A tangled web ...

Rating: 4/10 (2 May 2007)

In the first of a trio of popular film part threes being released soon, Marvel Studios brings its long-awaited "Spiderman" franchise third installment to fruition. And while it is safe to say this was a bit better than part two (in my opinion, of course)  where Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire ) constantly agonized over his lot as a super hero and struggled with his inner doubts and turmoils  it still does not approach the original in sheer fun and excitement.
The filmmakers also learned about what audiences (specifically the 14-18-year-old males Hollywood seems to be in love with lately) want  action, action and more action. Here it is provided with not one, but three main villains for Spidey to take on, including a battle with himself that takes the movie on a decidedly "Superman III" tack for a while.
It's now five years from the time Peter is first bitten by that pesky radioactive arachnid in the science lab. He's still in school (is he trying to become a doctor?!), dates Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and is comfortable enough in the role of hero that he puts all self-doubts to rest. In fact, he loves the adoration given to him, so much so, he's become obsessed.
Meanwhile, Harry Osborn (James Franco, given a few lead roles since "Spiderman 2," including "The Great Raid" and "Tristan & Isolde"), is still ticked off at the web-slinger for supposedly killing his old man (Willem DeFoe), Cracks develop in Peter and Mary Jane's fantasy world, as well when she is fired from a Broadway show because she cannot sing (she really can't, but wouldn't the producers and director have notice that minor flaw before the production played before an audience?).
Then, while sitting together in a tree one night, a meteorite lands near them (they, of course do not see this) and a black squidlike creature emerges and attaches itself to Peter's scooter. Where this thing came from and why it goes after Parker is never explained, by the way. I guess we're just supposed to take the movie's word that it is a very important event.
While all of this is going on, an escaped convict, (Thomas Haden Church, "Sideways"), is caught is a fusion reactor thing in the middle of the desert and is turned into a sandman by the experiment. Once again, massive does of radiation does not cause tumors and painful death, it only mutates the victim into a creature more powerful and frightening than any seen before. The message from movies like this is never ever engage in any type of scientific experiment, as it only leads to mutilation and destruction, never anything good.
In this case, the sand guy has the power to grow huge and rob armored cars and banks. He does it, we find out, to save his little daughter, who has an unnamed disease. Of course, Spiderman has to deal with this large angry sand dune, but Harry has also morphed into a Green Goblin-like clone on a deadly glider and is now looking for some payback, as well.
Our friendly neighborhood super hero seems to have his hands full, but that's not the end of the fun. As Peter, he is also vying for a full-time job on the "Daily Planet" (is that a subplot anyone cares about?!), and the black thing has taken over his body causing him to don a cool black costume and pull off the bad bug routine. This creature also causes him to turn into a 1970s a-hole who abuses Mary Jane and gets his newspaper rival, Eddie Brock (a blonded Topher Grace, "In Good Company," "That 70s Show") fired.
If those aren't enough plot confusions, Brock is soon infected by the squid and becomes  at last  Venom, a villain with roughly to same powers as the Spider dude himself. Unfortunately, we don't get to meet this intriguing character until about 15 minutes remaining in the movie.
Valuable plot time is consumed dealing with the duality of Peter Parker, his love life problems and the big sand monster (which, by the way, is one of the most uninteresting bad guys since Catwoman in "Batman Returns").
One would assume that with three major villains, plus a battle with himself, "Spiderman 3" would be three times as interesting as its predecessors. Well, one would make an "ass" of himself assuming such things, though. With all of the loose ends flying about and the movie clocking in at just under two-and-a-half hours, this installment might rate high on the "oooh" and "ahhh" scale, but "interesting" wouldn't be my choice description.
Still, look for part trey to make a mint at the box office, only because we want to love these kinds of films. Plus, as the first major summer blockbuster, we are hoping against hope for that this one ushers in many more enjoyable pictures to come over the next three months - just like last year. Oops, forget I wrote that.