Spider-Man 3

Sam Raimi and Co. essentially mastered the art of the modern blockbuster with the trendsetting Spider-Man 2 back in 2004. Now the whole crew is back to settle for less in this inferior, but still solid sequel. At its start, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) has resolved his anxiety over his Spider-Man alter ego and has grown fond of basking in Spidey’s fame and glory. Meanwhile, girlfriend and now secret identity confidant, Mary Jane Watson, (Kirsten Dunst) is living her dream with a new role in a Broadway musical. All is well until Parker develops a bit of egomania, Mary Jane begins to get jealous of the barely utilized Gwen Stacey, (Bryce Dallas Howard), two separate supervillains emerge with a craving to kill Spider-Man, and, of course, the all important symbiote from outer space falls from the sky to accentuate Peter’s burgeoning arrogance and foster his newfound taste for vengeance against his uncle’s killer, Flint Marko, (Thomas Haden Church) who was recently atomized (or some such vaguely scientific verb phrase) with particles of sand to become one of the two supervillains mentioned above: Sandman. The other is former friend Harry Osborn (James Franco) who is now picking up where his evil Green Goblin father left off with a surprisingly soapy twist

The film is not by any means a complete dud. The bulk of it is generally entertaining, admirably ambitious in scope, and satisfyingly passionate about the characters it helped solidify in film two. There is certainly more care taken here than in the making of the average action fantasy spectacle, and there’s even some concern about thematic continuity (“vengeance = bad” is a biggie for sure). Even still, there is simply something all around rickety and tired about this thrill ride. The action sequences (which are admittedly never my favorite) are doubly frenetic this time around – so much so that you can hardly keep track of who’s pummeling who and how badly. Blurs zoom through the frame as characters hop from building to building or bounce around subway cars. There’s very little potency to any of these sequences as they mostly just whiz by before you can grasp what’s happening exactly. It just becomes about routine building crushing and getting Spider-Man to rescue as many rapidly descending women falling to their deaths as humanly possible. Even more frustrating, though, is the conversely lethargic pace of the dramatic material. Both Maguire and Dunst seem to be on autopilot and the reasoning for the supposed emotional distance felt by their characters feels obnoxiously petty for such an epic story. You can’t really connect with characters that appear to have contrived, or inexplicable motivations. It’s really the overarching problem with this film. Where the last installment felt like a naturally unfurling fantasy tale, this one feels like a bent and stretched approximation of one. Even the comedy moments come at a painfully stupid cost (e.g. apparently the Venom symbiote turns Peter Parker into some kind of dorky misogynistic cartoon similar to Johnny Bravo, finger guns and all).

That probably seems like a lot of negativity, but how can you not be severe with anything regarding itself as the “film even of the summer.” More importantly, it’s hard not to feel dismay at the disparity between the quality of films 2 and 3 in this presumed to be unfinished franchise. There are definitely some real bright spots here that should be mentioned as well. My favorite performances were actually by primarily periphery characters, particularly Rosemary Harris who has been delivering soulful speeches about the importance of heroes for 3 films running and never missed a beat. I also really enjoyed the underrated Topher Grace playing the slick, conniving Eddie Brock even though he seems to have gotten shafted in the long run when you measure his actual screen time versus other villains and narrative key points. There’s undoubtedly an overstuffed feeling for the film, but at least it’s safe to say you’ll never be bored. In truth, the many interweaving developments all bounce off one another nicely, and culminate in a way that gives each its due justice. However, there’s still a feeling that each one perhaps had a little more potential than was ever developed upon here.

I doubt that anyone will truly love this film, but I don’t think it will completely put people off either. It’s an interesting attempt to go “darker,” but somehow in the midst of all the “dark” there’s something that just rings false. There are moments here too stupid to tolerate even in the realm of fantasy where all bets are off. It’s a matter of give and take. There are lots of interesting characters, engaging developments, cool moments, and all of that good stuff. There are also a number of “What the hell?” montages and some really abhorrent storytelling. It’s a mixed bag, but it’s still a pretty fun ride nonetheless.

Grade: B-