Spiderman 3

I wound up seeing Spiderman 3 over the weekend. I was very disappointed. In order to quantify that I need to try to explain myself a little bit. Having been burned by the superhero genre way to many times in the past (The Tim Burton Batman series anyone) I was not expecting much with the first Spiderman. Sure, I was a huge Sam Rami fan but after I heard Tobey McGuire was cast as the lead, I set the bar low.

Then, I saw it and was blown away. Rami got it right where everybody else who ventured into comic book hero’s got it wrong. He stayed true to the original comic’s story and made Spiderman human. I was so happy after watching that movie. It was like finally someone got it.

I also really liked Spiderman 2. I know a lot of people who like it even better then the first. While I still maintain the first film as the better of the two, I did really enjoy the sequel. Again, here was a story that hit every note just right. It had amazing special effects, great action, provided comic moments when needed and even threw the love story in. It is difficult to achieve all of that in a film but Rami did it. None of this should have come as a surprise to me.

I have been a Sam Rami fan ever since I was a teenager and I got my first look at Evil Dead. Made for no money what so ever it is one of the most entertaining films I’ve ever seen. You watch that movie and it impossible to not enjoy it. As a matter of fact I wonder about people who don’t like that movie or the follow-ups. Evil Dead 2 where Ash is forced to saw his own hand off after it comes possessed. Then he followed it up with Army of Darkness. After seeing that film I was quoting lines from it for months.

On top of that he made A Simple Plan and the Gift. (I will forgive him for The Love of the Game. I still don’t know what the hell he was thinking with that one.) A Simple Plan has maybe my favorite performance by an actor in the last twenty years in Billy Bob Thorton. That wasn’t acting, that was a complete transformation. It is just a gripping story that has you on the edge of your seat. The Gift is another very good film. He even manages to get a good performance out of the normally wooden Keanu Reeves.

So, with all of that said my expectations for Spiderman 3 were high. I walked into the theater expecting greatness and got mediocrity. Where there some cool moments, of course. But, sadly that was the minority. I don’t want to give full details because, I don’t want to spoil the move for those who did not see it. So, I will try not to give out plot points.

My first problem was there were too many villains. Sandman, Venom and the Goblin. There were three movies in each story line and they tried to squeeze all of them into one film. So, we are left with three separate story arcs that are not fully explored. Then there was the lame love triangle between Peter, Mary Jane and Harry. Now, I know this is in the comics as well, but here in this movie it is executed poorly. Maybe I am finally realizing that Kirsten Dunst can not act, but every time she was on the screen she brought the film down. The whole story line seemed forced because Rami filled this movie with so much other stuff that he didn’t really have time to explore this love angle properly.

I can’t say the movie was horrible as the Bruce Campbell cameo and J.K Simmons as always were great. I just wish he hadn’t tried to fit ten pounds of shit into a five pound bag. I see the studio wants to make three more Spidey films and who can blame them with the huge profits each one seems to generate. Rami and McGuire have not signed on for any of the sequels. I hope Rami makes the 4^th only because I know he is a gifted filmmaker and I don’t want him going out on the series with such a dud. Nothing can take away from the brilliance of the first two films. I know he can do better then this and I just hope he attempts to do so.