Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man returns to the big screen for the third installment of Sam Raimi's comic book saga. Spider-Man 3 (opening May 4 throughout San Diego and in IMAX at the Edwards Mira Mesa Cinemas) has our super hero facing off against a trio of villains as well as against his own dark nature.
Spider-Man 3 begins brightly with a rather love sick Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire returning again) planning how to propose to Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). He's also enjoying widespread popularity as Spider-Man, riding high as a heroic icon in the city. The only downside to his life is his low-paying job as a freelance photographer for the ever-grumpy J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) and his crappy apartment. But since this is a Spider-Man film, you know something bad's about to happen.
Harry Osborn (James Franco) still wants revenge for his fathers death and he blames Spidey and Peter. Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) has just been identified as the real killer of Peters Uncle Ben and to make matters worse he's just been molecularly transformed into the powerful Sandman. A strange alien symbiote is attempting to bond with Peter and tap into his dark urges for revenge, turning Spidey from a super hero to an unbalanced, egotistical vengeful being. Plus an envious fellow photographer named Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) wants to see both Spidey and Peter dead, and his deadly wish may come true when the dark alien symbiote latches on to his evil desires and turns him into Venom. And to top it off, Mary Jane dumps Peter.
As you can tell from just that brief summary, Spider-Man 3 tries to pack too much into its final chapter. Heck, Venom alone deserves a whole movie. But Raimi and his co-screenwriters Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent, want to cram as much into this tale just in case they never get a chance to revisit the Marvel super hero. The result is a film that barrels ahead at a furious pace with Spidey constantly battling inner demons or external villains. The action sequences are breathlessly executed. There's almost too much CGI work. But Raimi keeps it moving so fast that it makes all the CGI work seem like just a casual aspect of the film. He doesn't linger admiringly on any of his effects, but rather crams as much stuntwork and CGI effects as he can into every action sequence. He still has great fun letting Spidey swing through the canyons made by the city skyscrapers, and in capturing the vertiginous angles of the action.
But what made the other two films, and especially the first Spider-Man, so much more enjoyable was the emphasis on creating characters that you cared for. Spidey 3
relies on the emotions created by the previous two films to carry it through, but it doesnt really build on them. Aunt May (the wonderful Rosemary Harris) presents the film with its new moral dilemma as Peter seeks revenge once again for Uncle Bens death. She suggests that its not for us to say who should live or die, and that revenge can be like a poison. But Peters struggle with his desire for revenge doesn't get much screen time as Spidey is too busy fighting all the bad guys. There's also a tagged on notion about everyone always having a choice.
Although Raimi keeps the action racing, the film (which runs nearly two-and-a-half hours) suffers from some bloat. Peters ego surge and silly dance sequence, could easily be excised from the film. In addition, the more sentimental moments don't play as well here as they have in the past because the scenes feel tacked on rather than built up to. This time out, Raimi displays more ease and skill with the action than with the drama. In the previous outings, there was more of a balance. And in the final scenes, Raimi resorts to lame one-liner jokiness as super hero and villains have their final showdown. The lines in these climatic scenes could have been lifted from almost any action film.
One thing that Raimi has maintained is the humor. Whether its Spidey shaking out the sand from his costume after an encounter with Sandman or the daily hassles of being a super hero, Raimi knows how to find quick laughs. There are also two scene stealing cameos. First Stan Lee stops by to tell Peter Parker that one person actually can make a difference. And then the topper is Bruce Campbell's appearance as a French waiter. Campbell, who worked with Raimi in the early Evil Dead days, is hilarious as a snotty waiter whose help Peter enlists for a perfect romantic evening. Campbell has appeared in each Spidey film. At one Comic-Con he proudly joked that in the first film he was responsible for naming the super hero and in the second, he was the only character to ever defeat Peter/Spidey (he played the usher who kept Peter out of the theater where Mary Jane was performing). Anyway, Campbell is always a delight.
The other actors fare well but don't really build on what they've already done. Again, the main problem here is that there's very little screen time devoted to much beyond the action. Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy is a new addition but her character is never clearly defined. But Howard chooses to play her as mostly sweet. Maguire goes from looking lovesick to displaying a silly puffed up vanity as he gets off on his symbiotic alien Spidey suit. His performance is mostly goofy this time out, except for when he's getting the crap beat out of him. Franco, Grace and Church make good bad guys but since they have to split the screen time, none really gets to develop much of a personality. Franco probably does the best simply because he's building on a character who has been developing over two other films.
Spider-Man 3 (rated PG-13 for intense action sequences) finishes off the trilogy with a bang. Its not the best of the three as it lacks the concern for character that made the first installment so good. But Raimi and company do justice to the comic book and definitely deliver on the action. But a little more attention to details and to the characters could have made this a great film rather than just a breathtaking roller-coaster ride.
Just a note: There are rumors that at least Raimi might return for another Spidey movie but nothing has been confirmed and none of the actors have so far signed on for more films. If Spider-Man 3 does the kind of business the studios anticipating (it already broke box office records when it opened earlier in Asia), then the studio is sure to make another installment no matter who signs on.
Marvel's Silver Surfer and Free Comic-Book Day
And for those who are comic book fans, just a reminder that this Saturday May 5 is the sixth annual Free Comic Book Day.
Twentieth Century Fox's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, 28 Days Later: The Aftermath graphic novel, New Jersey Libraries, the Sci Fi Channel and others are teaming with more that two thousand comic book shops in North America that will be giving away comic books absolutely free to anyone visiting their stores.
More than forty comic book titles including a Fantastic Four comic will be given away at each location. Issues vary at each market.
Comic book publishers around the country have come together to promote the art of the comic book. They want to promote comic books as an original American art form, created in the early days of the twentieth century.
Eight San Diego area comic book stores, including Comickaze in Kearny Mesa and On Comic Ground in Hillcrest, will be taking part in the event. To find a participating comic book store in San Diego.
Companion viewing: Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, The Evil Dead, Darkman
