The bad hype just isn't true

Rating: 8/10 (6 May 2007)

Personally, I loved Spider-Man 3.
I usually say that Americans tend to understand pop culture (esp. sci- fi and superheroes) much better than Europeans (who, for instance, loved the pretty awful British sci-fi movie Sunshine, which still hasn't opened in the States, and will get a heck of a beating when it does). But in the case of Spider-Man 3, it seems to be the other way around. Its plot-lines, themes and characterization were too complex and subtle and long-winded for a lot of Americans. Spidey 3 had an IMDb rating of 8.2 after being seen by a few thousand Europeans, which dropped to 7.9 on the U.S. opening day, and now, a couple of days later is down to an almost unbelievable 7.1! Now there we see a demonstration of what bad word of mouth will do. Once the rumor is out that the movie sucks, a lot of people will force themselves to go with the flow and unthinkingly agree with the popular position. Europeans will do this, too, but Americans do it with so much more gusto, and have more practice.
I knew going in that Raimi & co. had wrestled with a difficult script, and worked very hard to make everything work. And I wasn't too hopeful, because although I kinda like the two first Spidey movies, I don't actually think their entertainment value is that great. I have seen them twice each (which includes once on DVD), and that's it. There is a strange stiffness to them, some kind of missing chemistry (made worse by the fact that I'm no fan of Kirsten Dunst), both among the cast and in the overall visual look. So truthfully I was actually a little bit disappointed by both of the first movies.
Spider-Man 3 was quite different. The cast seemed to work very, very well together, the characters and their emotions came alive for me, and everything they did was part of clever plot-lines that were all interconnected. All the characters made mistakes, and all had a part of the blame for things not working out the way they felt they should. The characters now looked like genuinely flawed human beings. Every element of the movie contributed to this. Spidey became super-popular precisely so his self-centered elation would lead to his lack of empathy with MJ, who in turn neglects to tell Peter what's the matter, compounding their lack of connectedness. Perhaps, as many are fond of saying, this is chick-flick material, but superhero comics have always been soap operas. What matters is that it's told well; that motivations and actions make sense and feel real. And they do here. The relationship with Harry was also impressively well portrayed, even to the extent that I didn't even mind their using that most time- honored of soap opera plot elements: amnesia. And everything was tied in with the Venom symbiote boosting Peter's emotions, which produced a lot of great entertainment and ended up making Peter understand the value of forgiveness, both of himself and others. The movie did things that have never been done in the comics, and it did them very thoughtfully. It made the Spidey persona extra-popular, to compensate for the bouts of extra-bad luck the Peter Parker persona had to be dragged through, which was integral to the plot. It made Peter forgive his uncle's killer, understanding that there were (in the movie's universe) strongly mitigating circumstances - an event that could never happen in the comics because it's so fundamental a part of his whole being and motivation. But it worked beautifully in the movie. The story and the characters all ended up coming together beautifully. With the possible exception of the first X-Men movie (well, and perhaps Mystery Men), I think Spider-Man 3 is the best superhero movie ever made.
It wasn't quite perfect, though. It's true that both Sandman and Venom didn't get enough background and development. What was the deal with Sandman's daughter? Was she just sickly, or was it something Sandy did that crippled her? Well, maybe they'll tell us in an extended edition DVD. I know I'd buy it.
My rating: 9 out of 10.