Review by Larry Litle
I am a true blue Spider-Man fan. I have been reading Amazing Spider-Man since I was 5 years old. I love the Spidey Character and I love Peter Parker even more. Peter is a poor sap whose life has always been far worse than mine but he has always done what is the right thing, at least eventually.
I was very fearful when the first movie came out. I had seen Hollywood ruin great comic characters over and over again. I was hopeful that it would not suck but I had very low expectation. When I left the theatre after Spidey #1, I was very pleased. Yes, as a fan, I had trouble with some of the details like no "web-shooter" and the blurring of Mary Jane and Gwen Stacey but I loved the movie anyway. They always have to change something but it did not take away from the core of Spider-Man/ Peter Parker.
I did not have the looming fear with the second movie but I rather had high expectations and anticipation. I was well please with the second one but it also had some issues.
Spider-Man 3 brought back the fear and anxiety. I became anxious when it was announced that they were going to have 3 villains because I know how that worked for the tragic Batman and Robin (at least Spidey 3 did not have the cardboard cut out actor- George Clooney). Then I started reading reviews and critics of this film. It was being torn to shreds and made to sound like it would be Daredevil bad. As Spidey 3 is starting, I crossed my fingers and spoke out loud several times "Please don't suck."
So much for brief background information. Below is the real review. It does include spoilers so if you do not want to know, do not read until after you see this film. You have been warned.
What I liked:
I enjoyed Peter Parker. I loved that he is finally comfortable with his Spidey alter-ego. I liked how he started getting a little cocky about Spidey. Then his perfect world came crashing down and he had even more problems. Unlike my fellow reviewer, I even liked the crying. This is true the nature of Pete. I loved how his anger gets the better of him when dealing with information about Uncle Ben. I enjoyed the complexities of his relationship with Mary Jane. I savored the transformation to the dark Pete and then his redemption. Toby has become the complete Peter Parker.
Topher Grace was an amazing Eddie Brock. The story stuck very close to the comic with Eddie and how he becomes disgraced. His hatred for Peter which leads to the bonding with the symbiote was a wonderful tribute to the comics. The church scene of the bell ringing and Peter ripping of the symbiote was picture perfect. I thought the CGI of Venom was wonderful and brought to life this terrifying character.
The story to rap up the Harry Osborn arc was marvelous. The best friends turned arch-enemies story played very well on screen. I truly felt for Harry even when he was the Goblin. The transformation from enemies back to friends for a while then back to enemies and then back again was fabulous and true to the nature of the comics. The redemption of Harry and the Goblin was fulfilled in his death by his own glider (similar to his father’s death) while saving Pete and Mary Jane was the perfect ending even though I wanted him to live.
The Sandman was a complex bad guy with reasons for the crimes he was committing. This is true to his comic character. Sandman has been a villain by circumstance. For a while in the comics, he even turned to be a good guy. I like how they used his sick daughter to show the humanity of this villain. There were things about the Sandman that I did not like but I enjoyed his character over all.
Many people disliked Aunt May's role in this film. I felt that it demonstrated well the relationship between May and Pete. She is still a huge part of his conscience. Her reaction to Peter's news that the Sandman, who killed her beloved husband, was killed by Spiderman was perfect. She has always been the forced that helped Peter stay grounded in life. I thought it was brilliant to have her show up at his apartment because she is worried about him.
If you are going to introduce Gwen Stacey (see below) then it is wonderful to introduce Captain Stacey. Captain Stacey is one of my favorite old peripheral characters. I continued waited for them to kill him off by a piece of falling wall but I realized that they just introduced him. In the comics, Captain Stacey sacrifices himself to save a child from a piece of falling wall that Doc Ock knocks down while fighting Spider-Man.
The action sequences were sweet. I prized the action sequences with Spidey and the Sandman. The ending battle sequence with Sandman and Venom fighting Spidey and the (Good) Goblin was sensational. True to the comics, the Spidey sense can not detect Venom and that was shown nicely in this film. Venom killing the (good) Goblin with his own glider was a nice touch. I enjoyed the trapping of Venom and using sound against him to defeat him.
Update 5/9/2007 12:05:48 PM I also loved Bruce Campbell in this movie. He always has a minor role in these movie but this was clearly the best. He is a great "French Maître d" in this film. This was clearly the funniest parts of the movie. It was hysterical watching him bring the champagne and sending it back.
What I did not like:
I really liked the overall presentation of Sandman. I did not like how they made his fly in flying sand. Fat Jack's review of this is correct and right when simply stating that “sand does not fly”. I know it worked in the Mummy but the Mummy was controlling the wind with the sand. Sandman is not Storm of the X-Men and can not make sand fly.
Why is it in every final fight scene has to have Mary Jane's life in jeopardy? All three movies used her as bait. Why not lure Spidey out by having Sandman attack civilians. I do give props for them having a cool way to threaten her life with the web trap and the taxi.
There was not enough Venom. He is one of Spidey's worst enemies. The first several times Spidey faced him, Spidey also lost his life. He almost seemed like an after thought in this movie. I loved the build up to him but he did not do much. Also Venom would not have died by a Pumpkin bomb. If you were going to show the explosion, why not show him hanging off the edge of the building recovering. Venom needs to be the exclusive villain in Spidey 4, if they make one.
Talking about Sandman and Venom, I thought there were too many villains in this movie. I love all three villains but it would have been much better by leaving out either the Sandman or Venom. I believe you still could have had the redemption of Harry and had him die at the hands of either Venom or Sandman. What I would have loved to have seen was the story of the Black Suit and to have shown Venom at the end as a precursor of things to come like at the end of the Batman Begins. A show down with the Sandman at the end would have worked for that scenario.
I understand that the Spidey sense does not work when Venom is attacking and this was even joked about. What I do not understand is how both the Goblin and the Sandman can sneak up on Peter. Did the Spidey sense go on the fritz? It was almost non-existent in this movie.
Why does every movie have Spider-Man unmasked in multiple parts of the film? Until recently, Spider-Man's identity was one of the greatest secrets in the Marvel Universe. He would not stand on the top of a building with his mask off. He would not show up at Harry's with his mask off. He certainly would make his mask out of something that can take a blow or two so it does not rip in half like it has in every movie.
I did not like how they introduced Gwen Stacey. I hated how Peter used her to make Mary Jane jealous. The first movie blended these characters together and made it difficult to bring in the true nature of Gwen. Gwen was Peter’s first love that was pure and innocent. It is hard to bring that into a character that is being used by Pete.
Why would we mess with the killer of Uncle Ben? Yes this was a convenient way to make Peter become darker but it was wrong to mess with the story. It reminded me of Batman Forever trying to rehash the death of his parents. There is no good reason for it.
Final Thoughts: I really liked this movie. I know that some people are saying that it is too long. I felt it was about perfect in length. Others have stated that this was a chick flick/ crying movie in disguise. I also disagree. Peter and company are dealing with really issues in relationships and life. There may be no crying in baseball but there is in Spidey movies. I really liked but did not love this movie
My Grade: a Solid B
Other Grades:
Fat Jack's review: 2 out of 5
Netflix: 4.7 out of 5
IMDB: 7 out of 10
Rolling Stone: 3 out of 4
Rotten Tomatoes: 61% Fresh
E! Online: B
First Weekend Gross: 151.1 Million Dollars
