Spidey's Been Busy

By: rudewordsmith
Date: Monday, May 07, 2007

I walked into the theatre with no expectations, other than to get my seven dollars worth. I had heard many mixed things, the negative comments from people I tend to trust and agree with. But I love Spider Man, and had not been dissapointed yet (despite Green Goblin's look in 1. I mean, come on; Willem Defoe has a face that resembles a goblin. Why cover it with a plastic mask?), so I figured I'd love this one as well.

At least I got my seven dollars worth.



Listen: Spider Man 3 isn't a horrible film. At times it is one of the most fun movies I've seen in quite some time. But the bottom line is that there is far too much going on. A similar problem that ruined X-3.

Not that Spidey 3 is any where near that bad, but it suffers from a condition where it tries to utilize too many stories for one film. X-3 and Spidey 3 would have fared better, in my opinion, had they each stuck with one plot. For example: Had X-3 gone with either the cure plot or the Pheonix plot--not both--something good may have been in the making. But neither got the time they deserved.

Same for Spidey 3. I wish Raimi and crew had chosen to go with one plot, either Sandman or Symbiote, and saved the other for a seperate film. At one point, I had forgotten that Sandman was even in the film. As for his sick daughter arc? It became as unimportant as Gwen Stacey's role.

Both went no where.

I won't go so far as to become an uber-nit-picker. Some people set out to love or hate this film due to the inclusion of Venom. Me, I was a huge fan of him when I was younger. When that changed, I have no idea, but I do not much like him these days. Still, that didn't keep me from getting very excited by his inclusion in the film. And if you've seen the recent tv ads, you'd think that Venom played a huge part in the flick. Hell, given how little time we see Sandman, you'd be wise to assume that much. But, no, Venom plays a very weak part in the story.

Listen: Within three minutes of his birth, Venom gets in a fight with Sandman, joins Sandman, kidnaps Mary Jane, and then makes his home on a construction site. Not long after, the movie ends. I'll keep it all spoiler free, but know that I'm not exagerating. His inclusion truthfully screams "Okay, put him in to shut up the Venom fans".

Little did they know, that tactic created an opposing reaction from the Venomites.

I would have been more excited to see Venom had they scrapped comic-to-film continuity and played on a very important story arc that has been with the films since numero uno: Turn Harry into Venom. I know! That's not how it happened, but think about it: Harry thinks Spidey killed his dad, Spidey rejects the symbiote. Had Harry been the host for the symbiote, the film's narrative would have been much cleaner. The hatred that Venom would have seathed...it would have been brilliant. In my opinion. I can promise that it would have had more dramatic appeal, and would have created a much more satisfying conclusion to the Pete/Harry Arc than what we were given. Harry would be forced to decide wether it would be in his best interests to embrace the power and crush Peter, or to forgive him and fight back against the symbiote as it tried to use his misguided hate for its own agenda. Hell, that would have even fit nicely with the theme of the film, which is forgiveness.

Instead, we have Eddie Brock forced upon us in an already busy film. Hell, even Captain Stacey had no idea who Brock was, despite the fact that he's "dating" his daughter. He just shows up, lets him know, and soon the rushed, forced rivalry between Brock and Parker. It is, when all is said and done, a very hurried rivalry that leads to an even more hurried end.

But I have to say this. Wether Raimi did this on purpose or not, I cannot say. In casting Bryce Dallas Howard and Topher Grace opposite to Dunst and Toby, he has shown us how much better the films would have been with a few recastings. Topher works the loser/smart ass duality that IS Peter Parker, and Dalls Howard evokes the beauty and, well, fiesty hotness that IS Mary Jane. The problem is, they aren't playing either part. And they should have.

If Spider Man were to take time off, say, a few years...Grace and Howard would be perfect replacements for Tobey and Kirstin. Sadly, their inclusion in this film will make that improbable and, who am I kidding, impossible.

As for Hayden-Church as Sandman: He did a great job, but was desperatly under-used. I would have suffered through a Sandman driven "sick daughter" plot with him behind the part...were it the only plot being balanced opposite Pete and MJ's personal life taking a few hits. But trust me when I say this: Sandman's own plot, his own mission, goes nowhere even at the end of the film. Did his duaghter die, but we eren't privy to that information so he just gave up with trying to save her? No one knows. He just...leaves.

But, despite its foibles, Spider Man3 was an entertaining (albeit exhausting) ride. Every fan of Spider Man will enjoy it, or should any way, even though it won't be their favorite entry in the series.



And, as an aside, the "Peter Parker Dancing" scenes were not as bad as they were rumored. Perhaps not the wisest way to show the "new" Peter, but entertaining none-the-less. They certainly weren't the poison in this apple, when compared to the cramped plot.


Click here to read the staff review by Mania.