Spider-Man 3 Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)May 13th, 2007
"Spiderman 3" - Lack of Uniformity is Amazing
by Homer Yen
(c) 2007
Something in me is tingling. And it's not my
Spidey senses. I think it's my general feeling
of annoyance for the third installment of our
friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
There are three villains circulating this time
around. One is the New Goblin (James Franco).
He is Peter's former best friend who believes
that Peter/Spidey was responsible for his
father's death (which occurred in the first film
in 2002). So, equipped with some X-Games like
safety gear and an anti-gravity hoverboard, he's
out for revenge. If you didn't have a chance to
watch the evolution of the New Goblin from the
first two films, then this villain is going to
seem pretty one-dimensional. Actually, having
said that, if you haven't seen any of the first
two films, you'll feel like you're in catch-up
mode. Of course, given the monstrous box-office
success of this franchise, who hasn't seen them?
Another is Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), an
escaped convict who may have been the actual
killer of Peter's uncle. During the course of
the film, we see how a freak accident transforms
him into the Sandman. The special effects for
this character are truly amazing. Thousands of
granules of sand swirl and coalesce until a
humanoid figure takes shape. Punch him in the
abdomen, and your fist will come out through his
back. Even if Spiderman 3 is short on story,
it's generous with its effects. From a human
perspective, Marko's backstory is a sad one.
And, with his "have-pity-on-me" look, there is a
sense of poignancy. But, Sandman's plight still
pales to Mr. Freeze's solemnity (from Batman &
Robin), who was played by the Guvinator no less.
The third villain, Venom, is really a joke.
Played by a whiny Topher Grace, this character
was supposed to be the meanest and deadliest of
all. But, Venom is taken down by what seems to
be an excessive migraine headache.
Oddly, the real enemy and the nastiest one of all
is Peter Parker/Spidey himself. He treats the
honest-to-goodness Mary Jane horribly. He
crosses boundaries that you'd never thought he
would. And, he doesn't do very much to
strengthen his reputation as a do-gooder. As a
fan of the first two, this wasn't the direction
that I wanted to see him take.
In a great miscalculation, the filmmakers scrunch
together what could've easily been two Spiderman
movies. The project just seemed so stuffed with
characters and subplots. Compressing it all
together made the overall experience confusing
and murky. Remember that scene where Peter and
MJ are entangled in bliss in their web atop
Central Park trees peering over the city night?
That's the kind of scene that the film should've
ended on...with a lift and a sense of closure.
"Spiderman 3" ends with a whimper, leaving us to
scratch our heads. Well, with so many more
blockbusters to come, the good news is that
things can only get better.
Grade: C
S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3
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