disjointed and slow

Rating: 5/10 (3 August 2008)

Sam Raimi reinvented the superhero movie with his brilliant Spiderman film and its equally impressive sequel. Can he repeat the magic a third time? Sad to say, Spiderman 3 is a somewhat confused end to the trilogy. Too heavily reliant on CGI, it feels disjointed, moving from action set piece to discussions about the nature of the superhero to Peter's arguments with his girlfriend with little to apparently link them. The inevitable bad guys appear and disappear again for no particular reason, and the result is a bit of a mess.
The lot of the modern superhero is not an easy one. Not only does he have to save the world three times a day, but he has to battle with his psychological motivations, girlfriend trouble and his own personal demons. This time round Spiderman has three villains to contend with, some alien goo which brings out his dark side, and on top of this his relationship's in trouble. Tobey Maguire's geekiness has always grated but he is so pathetic as Peter you just want to shake him. And the sequence where 'bad boy' Peter enjoys his new self- yes, I know it's supposed to be a joke, but I'm afraid it's just risible. Kirsten Dunst does a good job as MJ but she doesn't have the greatest presence, and none of the villains are powerful enough to fill the screen.
That is not to say there aren't good ideas. Raimi's films always look fantastic, and Spidey 3 is no exception. There is at least one interesting idea- how does the superhero keep his ego in check when faced with his adoring fans- but it is quickly forgotten in the rush to the next computer animated set piece. Once again, the girlfriend's main role is as bait for the villain to lure Spider-man to save her- feminism lives! The tame ending left me wishing for the good old days when superheroes turned up, beat up the bad guys and went home without so much as a moment's doubt in their heads.
Still, millions of people love it, and I'm sure this is not the last we've heard of old Spidey. Next time, I hope someone has the guts to give us an old-fashioned superhero flick and leave the psychology at home.