The Web is Very Tangled

Rating: 5/10 (5 July 2016)

Spiderman 3's webbing caught me. Fortunately, I got out of it. This third installment by Sam Raimi and Tobey MacGuire shows a lot of misfiring of the web as well as the execution of a disjointed screenplay. Spiderman/Peter Parker is riding high on his success. He is planning on proposing to Mary Jane Watson. However, following a disappointing opening night and being replaced, she is down in the dumps and Peter has no clue how to help her. At the same time, an alien symbiote has fallen to earth in a small meteorite. Also, Flint Marko escapes from prison. A person who was complicit with the death of Ben Parker, he falls into the midst of a scientific experiment that turns him into the Sandman. Harry Osborne, the Green Goblin II, is still planning his revenge against Peter Parker/Spiderman. They fight, and Harry gets amnesia, forgetting his feud with Peter/Spidey. He starts dating Mary Jane. Also, a new photographer, Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), gets on at the Daily Bugle and starts annoying Peter Parker. Furthermore, Gwen Stacy is a new friend of Peter, and Brock likes her. Eventually, the symbiote gets on Peter, taps his dark side, but then ditches the new suit that merges with Brock and becomes Venom. If you can't follow that story, then you get the problem. The movie tries to do way too much with a huge, disjointed story, and too many characters. Ironically, all the performers give great, credible performances with the loose screenplay. Raimi even does a good job at directing the actors and characters, but has trouble with the labyrinth screenplay. He does well with the juxtaposition of Venom and Sandman as one is redeemed, but the other isn't. He handles ideas of forgiveness as well. Where Raimi and MacGuire fail is when Peter Parker gives into the dark side with the symbiote suit. It becomes ridiculously silly. Then, as the Symbiote attaches itself to Eddie Brock to become Venom, it is clear that Topher Grace was terribly miscast as an evildoer. The worst part is the campy ending that somewhat rivals the Batman and Robin fiasco. No, this is not a complete disaster, but it cannot be rated as a masterpiece, either.