Spider-Man 3 Review
Posted by Jacob Ziegler on 05.04.2007
Summer movie season starts now!
SPIDER-MAN 3
May 4, 2007
Peter Parker: Tobey Maguire
Mary Jane Watson: Kirsten Dunst
Harry Osborn: James Franco
Flint Marko: Thomas Haden Church
Eddie Brock: Topher Grace
Gwen Stacy: Bryce Dallas Howard
May Parker: Rosemary Harris
J. Jonah Jameson: J.K. Simmons
Captain Stacy: James Cromwell
Emma Marko: Theresa Russell
Dr. Curt Connors: Dylan Baker
Joseph ‘Robbie’ Robertson: Bill Nunn
Maitre d’: Bruce Campbell
Miss Brant: Elizabeth Banks
Ben Parker: Cliff Robertson
Sony Pictures presents a film directed by Sam Raimi. The story is by Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi, the screenplay is by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, and Alvin Sargent; based on the Marvel comic book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The running time is 140 minutes. It is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence.
BY JACOB ZIEGLER, 411Movies
The summer movie season seems to start earlier and earlier every year, and this year it will kickoff at 12:01 a.m. this Friday, May 4, with the release of Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 3.” The first two “Spider-Man” films grossed over $776 million dollars just domestically (in 2002 and 2004, respectively), and it seems like a no-brainer that the third one will do similar business. The first movie of the summer may turn out to be the biggest; though it has stiff competition amongst two other third-in-the-series entries called “Shrek 3” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” just in the month of May alone.
I’m sure anyone who is interested in seeing “Spider-Man 3” has already seen the first two, so I don’t see the need to summarize the plots to a great extent. There’s another reason I don’t want to do that, but I’ll get to it later. The newest film picks up more or less where the second left off. Peter (Tobey Maguire) and Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) are together and Peter is thinking about popping the question. Peter’s friend Harry (James Franco) is still angry with him for killing his father Norman “Green Goblin” Osborn (Willem Dafoe), though Peter doesn’t quite see it that way.
We’re also introduced to several new characters this time around, the best of which is Eddie Brock (Topher Grace of “That ‘70s Show” fame), a photographer who rivals Peter for the favor of Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons, reprising his role as the funniest character from any of the three films). Eddie also dates Gwen Stacy (the now blonde Bryce Dallas Howard), the daughter of police Captain Stacy (James Cromwell). Gwen just might have a crush on Spider-Man, because, let’s face it – most girls have a crush on Spider Man.
The major storyline thread that runs through “Spider-Man 3” is the physical manifestation of Peter’s thirst for revenge on the man who killed his uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) in the first film. This is where my biggest problem with “3” comes up, as screenwriters Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, and two-time Oscar winner Alvin Sargent have decided to rewrite a bit of the Spider-Man film history. Instead of the criminal that Peter let run past him in the wrestling promoter’s office killing his uncle, Captain Stay explains that Flint Marko (Oscar nominee Thomas Haden Church) was actually the one who pulled the trigger. This is not a spoiler, they say as such in the trailers.
This is unfortunate because a great deal of the character development from the first film is based on Peter’s reaction to that person, and now we’re told that his anger should actually be directed elsewhere, and it just feels like getting jerked around. Furthermore, the Flint Marko / Sandman character doesn’t really add much to the story and distracts from the far more interesting Venom saga. It’s certainly not the fault of Church, who does fine work with the character; it’s just not very compellingly written.
Speaking of the Venom storyline, Grace does an excellent job with the Eddie Brock character. I know he is not the muscled, middle-aged man of the comics, but he’s an effective doppelganger to Peter. Some have already scoffed at the casting of Grace, but I think if given the chance people will see that he’s a good choice. His character could become even more interesting if there are “Spider-Man” films beyond this one.
I liked this installment better than the first, but not as much as the second. There are some great moments when Peter becomes an aggressive miscreant, Bruce Campbell’s performance is worth the price of admission alone, and anytime Simmons is on screen is golden. Unfortunately, many of the same problems are still present, like Dunst’s apparent indifference to her role, and Franco’s innate inability to play his.
I admit that I never read the comic books, so it is difficult for me to gauge the response comic fanatics will have to “Spider-Man 3.” Personally I found it entertaining but not entirely engaging or totally satisfying. It will pull in oodles of money and many will tell me that I just need to sit back and enjoy myself or something similarly asinine. I did enjoy myself with this movie, but only up to a point. There’s enough good material to warrant a solid recommendation, but it still has to be considered a minor disappointment.
The 411: Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst star alongside many returning faces (Franco, Rosemary Harris, Simmons, Elizabeth Banks, etc) and many new ones (Church, Grace, Howard, Dylan Baker, and others) in the third installment of Sam Raimi’s wildly successful “Spider-Man” trilogy. While it exceeds the first film, it doesn’t quite live up to the level of the second movie, so it rests somewhere in the middle.
