Spider-Man 3

Overall

Spider-Man 3 is not a bad effort but far too lovey dovey and had the look of bypassing the quality dept to ensure a quick release date.

Worth a watch!!!! but may be unpalatable to a true Spidey Fan.

If they make another they really need to raise their game but I think perhaps its time to let it go for now and do the Superman thing ----- Wait 19 years and try again!!!!

WOW!! This film was amazing! To be honest I'm not a huge fan of Spider-Man, I mean I'm a girl who loves shopping and an action packed film doesn't really appeal to me. However, I went to the cinema twice to see this film! I was so shocked how good it was, much better than the others...not as cheesy. There was even a moment when I cried. Spider-man turning evil gives the film a twist and makes it different from the same old story of "Spider-Man saves the day....again" Great film would definitely recommend it for people of all ages!

Please let Spider-Man 3 be the end of the Spidey franchise.

Most leading newspapers in India call the movie bland and boring, but hey, you've got to be a Spidey fan to know what's good and what's not. The action starts right from the beginning(that's what most of us want), with Spider-Man being challenged by the new Green Goblin(guess who?). Then come Sandman and Venom who try their best to destroy the one and only Spider-Man...

Not at all...

Bringing in the Stacys, running the bulk of the Harry Osborn story arc, as well as introducing Venom and Sandman is a really, really tall order. None of the plot threads get all of the attention they could have had, but none feel particularly shortchanged, either.

The effects were a constant presence, and well handled. The transitions from live to CGI are getting more and more subtle each time through. The movie is not without its faults, but the visual effects are not among them...

Over all it won't let you get bored for a second!

It has been a long time since the Godfather II was hailed as they only sequel that ever surpassed its original. Now it has SPIDERMAN 3 to contend with for that honour. Sam Raimi manages something that has been rarely seen in a mainstream film since the CGI craze took over Hollywood: he actually makes it work with the story. It is not an added bonus or parallel diversion, no; his actors are not dwarfed by the technology, and the result is a multi layered, well acted, human and action packed blockbuster, where the human story makes sense and is more interesting.

In this last instalment Spiderman/Peter Parker played by superb understatement and restraint by Tobey Maguire has to contend with three separate villains, Venom, Sandman and the Green Goblin/Harry Osborn Jr, who almost steals the film every time he is on. And as nothing is as simple in superhero land, Spiderman get taken over by an evil dark shiny suit that makes him sleeker and stronger, but also, makes him, unfeeling, nasty and downright inhuman.

And it is this humanity peeking through the armour, so to speak, in all characters that is the greatest brilliant achievement of this film. Spiderman for instance is arrogant, full of himself, jealous, insecure, incompetent in relationships, unfeeling, and even nasty. This comic hero has come a long way, it is not a kiddies' film any more. It is a strictly adult film in theme. His and MJ's is a wonderfully observed relationship, complete with misunderstandings, arguments, tiffs, jealousy and even heartbreak. In a memorable scene between the two, MJ has just received some very bad reviews about her singing in a play. When she arrives to cry over his shoulder, Peter Parker goes on a rant about how Spiderman gets that all the time, and the best thing to do is to pick you up and go on. MJ of course is not amused, and when she leaves upset, Peter still has not figured out what he did wrong. The film is interspersed with great vignettes of a relationship that is quickly running into trouble, yet the man still does not see it coming. But when it finally blows in his face, it is heartbreaking to watch.

Let us leave Spiderman alone for now and not mention his other human foibles: insecurity and jealousy, arrogance and nastiness. I don't want to spoil it for you.

Mary Jane played by Kurstn Dunst is not your damsel in distress anymore, but a fully blown character of a woman, complete with angst, insecurity, love problems and a geek for a boyfriend. James Franco as Harry Osborn shows a great range, swinging between almost naive, to bad, to menacing is a joy to behold, and lights up the scene every time he is on. There is also Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), the image of the pushy upstart, arrogant and unfeeling. Yet, when he is publicly humiliated by Peter, he is the epitome of the broken man. By the time he is in church, communing with God " I'm here humbled and humiliated to ask you for one thing... I want you to kill Peter Parker", you are siding with him. I mean, Spiderman is not on his best behaviour either, is he?

So, Spiderman as a morality tale? Maybe. I think, this movie shows what is possible with film, and hopefully its future. By combining talent, plausible, multilayered storytelling, technology, and above all, recognisable human drama, this is the kind of film that audiences have been harkening for for decades. Watch it in cinema if you can, take the kids, and above all, be moved.

WARNING! SPOILERS!

Spider-Man 3 could have been subtitled "When Karma Attacks." This is probably the closest a movie based off a comic book has ever come to a morality play, and they did a good job with it. In this installment, our hero is reveling in his celebrity status. Kids wear his t-shirts. His picture is everywhere. He gets the key to the city and is loved by all. He even regains his friendship with Harry after Harry suffers amnesia (too convenient moment #1). Harry, in his Goblin persona, attacks Peter and the two engage in an exciting chase as Peter tries to avoid hurting the friend who wants to kill him. Harry eventually suffers a head trauma, and when he wakes up has no memory of what happened to his father.

Things aren't going so well for Mary Jane, who gets canned from her first Broadway show after only one night because of terrible reviews. But Peter can't seem to comfort her, because he keeps hedging the conversations in terms of his celebrity status as Spiderman. He even botches a marriage proposal to Mary Jane, when she is trying to tell him that she was fired from the show, he keeps interrupting her by trying to relate her situation to Spiderman's. (Too convenient moment #2 when the girl that Spider-Man saves previously from falling to her death..who happens to be the commissioner's daughter...who happens to be his lab partner...who happens to be a girl he kissed when receiving the key to the city...shows up at the restaurant and says 'hi').

Cameo by Bruce Campbell in the restaurant made me forgive them for Too convenient moment #2.

Too convenient moment #3, and the biggest problem I had with the movie, comes from the creation of the Sandman. He is on the run after breaking out of jail, and climbs a fence into a top-secret testing area. He falls into an open pit full of sand where a team of scientists are about to start up their experiment. This is some sort of major study on molecular biology, and it's happening in the uncontrolled environment of an open pit exposed to the weather? Cut away to the scientist team. One of them alerts the others that there is something in the pit. Another one says "It's probably a bird. I will fly away when we fire it up."

WHAT!!??????

Anyway, so now we have the Sandman.

Too convenient moment #4 actually happens before the restaurant scene. Peter and Mary Jane are sharing a quiet moment out in the park watching the stars. As they kiss, they miss the meteorite falling not more than a few hundred feet from them. (Where were his spider senses?). The meteorite breaks open and this black goo comes out, moves along and attaches itself to the back of Peter's bike.

We find out that the Sandman apparently was involved in the death of Peter's uncle. This opens up old wounds. And while he is in his room contemplating what to do, the goo stuff attaches to him and creates a new dark suit. The new, darker Spiderman goes on the hunt for the Sandman and the two have a confrontation in the sewers, where we see a viciousness in Spiderman where it isn't enough to capture the criminal, he tries to deliberately kill him.

Harry gets his memory back and sets out to destroy Spiderman, using Mary Jane as bait. During all of this, the new, meaner Peter has destroyed the reputation of Brock, a hot shot photographer trying to take his spot at the Daily Bugle. Can't say Brock didn't deserve what happened to him, and we'll just leave it at that.

We end up with a second confrontation between Peter and Harry at Harry's mansion. This time neither holds back and we have an exciting fight between the two. Again, the viciousness of the suit is evident when Spiderman uses one of Harry's own bombs to try to kill him and leaves him for dead.

Of course, Peter is the hero and eventually comes to his senses. He realizes the suit is destroying him and everything he loves. In the bell tower of a church (symbolic, of course, but we're coming to Too Convenient moment #5) he struggles with the suit to remove it. Of course, inside the church is our pal Brock, who just asked God to "Kill Peter Parker." Brock apparently is the only one in the church to hear the church bell ringing, and goes to investigate. As he does, Peter wins his fight to free himself from the suit. But the goo falls down onto Brock, turning him into Venom.

Venom and Sandman team up to destroy Spiderman. And once more poor Mary Jane is the bait. The redeemed Spiderman now must face the consequences of his actions on his own, but realizes he can't fight the both of them alone. He goes to the only person he can, Harry, who miraculously survived the explosion with only minor facial scaring. He asked Harry to help him save Mary Jane, but Harry refuses. When Spiderman leaves, the butler confronts Harry and tells him the truth about what happened the night his father died. (Um, maybe you would have saved Harry a whole lot of pain if you had revealed this THREE MOVIES AGO!).

Spidey goes off to save Mary Jane and is getting his butt handed to him by the combined force of Venom and Sandman. At the last moment, Harry arrives to help save the day and the two team up to fight the badguys.

One of the strongest points of the movie comes at the end. Sandman confronts Spiderman after the destruction of Venom, and tells him the truth about what happened the night his uncle died. A repentant Sandman tells Spiderman that it was an accident, and that he had only been involved in the robbery originally because his own daughter is dying. Peter finally lets go of his anger and forgives the Sandman, who leaves on the wind. The scene was very well done and avoided being too cheesy while really driving home the point.

Even though there were too many convenient moments, I really did enjoy the movie. The fight scenes were well done, and all of the actors did a good job of bringing their roles to life. It's worth seeing on the big screen, even with its plot flaws.