The first release of the summer blockbusters, the much anticipated (and much hyped) Spider-Man 3 fell a little shy of my expectations. This episode of the Spider-Man trilogy is releasing in iMax as well as in 35mm. I can imagine that seeing a Spider-Man film on an iMax screen would be amazing, but it has to have the action sequences to justify needing an iMax screen. If you’re just watching a romantic comedy, then spending the extra few bucks isn’t really worth it. I did not get to see Spidey on an iMax, and thought it was definitely exciting to see it on the big screen; I still felt that the romance and relationships far overshadowed the Spidey action sequences.
The darkest of the three Spider-Man flicks, the third deals much more with wrapping up the details of the Peter/MJ, Peter/Harry and Peter/Uncle Ben/Flint Marko relationships than sending the audience into topsy-turvy Spidey-esque fight sequences. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great sequences. My favorite was the early but brief mini battle between Peter and The New Goblin/Harry, during which both characters struggle to stay a-flight while speeding through the alleys of New York City.
After this point, the movie dove into the drama genre, breaking here and there with a bit of action. Now don’t get me wrong, the story was smooth and interesting. There was just far more character development than there was action. Character development is all fine and good in an action flick, it makes the story more interesting, but this episode of Spider-Man lost a bit of the balance that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The plot, in fact, was great. I really enjoyed the story; it was just expecting more on the front of grand battle sequences.
One part of the film that brought a different, surprising, and quite laughable aspect as a release from the romance and drama, were the antics resulting from the effects of the alien-ized suit. When Peter starts wearing the black suit about halfway through the film, he begins to do some things that Tobey McGuire might not be quite cut out to do. Although the frolics caused by the black suit are quite hilarious, they do begin to get a little ridiculous. I mean, I love short white men doing pelvic thrusts in the middle of the street as much as the next girl – but Tobey McGuire, I much prefer his brooding boyishness to cringe-worthy dancing.
In addition to that, I wasn’t sure at first if I was going to buy into this “alien from another planet takes over Spidey’s suit situation. It seemed a little off - as if it didn’t fit in with the other two chapters of the Spidey Saga. When I think back on the other two films, everything that happened to create villains, and Spider-Man, was somewhat otherworldly. Granted, they were mostly chemically related phenomena, and therefore “easily” explained by physics, not from other planets. This was the reason that I first found it hard to believe that the suite was taken over by an alien life form. I do not pretend to be a Spider-Man comic aficionado, but I didn’t see how aliens from another planet fit in with the comic origins of the story. However, this was how Venom was created - so it must be in there somewhere.
On that subject, Topher Grace was fabulous as Venom/Eddie Brock. As a new character coming into an old cast, he fit right in. His re-creation of the evil Venom was positively creepy. I have to give some props there to the special effects artists as well, for making him visually grating as well, like fingers on a chalkboard incarnate.
One more thing, I did feel a little patronized at the beginning of the flick, when the director decided to rehash the previous two films in visual during an overlong opening credits sequence. It became a bit cheesy and cheapened it a bit, as if the director didn’t think we could remember what had happened in the story up to this point.
When it comes down to it, Spider-Man 3 is a well-done, enjoyable movie. It is not a typical action film, and it's not what people will expect from the trilogy. Except for the fact that everything was nicely wrapped-up in the end, I felt like it was The Empire Strikes Back of the Spider-Man films: dark and evil infested. I certainly recommend the film to everyone, but just be forewarned, it’s not what the hype would have you expect!
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