Courtesy of Columbia PicturesSpider-Man 3
Rating: 3.5/5
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace
Release date: May 4, 2007
The new Spider-Man movie is awe-filled. Racing around corners, flying through tight spots and swinging deftly from plot point to plot point, the whole thing is a swept-together, breathless invitation to drop-jaw.
The imaginatively titled “Spider-Man 3” is the third and possibly last in director Sam Raimi’s arachnoid series (he wants to do another, the actors don’t); it centers on the eponymous hero as he battles the demons within and also a lot of those without.
The direction is dizzying, dazzling and dances the eye, just short of rushing it, around the screen. This style permeates the entire film; we watch with equal awe Spider-Man’s death-defying flight above rooftops and Peter Parker’s more mild-mannered escapades.
Opening with a veritable “previously, on Spider-Man,” the film shows plot clips from the first and second films during the credits, then glides into an idyllic first act: Mary Jane, Peter’s red-headed darling (Kirsten Dunst), is living the dream on Broadway; Peter Parker, Spider-Man’s alter-ego (Toby Maguire), is excelling in school and finding sufficient time to suit up as Spider-Man (half Maguire and half computer graphics). This wonderful life can’t last, of course, and the web begins to unravel with the arrival of four new villains, Spider-Man’s own loss of perspective being one. Fame begins to go to his head and with the application of a little inter-stellar black goo and a lot of black eye-liner, Peter Parker becomes a spot-light hogging dance fiend. And no, Toby Maguire cannot dance. Spider-Man’s new, not-so-mild-mannered alter-ego is the result of an amalgam of catalysts: mostly the slithering black goo, but also troubles with Mary Jane, the emergence of his Uncle’s real killer and competition for his newspaper job. The latter two constitute not only Peter’s problems, but also Spider-Man’s new foes, set maniacally on his destruction.
The writers obviously know their fan base and for the most part remain true to the comic books, excluding a few key divergences. The film dizzyingly weaves together the numerous subplots centering around its hero; it supplies all characters with feelings and motives, even the villains, though those feelings (and villains) may be a bit contrived. A lot of characters also seem to be surrounded by pill bottles, though whether this adds motive, perspective or just a heady tolerance for contrivances is up to the individual viewer.
At heart “Spider-Man 3” is a summer blockbuster and it delivers, busting not just blocks but the walls, terraces and buildings of glittering New York City in gravity-defying, breath-catching flights of web-weaving fancy.