Spider-Man 3: Call Back MICHAEL CHABON

Rating: 5/10 (9 September 2007)

If Spider-Man 2 defied the rule that sequels are not as good as their precedents, Spider-Man 3 does not share this distinction. The film labors through a series of shallow subplots that converge only artificially through a series of ho-hum coincidences, such as the physical proximity of the characters.
This style of plot mingling may be suitable for the superhero comic book, where the dearth of text restricts the story line to the role of showcasing the fantastic powers of the characters in a two-dimensional extravaganza of special effects. The theme of superhero comic books has also traditionally centered on a predictable pattern: the triumph of good over evil as played out on the battlefield of human vs. inhuman motivations.
As a mere recreation of a comic book, perhaps Spider-Man 3 succeeds. One certainly has the feeling on several occasions while watching the movie of being inside a comic book. However, a film can aspire to more. The best of the comic book movies, including the first two Spider-Men and the first two X-Men movies, show how it is possible to recreate the camp and atmospherics of a comic book, and even its unique flavor of suspension of disbelief, without sacrificing the strengths of the filmic medium, such as narrative complexity and visual suspense.
The acting appears to be a casualty mostly of character development, which is a casualty in turn of the plot. The characters are asked to be puppets of petty motives and capricious plot turns ,such as bumps on the head, greed for fame (on Spiderman's part!), and vengefulness blown out of proportion. The actors dutifully and competently played their parts. The plot let them down. Call back Michael Chabon.