I went to see Spiderman 3 with a friend last night and thought I would share my impressions. All in all I can't say I was totally satisfied but it worked well as a mindless popcorn flick. (**Warning: there may be some spoilers here but I'll try not to give too much away**)
I'd read some reviews before seeing the film and find myself a little puzzled. Most of my complaints with the film weren't addressed, and the complaints I read seem insignificant in retrospect. For example, a lot of reviewers had a problem with the Venom symbiote crash-landing on earth in such close proximity to Peter Parker. I suspect none of those reviewers read any comic books when they were younger, because that kind of stuff happens all the time. Improbable? Yes. But so is getting super-powers from an irradiated spider. Comic book plots are largely based on the probability of the impossible and require a total suspension of disbelief.
I had a bigger problem with the relationship between Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, who spend the entire movie treating each other so horribly that by the end I really didn't care if they got back together. In fact, I think it would have been better if they hadn't as they are clearly lacking any mutual respect or trust for each other. Mary Jane spends the first half of the movie whining because she doesn't have any acting/singing talent. Peter tries to be sympathetic and she throws it back in his face. Later, Mary Jane tries to reach out and comfort Peter when he discovers a previously unknown and disturbing detail regarding the death of his uncle. Peter blows off Mary Jane, and in a later scene punches her in the face (accidentally, but as the grand finale of a "Peter behaves like an asshole" scene). Gwen Stacey, although central to much of this, seems less a character and more a plot contrivance.
There are a lot of subplots, and in the end they do manage to tie everything together. Unfortunately it all seems rushed. I would have rather they had skipped the whole relationship subplot and focused instead on fleshing out some of the other material. Additionally, the two musical numbers could have been cut.
There were some undeniably bizarre attempts at humor which seemed extremely out of place until I considered Sam Raimi's film history. Raimi directed The Evil Dead and Army of Darkness and his sense of humor is apparent. The "Peter Parker, emo sex symbol" scenes were pretty cringe-worthy, but I loved the bit with Bruce Campbell as the pseudo-French maitre d'. I also laughed when Peter refered to Harry as "goblin junior", although I probably wasn't supposed to - it was just relief that he finally showed a little much-needed backbone in that particular relationship.
The special effects were absolutely amazing although sometimes a little too busy. At times during the opening fight scene between Spiderman and Harry Osborne it was difficult to follow the action. The effects for the Sandman, on the other hand, were simply incredible. Venom looked a little too computer generated. Topher Grace wasn't the best choice for the role, as he's basically just Tobey Maguire lite, and I kept waiting for someone to pop up and tell him he was being a dumbass.
The movie ends well, with all the myriad details of the plot finally resolved. It nicely caps the movie's theme of acceptance and forgiveness, although it is somewhat dark.
I've been a fan of Spiderman since I was a little kid, and for me this movie was a must-see. I recommend it - it's not bad but I think it could have been better.
4 comments:
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I agree with you on most of this. Things like "plot convenience" and length which were critics complaints, really had no effect on me. The limited stint of Gwen Stacy bothered me a little. For a character who was such a part of how Spiderman grew into his own, really had her name tarnished. I think when they combined her character with Mary Jane's in the first movie, they should have let it go. The Peter Parker acting like a badass part didn't bother me as much as it bothered many people. I've always had a childhood desire to be like Parker, and to think there isn't an ex out there I would have loved to spite in such a dramatic fashion would be silly. We all have bad intentions sometimes. I do very much agree the end was rushed, especially with the Sandman and Spidey. I'd rather see two more intense movies than one epic. Of course, I can't get enough, so I guess I'm more of an addict than an objective fan. Definitely gets my recommendation however it'll never live up to the first one.
I was thinking the same thing - they probably could have made two movies. I'm also willing to give the series a whole lot of leeway simply because for the most part they really did the character justice with this trilogy. In this case, I am totally willing to admit I'm an obsessed fan-boy.
I guess it's not so much the nature of the relationship that bothered me so much as the fact that it occured at the expense of things I would have rather seen. I also think that some of Raimi's choices caught me so completely off guard that I might check it out again with a different perspective.
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