A Web of Deceit

Rating: 6/10 (5 May 2007)

In a movie series, one comes to expect the sequels to be a cleaner, slicker, more refined, and generally better versions of the original. Several series have done this, for example the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Others have not, such as the Batman series of the 1990s, which was only brilliantly saved by Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins.
Unfortunately, Spiderman 3 follows the formula of the latter series, completely veering off-course into a direction no one, possibly not even director Sam Raimi, could have seen. Riding high on the success of the first two films, I had very high expectations for this film, but was thoroughly let down.
For all its flaws, Spiderman 3 begins with flying colors. In the first act, we rejoin Peter Parker, once again played by Tobey Maguire, with a level-headed sense of well being and general happiness. His performance in college has improved, as has his relationship with Mary Jane Watson, played by Kirsten Dunst. However, his bond with his best friend, Harry Osbourne, as portrayed by James Franco, has become strained in light of the events of the previous film, spurring on Harry's transformation into the "New Goblin". Still, Spidey finds time to be honored in a parade for saving New York's inhabitants from certain destruction on a daily basis, such as falling cranes that try and obliterate a now blonde Bryce Dallas Howard, who plays Gwen Stacey, Parker's classmate and could-be girlfriend.
With this much to work with, Spiderman 3 seemed to be headed in the proper direction, and even found time to introduce the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), a do-good evil-doer whose crimes are motivated by his crippled daughter, and the Symbiote alien, which latches on to Peter, giving him a new dark suit and an even darker personality that is bubbling at the surface. Peter also finds personal enemies with the annoying and oh-so-arrogant Eddie Brock, played by Topher Grace, better known as Foreman from "That 70s Show". Even with a double dose of villains making the plot somewhat cramped, Spiderman 3 still seemed to have it right. The first hour had me eager to see what would happen next as each plot line developed.
But then something strange happens. Spiderman 3 takes a break from it's normal direction and ventures into an exposition of Raimi's comedy, giving Peter Parker new motivation with the effects of the Symbiote, and turning him into a parody of John Travolta circa Saturday Night Fever. Peter wears his hair in a pseudo-emo-locke fashion (which really more resembles Hitler's styling) and seems as though he's been using his Aunt May's eyeliner. He dances awkwardly as he walks down the street, pointing at young, attractive hard bodies in an obscene manner, and embarrasses Mary Jane at her new job by demonstrating his new skills with Gwen Stacey. This discomfited bridge section teeters on tongue-in-cheek humor, but makes the viewer laugh at its complete stupidity and utter misuse of time. For almost 45 minutes, the movie plays on peculiar humor, rather than the one-liners we've seen in the first two movies, which were also few and far between. The viewer is left reeling and puzzled from this turn, even when intermittent with CGI-filled action sequences, which fluctuate between excellence at many points, and sheer Hollywood garbage at several.
The film does not pick up again until after this phase, when Peter decides to remove the Symbiote, coincidentally transforming Brock into Venom, who was given not nearly enough screen time. The film ends on a down note, with both Venom and the New Goblin being vanquished, and we last see Peter gently rocking with Mary Jane to smooth Jazz. By this point, I could not comprehend how the quality of the story had waned so severely, and I was thoroughly disappointed.
Personally, I grew up on the Spiderman cartoons of the 1990s, and was hoping that this film would keep faithful to not only those cartoons, but Raimi's vision and (of course), the comics. We didn't need to see Peter being a self-absorbed pervert from the Symbiote's effects, but should have seen him gradually break down his relationships with those around him in a real way, through truly evil abuse and anger. As far as villains go, we could have done without the Sandman (though I did enjoy his portions of the films), and I felt this movie should have focused expressly on Venom, who was given a meager 25 minutes of screen time, rather than the 2 hours he deserved, and Harry Osbourne. In the previous films, we saw individual focuses on the Green Goblin and Doc Ock, in the first and second films respectively; why didn't Raimi do this for Venom, a fan favorite who is well known as Spiderman's archnemesis. Topher Grace could have possibly been the worst choice for Eddie Brock, who was meant to be an over muscular prick who antagonizes on and bullies Peter. Also, the plot involving the New Goblin felt half-developed and half-assed, as we see him put out of commission due to amnesia within the first half-hour.
Generally, I was extremely disappointed with this movie, which lacked the heart, charisma, and personal stories of its glorious predecessors. Director Raimi is at his worst, as he ventures into expository stupidity with this film, and deviates from the style we fell in love with in the original two films. I would not recommend this film to anyone who enjoyed the first two and expects to encounter a similar formula. The story lines start off strong then run thin, and eventually, stupid. We aren't given what we expected, and though at many times this is a good thing, this movie pales in comparison to the other 2; this is an extremely vapid and dissatisfying way to begin the summer's influx of blockbusters.