With the success of the first two movies, it was no surprise that this series wasn’t a fluke. Fans alike knew that there would be more movies to come involving the friendly web head. It seems slowly but surely, news would come out about “Spider-Man 3”. The hype reached an all-time high when it was announced that Venom would be featured as one of the villains. I was excited hearing that news because Venom was to me one of the best comic book villains and the black suit story arc is one of the best storylines the comics had to offer.
I still remember back in 2006 being at one of my friend’s houses, and he had found a teaser trailer that had leaked online. Sure, the quality was fuzzy and the sound kept going in and out, but once the trailer ended the anticipation was high for both of us. Being major fans of the series, we felt that there could be no wrong with this one.
“Spider-Man 3” was the first time I ever bought advanced tickets for a movie. Even though I was still in the small town I was in to see the first movie, it honestly didn’t bother me. This was also the first time I had taken a girl to see a movie with me. She was my prom date, and an excellent friend that I keep in contact with. Honestly, I think we were one of the few people in the theater, which was shocking since it was on opening weekend. Guess most people had seen it on Friday and Saturday.
So, sitting in the theater, once the previews ended, the music started and the wait was finally over. That famous Spider-Man score that I had heard so many times was music to my ears. And then it changed abruptly showing images of the alien symbiote. It was then that I knew that the movie was going to be different from the previous two.
So about two and a half hours later, the movie ends. My friend and I looked at each other and we were both like, “Well, that was good. I guess”. I don’t know, something about this movie felt more bittersweet rather than a final conclusion. I should point out that this was the first Spider-Man movie that I did not go see this in the theater. I had always meant to go see it a second time in the theater, but just never got around to it.
This was the film that easily divided the fans of Spider-Man. A lot of people loved it, and a lot of people hated it. For me, I tend to fall in the middle. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it. There are a lot of things I like about the movie, and there are a lot of things I dislike about the movie. So, let’s go into the pros and cons of “Spider-Man 3”, starting with the pros.
First off, the action scenes are amazing. While it may not top the train scene from the previous film, the action is top notch from beginning to end. The scene with Peter and Harry swinging and fighting each other kept me on edge. The subway scene with Spider-Man and Sandman was entertaining and very intense.
Second, I thought some of the performances were exceptional. I don’t feel the need to talk about the main cast, but the actor that stood out to me was Thomas Haden Church, who played the Sandman. He’s a villain who you feel sympathy for. He has a daughter who is very ill, and while he has his flaws, he cares for her deeply. The scene where he becomes the Sandman is very moving emotionally. I just wish he had gotten more screen time. The film sure could have used it.
Now onto the cons. First off, there were way too many stories going on. It felt like ten different plots, and the studio decided to cram every single one in. One subplot would be introduced, then on to the next scene, and that would come back like forty-five minutes later. I think the film would have been more focused if like half of them had been cut out.
Second, some of the scenes felt half assed. For example, there is a subplot where Harry gets hit in the head during the fight with Peter and gets amnesia. This is a cliché that I can’t stand in movies and or tv shows. It’s like, ooh we must conveniently serve the plot. Then he gets his memory back, and threatens Mary Jane. For some reason, she just forgets her boyfriend is Spider-Man. She just couldn’t tell him to kick Harry’s ass?
Also, there are certain scenes that just make me cringe like the whole scene where Peter Parker walks down the street like he is in “Saturday Night Fever”. He’s gazing at all the women, and thinks he is God’s gift to them. Then there is the infamous jazz club scene. If there is one scene that makes me embarrassed, for me it is that. It is out of place in the movie, no one does that in real life, and had no place being in this movie.
So, I kept asking myself, why did this movie feel like a giant mess? I think it is because all throughout production, everyone kept saying that this was the last movie that they were going to. We were promised closure, and a wrap up to the trilogy. I feel that this one had the most hype out of all the films we had gotten so far.
Then as the film premier got closer and closer, I started to notice a change of heart as I watched the interviews. People would ask them, “Is there going to be a “Spider-Man 4”? The cast and crew would just kind of wave it off and say, “Well. You just never know”. That to me signaled that even they knew that “Spider-Man 3 could have been done a lot better.
So, despite all the subplots and stupid scenes, I think the film is ok. It is not the worst film I have ever seen in my life, but it could have been so much more. Let me know what did you think of Spider-Man 3? Leave it in the comments below.