie when he was wearing it. His teeth got all wonky, not as wonky as when the suit was talking (as venom). Did Eddie change that much in the comics like in the movie?
Robert Jung says:

May 7, 2007 at 3:59 pm

Gotta disagree about dissing Peter’s “strutting down the street” scene, as it was perfect for the movie. Despite all of his powers and fame, Peter Parker — the guy underneath the Spider-suit — is still a socially clueless dweeb, and the newfound arrogance he gets from wearing the black suit doesn’t change that. He thinks he’s suave, but ends up completely oblivious that everyone else (including the audience) is laughing at him.

And just to share, my own things on Spider-Man 3 are available http://www.electric-escape.net/node/1551“ rel=”nofollow”>here.

–R.J.
No Sheep » Transformers says:

July 6, 2007 at 2:19 am

[...] far, I was most excited for Spider-Man 3, but was generally let down. Fantastic Four delivered more than expected, but was not outstanding. [...]

No Sheep