Take Spiderman 3 with a grain of salt. . .or two!

Rating: 8/10 (8 May 2007)

There is a lot going on in Spiderman 3. So many characters, and so many stories going on at once. It's a surprise that they were able to cram everything into the 2 hour and 20 minute running time. This may sound like a long film, which it technically is, but with so much going on it still felt that they should have given the more time to explain itself. For the first time in a Spiderman film we are introduced to multiple villains. First we have Flint Marko aka. The Sandman, who in my opinion is easily the best character in the film, played very well by Thomas Hayden Church. A character that you just might find yourself caring for. He is a flawed villain, not at all evil at heart but is forced to commit these crimes to get money to help his sick daughter. Eventually joining him is Eddie Brock aka Venom, a fan favorite character who is also exposed to the dark Symbiote after Peter, and inherits similar powers to Spiderman(this is due to the Symbiote remembering). Venom is played by That 70's Show star Tropher Grace. He played it well, but it is hard to watch him and not see Eric Forman, considering how similar he played Eddie to his famous television character. However, once he has that Symbiote suet and becomes the Venom, you cannot help but get your geek on and enjoy it! Finally he have the "New Goblin" which is just vengeful Harry Osborn using his fathers technology to recreate the foe we all remember from the original film. New Goblin is basically an angry snowboarder, an angry showboarder with bombs. We do not actually see a lot of this character in the film, and to be honest it is hard to think of him as a villain being Harry. Because really he is just angry and confused kid who thinks his best friend killed his father.
You really do have to take Spiderman 3 with a grain of salt, or two. Again, it has a lot of story, but it also has a lot of humor, which may seem out of place. Its not only Spiderman who becomes this darker self but Peter Parker also becomes another person. Which can only be described as one thing, EMO(Emo is a ambiguous term used to describe a subculture of fashion and music which is sort of a combination between Punk and Goth. An "EMO Kid" is usually angry quite and dark. EMO coming from the word EMOtional.) Its not clear weather this is supposed to be humorous or not, but it really is. When you see Peter with his bangs combed down and his eyes darkened by make-up, you cannot help but laugh. Also being that this is the vision of Sam Raimi, you know it must have been meant for laughs. There is one scene in particular which sees Peter strutting down the sidewalk to some cornball music striking cornball poses to all the ladies, and even stopping at a fashion store and getting some "hip new threads". Its moments like this that can kill a film, and for a lot of people it did. Its out of place campy humor and dancing really kinda picks the film up and carries it to a different place for a few scenes. The concept is good, Peter is a dork, and if the Symbiote is supposed to bring out your dark inner self, then Peter, though now dark, should still be a dork. Which he is. Though perhaps having Peter dancing on a bar was a bit too much. There is some great comedic moments in the film, most of which involves J. Jonah Jameson and his newspaper staff, and another wonderful show stealing cameo from the legendary actor, and Raimi regular Bruce Campbell. Who plays a french Maitre d.
Where Spiderman really thrives, and uses most of its $250million budget is the action, and the way over the top(in a good way I suppose)CGI! The action is top notch, you may have to grit your teeth and suffer through some dramatic scenes, but its all worth which when you get to see one amazing climax! And in between we also have some pretty great moments, including a very memorable sewer battle between the symbiote Spiderman and Sandman! The CGI is almost flawless which is an enormous leap forward from the somewhat animated looking graphics from the original film. Regardless of what you think of the story, or the jokes, or the drama. One thing is for sure, you have to be dead to not at least enjoy the action!
Overall Spiderman 3 is a worth while finale(?), to what has become the most successful comic book franchises ever created. It may not be the strongest in the series, but then again when is a third film ever the strongest? It is very much worth watching, and it's a must watch on the big screen. Love it or hate it Spiderman 3 is destined to be one of the most successful films of the year in this "summer of sequels". You may even have to watch it more then once to fully digest what is given to you. One thing is for sure, its needs some tweaking from what is being shown in its initial theatrical release, and if we all know the film business there will most likely be another version of the film. Perhaps as an initial DVD release, or maybe a second release later on. But as Kevin Smith once said "Theatrical releases are just previews for the DVD release"
Spiderman 3 The Directors Cut will arrive one day. . .