Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man 3 (2007)


Starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, James Franco


Directed by Sam Raimi



It seems to be incredibly hard to sustain quality within a movie trilogy. George Lucas did it with the original Star Wars movies and Steven Spielberg (with Lucas's help) just about found consistency with Indy. Other directors as esteemed as Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Zemeckis, the Wachowski brothers, George Miller and Richard Donner have tried and failed. Even Sam Raimi blew it with the lesser third instalment of his Evil Dead trilogy.
Sad to say he's blown it again with Spider-Man 3. It's not a bad movie and it makes for a good night out at the cinema. It's just that we had come to expect so much more from Raimi. Spiderman and Spiderman 2 were probably the best superhero movies ever made. (I say probably because Superman and Superman II have to be considered also.) This year the stage was set for Raimi to complete the hat-trick and leave behind a legacy that equalled those of Lucas and Spielberg. Except it hasn't happened. I don't doubt this movie will rake it in at the box-office and justify the $250 million price tag (making it the most expensive movie ever made) but it's only good when it could have been great.
So where did it go wrong?
Well, for a start there are too many villians cluttering up this film. When it was originally confirmed that Venom would feature in the film we all rejoiced. He is the coolest of all Spidey villians and the fans' prayers had been answered. However, the filmmakers seem to have made the same mistake that was committed in Gotham City. Too many crooks spoil the broth. Keep it simple stupid. By cramming in too many villians Raimi has sacrificed quality for quantity. With so many different characters involved and intertwining stories to tell Spider-Man 3 lacks the depth and soul of it's predecessors. One could compare this to Joel Schumacher's Batman films and Brett Ratner's X-Men 3.
You can't help thinking about what could have been. If Raimi had ditched The Sandman all together and made Venom the main villian this would have created time and space to delve deeper into Peter Parker's dark side. Instead Venom only emerges towards the end of the movie - more of an afterthought than the main event. Raimi just doesn't have enough time for the greatest Spidey villian of all time! And that's just disrespectful!!
And if that wasn't enough to provoke the wrath of the fanboys - The New Goblin switches on us! Twice!
By the end of this overlong mess, as tears flow and the sun sets on the cliched finale (cheesy - but not as cheesy as the shot of the American flag.......pass the sick bucket!) you just won't care anymore. Somewhere between Spiderman 2 and 3 Raimi has gone from genius to generic. Coppola, Zemeckis, Wachowskis, Donner, Miller, Raimi - at least he's in good company.


Verdict
An enjoyable but dangerously pedestrian entry into the Spiderman series. By trying to give the audience more it ends up giving us less. Shame.

Rating
***

Spiderman 3 at the IMDB
Buy Spiderman 3 at Amazon