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Movie review/Spiderman 3
Author: Mike Sage
Spiderman 3
Starring Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco; directed by Sam Raimi
Spidey swings back into theatres this Friday and fanboys have plenty reason to be excited. Sam Raimi has created another high-flying special effects bonanza and this time the human melodramatics are actually the best part. Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco have become old pros, playing their familiar characters with such remarkable ease we're excited to see what direction Sam Raimi takes them.
Love is bliss for Peter Parker (Maguire) and Mary Jane Watson (Dunst). Mary Jane has won a role off Broadway, and her loyal boyfriend in the first row is planning to pop the question. But all goes downhill when Peter's former best-bud Harry Osborn (Franco) attacks Parker in a back alley, cashing in on the revenge plot for Spidey-killing Green "Daddy" Goblin. Harry ends up hospitalized and amnesiac, Mary Jane gets awful reviews and the boot and an obnoxious new photographer named Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) is stealing Peter's spotlight at the Daily Bugle.
Consumed with envy, pride and rage, Peter is susceptible to an alien parasite that possesses his costume, turning it black and giving the wearer improved strength and speed. It boosts his confidence and energy like the worst of Uppers and Parker becomes a sadistic machine addicted to its effects. The scene is set for the emergence of the fascinating villain known as the Venom.
Unfortunately, unlike the superb Spiderman 2, this sequel has a definitive Achilles heel: the goofy Sandman. The villain is not only redundant (we already have Venom and Harry Osborn's iteration of the Goblin), but is written into Peter Parker's life so forcefully as the crook who supposedly shot Parker's Uncle in Spidey 1, it reeks of soapy coincidence. We'd be forgiving if the bad guy wasn't so corny from laughable origin (he stumbles into a "particle physics" testing silo to become living sand!) to Manhattan-squashing Marshmallow Man. If you ever wondered what the Power Rangers could do with a $250 million budget, just wait for this silly climax.
Raimi and Company follow the bigger-is-better idiom perhaps too closely, stuffing Spiderman 3 with so many bad guys it veers towards Batman & Robin territory. However, whenever Sandman isn't eating up precious screen time, this inevitable blockbuster does manage to accomplish everything we expect from a summer event picture. The story manages to have an epic scope with its large-scale battles without losing focus on the crux of the human drama underneath it all. Of all the comic franchises, Spiderman has always been the most character-driven, and in this department, Spiderman 3 soars.
Rating: Three Stars and a half out of five
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