Spider-Man 3
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring:
Tobey Maguire - Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Kirsten Dunst - Mary Jane Watson
James Franco - Harry Osborn / New Goblin
Thomas Haden Church - Flint Marko / Sandman
Topher Grace - Eddie Brock / Venom
Bryce Dallas Howard - Gwen Stacy
Rosemary Harris - Aunt May
J.K. Simmons - J. Jonah Jameson
"I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams."
Aunt May uttered these lines in Spider-Man 2. Unfortunately, there's not a hero in Spider-Man 3 because it refuses to give up anything and as a result, suffers from being way too bloated and throwing up it's third act.
But things start out good, especially for our hero, Peter Parker. Spider-Man has finally achieved popularity for being the friendliest guy in the neighborhood and he's finally with his dream girl, Mary Jane and there's not a secret between them. Unfortunately, multiple elements start to creep into Peter's life: a man named Flint Marko has escaped from prison and due to an accidental run-in with a particle-machine of some kind, takes on the properties of sand and becomes "Sandman"; there's a black goo from space that has decided to spend time hanging with Pete before merging itself (along with its hightened strength and aggression) to the Spidey costume; Harry Osborne has become the new Green Goblin and now has the tools necessary to avenge his father's death; and finally, there's a new hotshot photographer named Eddie Brock who's competing with Parker for a permanent photographer position at the Daily Bugle. Oh, and Mary Jane's career isn't going so well and that hurts the romantic relationship, which is more front-and-center here than in the previous two films.
Put all of that in two and a half hours. It's just not feasable. The only story to get enough screen time is the black suit drama and how it ties into the tension between Peter and Mary Jane. Sandman isn't a bad guy and he's only trying to steal money so he can pay for a cure for his daughter. But it also turns out that was was responsible for Ben Parker's death. And that's all we really get. There's a couple good battles but there's nowhere near the development and detail we saw with the first Green Goblin and Doc Ock.
The Eddie Brock storyline could be utterly amazing but because his downfall doesn't really come until the last hour of the film, again, there's no real development or insight. Topher Grace gets more time to shine than Thomas Haden Church, but I felt like both were pretty much wasted and are simply both included so the final battle can involve both of them in the biggest Spidey showdown yet. But it's not the best. In fact, there's nothing in this film that even comes close to the subway sequence in Spider-Man 2.
Thankfully, Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi keep this film from being a complete disaster. Maguire has absolutely nailed this character and should he not come back for the inevitable fourth film, he'll be to Peter Parker/Spider-Man what Sean Connery is to James Bond and Christopher Reeve was to Clark Kent/Superman: irreplacable. He understands the character so well and is such a fine actor that when they have the black suit take over the Peter Parker personality, the emo-look he dons is painfully unnecessary and ends up detracting from Maguire's skill of easily transitioning from comically cocky to cold-hearted bastard.
And then there's Raimi who also understands not only this character and this universe, but who he is as a director. He knows when to go campy, when to go brutal, when to go comic, and how to shoot action. It's just a shame that he's failed by the script this time around because while he may not be as essential to the Spider-Man franchise as Maguire, he's certainly left some incredibly big shoes to fill. Word of advice to the producers: if you're going to replace Raimi, replace him with a real director; i.e., don't do what they did on X-Men: The Last Stand and replace Singer with an unimpressive workman director like Brett Ratner.
It's a shame that this film felt the need to service Spidey fans and throw in the black costume. While it highlights the theme of revenge that is so prevalent in the film, there's just no room for its big story among the more original plots of Sandman and New Goblin. Spider-Man 3 isn't a bad film, just one that forces quantity over quality.
Words by
Matt Goldberg
5.4.07
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