Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Vol. CLIV, Issue 6
Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

‘Spiderman 3’ bears complexities

The sequel. That reviled cow that pours money out of her teats. While sequels have a tendency to merely latch onto the success of their prequel and suck gullible moviegoers dry, successful franchises have become more and more prevalent in the last 10 years. For years movie pundits have announced “the summer of the sequel” with little memory that such a moniker was used the year before. However, this summer will prove to be quite the doozy as far as sequels are concerned. In the upcoming months we’ll get a new “Pirates of the Caribbean,” another “Bourne” movie, the next “Harry Potter,” “28 Weeks Later,” “Shrek the Third” — the list goes on. “Spiderman 3” fired the opening salvo, and while it has some issues, it certainly sets the tone for the months to come.

The plot to the new “Spiderman” is a little intense, so try to keep up with me. We pop back where we left off from “Spiderman 2” with Peter Parker/Spiderman (Tobey Maguire) established as the superhero du jour of New York City. However, trouble is brewing. Parker is having love issues with lady-friend Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and problems with ex-best-friend Harry Osborn (James Franco), who has taken over his father’s villainous job as the New Goblin. On top of that, the real killer of Parker’s uncle Ben has been found, but through a freak science experiment he has been turned into the rampaging Sandman (Thomas Haden Church). Add to this an alien symbiote that latches onto Spiderman and enhances his strength and rage, a second love interest named Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) and rival photographer Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), and what should be mindless entertainment has just become
a lot more complicated.

To director Sam Raimi’s credit, the movie doesn’t seem nearly as complex while you’re watching it. Although the shifts between different sections may be a little abrupt, Raimi proves to be adept at interweaving all the plotlines together to form a coherent narrative. Those looking for more destruction and mayhem need look no further, as Raimi jam-packs the movie with impressive CGI that looks surprisingly realistic, and a one-ups-man-ship that makes the action sequences in the prequels look like kids playing with action figures in a sandbox. While one doesn’t look to acting nearly as much in this kind of movie, Maguire is comfortable in the role of Spiderman, and the turns from Franco, Haden Church and Grace are icing on the cake.

Raimi certainly can’t be accused of not trying, but this unfortunately also proves to be a downfall for the film. While I can forgive the desire to make the film “bigger and better,” sometimes it’s just too much (as evidenced by the lengthy plot synopsis). The film could really have been fleshed out into two more solid movies that would have allowed for more nuanced character development.
As it stands, there’s a very distinct downshift every time the characters have a “serious” discussion, and Raimi prefers to give the life lessons in easy to digest form which utterly lacks in subtlety. One of the strongest points of “Spiderman 2” was the identity crisis of Parker and his relationship with Dr. Octavius, but that kind of heart is largely absent from “Spiderman 3.” Related to this is Raimi’s desire to keep every bit exciting, even if no action is happening, which often only ends in bizarre cheesiness. While it is admittedly humorous to watch emo badboy Parker hit on women (after being taken over by the symbiote), one can’t help but think that Raimi is overreaching for a laugh.

“Spiderman 3” is certainly bigger and more impressive than the prequels. While it loses some of its emotional oomph, it still entertains. If this is any indication of the months to come, we’ve got a lot to look forward to.

Grade: B+

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