Spiderman 3 Review

What do you get when directors try to mix emotions, romance and action and pack it hard in a 2.5 hour movie, well my friends and I got Spiderman 3 today..... I am definitely not in upper echelons to attend the premiere, but my friend stayed up long enough to book a ticket for the 2nd day. How were the expectations? Spiderman-1 and two were good movies but definitely in my opinion, not the best of the best. So my own personal expectations weren't sky high and this really helps to write an unbiased review of any movie. I expected a good movie and the movie was very good.

"Next Summer... The greatest battle lies within.." is the tagline of the movie. Quoting Wikipedia:

Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 superhero film that is the third film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. Sam Raimi, who directed the previous two Spider-Man films, returns to direct the third installment with a returning cast that includes Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Rosemary Harris and J. K. Simmons. The film also stars franchise newcomers Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard and Thomas Haden Church. Spider-Man 3 was commercially released in multiple countries on May 1, 2007, and released in the United States in both conventional and IMAX theaters on May 4, 2007.

Spiderman-3 is a good combo of action and feelings, as the tagline goes, the action is not just on the outer surface. The direction is excellent, the scenes have been well shot and the actors have done justice to their jobs. The director has clearly brought out the story without complicating things too much and the movie is a good experience for people of all ages.

If you thought Spidey-3 was all about SpiderVenom, you've got to think again. There are a lot of other battles raging on. The movie starts with Peter Parker, Mary Jane and Spiderman. Spiderman is a NYC hero and the whole city adores him, kids wear Spidey T-Shirts all over and blah, blah.. Ofcourse Pete also manages to find time for MJ and class. MJ has just got her first big break and Peter watches her from the first row and focuses more on her than the song while critics tear her into pieces and MJ loses her role. Sadly Pete too full of himself is not really able to understand MJ's problems that well and his idea of proposing goes down the drain after he pisses MJ off and their relationship starts going downhill.

Enter Harry Osbourne. After an initial fight - GreenGoblin vs Spidey, Harry loses his short-term memory and forgets that Peter is Spidey and that he is responsible for his dad's death (which isn't true actually, watch Part I and II). So, Pete, Harry & MJ become the the best of friends and while Pete is too busy saving the city and building his ego, a slightly romantic angle pops up between Harry and Mary Jane which pops out immediately but brings back old memories to Harry and there is a lot of focus on relationships.

But while all this goes on, the focus shifts in 2 other ways. First, we are introduced the 3 villains - GG, The Sandman and an evil alien symbiote. Unknown to Peter, an alien creature climbs up on his bike and enters his room. Due to Harry's threats, MJ breaks up her relationship with Peter (though it isn't that clear whether she really wanted to do this). Peter, angry and frustrated, doesn't realize the symbiote slowing coming over him and when he does, he thinks it's too amazing. The power, the energy and all... By the time, the doc warns him about the alien, it's too late - The symbiote feeding on the host slowly begins manipulating him. It amplifies the host's feelings especially aggressiveness and Peter does not realize it until too late - he hits MJ.

In the picture comes Eddy Brock, a wannabe photographer at the Bugle and Peter Parker's photographing rival, who is humiliated by Pete. When Pete realizes that the alien has almost taken control over him, he somehow manages (note: the symbiote has a weakness!!!!) to dismantle it from him. The symbiote soon goes over to Eddy and the Venom is born, with only one motive, to take revenge on Spiderman. While all this happens, subtly comes in the story of the Sandman, Marko Flint. Marko is an escaped convict and the one who actually kills Uncle Ben. However he is just a good guy with bad luck, he wants to save his dying daughter and we see some gaps being sealed at the end.

And then comes the final frontier, the great battle, the ultimate sacrifice and the triumph (hmm....) of good over evil.

The direction is simply fantastic. The scenes have been well shot and an over-dose of romance has been avoided. The special effects are top class. The movie is crisp and fast-paced cause I never even looked at my watch until the end. (This is my sign of the pace of the movie). Tobey does a very good job as the balance, Kirsten Dunst over acts as usual, she could have done a much better job. Surprisingly the show stopper is James Franco as Harry Osbourne. Though the role itself has limited potential, he has done a fantastic job. GG's gadgets look very slick, wouldn't mind them. The guy acting as Marko Flint (he looks like Ireland's cricket captain Trent Johnston) does a decent job though his face is unable to portray much emotions. Bruce Campbell as the maitre d' was hilarious.

There are a couple of inconsistencies in the movie. I've always thought Uncle Ben's house was robbed before he was killed though this movie changes that perspective. Remember the "You probably have more money than us" dialogue? Also, when the butler tells Harry that Spidey couldn't have killed Osbourne Sr, one wonders why he didn't say this before, 2 movies ago. The romantic angle between MJ and HO hasn't been properly explained. There are too many story lines going on simultaneously but it does not get complicated and the movie has been neatly wrapped up with the loose ends sealed. The comedy is very subtle but definitely an add-on for the plus. Somewhere in the middle, it starts getting a bit boring but before you can even think of that, the climax is rushed down your throat.

However the biggest letdown was the climax. I'm not spoiling much here but after building up such a great movie, the climax was a damp squid, all twelve of us were terribly disappointed. It was way too flat for a Spiderman movie. There was laughter where there was supposed to be tears (from our side, ie). The initial critics have been way too harsh but the movie isn't that bad really. "With great popularity comes great expectations".

Overall, it's a good movie and a must-watch for Spidey-fans and non-fans alike. Definitely you shouldn't miss it. While the movie does not stray apart from the path laid by Marvel Comics, comic readers will appreciate the books more as the movie does not provide the taste provided by the amazing comics. If it weren't for the climax...*sigh*

Ofcourse the door is wide open for Spidey-4, so don't close your mind yet...... I wouldn't mind a Spidergirl either.

:::"Rating: 3.5/5":::

P.S: I also managed to see the trailer of Pirates Of the Caribbean: 3 - At World's End. It was classy.

IMDB Entry