(2007, 139 min) Your Spidey senses won’t be exactly kicking in high gear, but they’ll definitely be tingling thanks to the flavorful action and still-potent story line on display in the third Spider-Man film that fails to reach the glorious heights of Spider-Man 2... but then, did we really expect it to?
Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and the rest of the gang all return for more superhero action, as Spider-Man, who’s been a busy boy, is enjoying the fruits of his crime-fighting labor – a relatively safe New York. His alter ego, Peter Parker, is, well, still Peter Parker, nerdy college kid now in a relationship with the girl of his dreams, Mary Jane Watson, who is set to star in a new musical on Broadway. Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) continues to dispense homespun advice, and they all miss Uncle Ben. Their old friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco), still blames Spider-Man for his father’s death and is planning his revenge, though Peter is trying his best to mend their friendship.
This is the rather familiar set-up that thankfully gets sucker-punched when Spider-Man’s newest nemesis, Sandman, arrives in town. An escaped convict played with relish by Thomas Hayden Church, Flint Marko is actually the one responsible for Uncle Ben’s death. On the run, he becomes exposed to radiation and gains the power to change into a body of sand. He heads to New York to reconcile a family matter and thus begins the battle between him and Spider-Man.
Peter Parker, meanwhile, is having his own problems. Mary Jane has been fired from her acting job and is difficult to deal with, and he’s now in competition for the new job opening at the Daily Bugle with an upstart named Eddie Brock (Topher Grace). Eddie’s a suitably sleazy adversary for Peter, and when he is bitten by an alien being, Eddie turns into Venom, yet another villain for Spider-Man to battle.
Though Grace is actually quite good as both Eddie and Venom, it may be too much of a good thing as there’s quite a lot of story here, maybe a little too much to fit into the film’s 139-minute running time. This part seems a little forced, and Sandman’s story line seems a little short-changed. This all would have worked just fine with one villain. Nevertheless, what’s on the screen is enjoyable and the fight scenes are one good battle after another.
The technical aspects of the film, as would be expected, are first-rate, with great special effects, cinematography and editing. Spider-Man flying between the buildings of New York City is still a cause to celebrate – you can’t but marvel at how good it looks. It doesn’t appear that anyone involved is resting on their laurels.
That includes the cast. Maguire may overplay the dork side with Peter, but he is still having fun, especially when he gets to dabble on Spider-Man and Peter’s dark sides. One of the film’s best scenes has Peter’s ego taking over and performing at a night club as if Jim Carrey’s mask had taken control of him. It’s unexpected, maybe a little out of place but thoroughly delectable.
The excitement of the first two film’s spontaneity may be a little diminished, but there’s enough adventure and humor and story in Spider-Man 3 to compensate for the film’s few flaws. It’s still fun to watch Spidey in action, and see some loose ends tied up. As long as you’re not expecting the accomplishment that was Spider-Man 2, this is quite a good time.
© TLA Entertainment Group
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