Spider-Man 3

[KLAXXON]

This third installment of director Sam Raimi's hugely successful SPIDER-MAN series finds the webbed superhero (Tobey Maguire) and his girlfriend, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), embroiled in a love triangle while confronting a new slate of dastardly villains.

The third instalment in the Spider-franchise delivers plenty of action but the overcrowded plot fails to achieve any real depth and the end result is disappointing.


Spider-Man 3 sees Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) planning to propose to Mary-Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), until a strange alien symbiote latches onto him and begins changing his personality. At the same time, Harry Osborn (James Franco) blames Spider-Man for the death of his father and comes after Peter as the new Goblin.

As if that wasn't bad enough, an escaped convict (Thomas Haden Church) is transformed into the Sandman and turns out to have a connection to Uncle Ben's death. And secondly, Peter's rival at the Daily Bugle (Topher Grace) bonds with the rejected alien symbiote and becomes the terrifying creature known as Venom, hell bent on destroying Spider-Man.


Maguire has a lot of fun playing with Spider-Man's dark side, but he nails the emotional side of the character too. Dunst is the weakest link again performance-wise, but she's surrounded by a terrific supporting cast that includes J.K. Simmons as J.J. Jameson, Bruce Campbell (in a hilarious cameo as a French waiter) and Bryce Dallas Howard, who's delightful but underused as Peter's cute classmate, Gwen Stacey.

The effects and the fight scenes are good, but there's nothing in Spider-Man 3 that compares to the subway train fight in Spider-Man 2. Similarly, the first Goblin fight is too fast, making it difficult to tell what's going on.


The problem with the film is that the plot is too overcrowded with villains, meaning that neither the Sandman nor Venom receive the attention they deserve. You can tell that a large amount of the story has been left on the cutting room floor.


The effects are amazing and fans will enjoy the references to the comics, but the film is something of a disappointment overall because it tries to do too much.

In Hollywood, sequel opportunities rule. Until recently, it was assumed that Spider-Man 3 would mark the end of the line for our sticky-fingered friend, yet the web is already buzzing with talk of a fourth adventure.

The good news is that this pacey, rainbow-coloured blockbuster works both as a filler and a finale. It's easily the best of the trilogy and, for my money, one of the most enjoyable films of the decade.

The comic-book-inspired franchise has always been about the search for balance; ironically, balance is was exactly what the first two movies lacked, with the seriously good cast continually upstaged by the special effects.

This time round, thanks to an inventive script, all the elements are in sync. The plot gives New York photographer Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) three foes to contend with - four, if you count his battle with himself, which is brought on by an alien landing and subsequently turns his suit jet-black.

His love life is also a mess. He keeps trying, and failing, to propose to Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane, who is suffering a career setback and does not appreciate the arrival of sweet blonde, Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard).

The villains are well-rounded, with Flint Marko a joy to behold. Actor Thomas Haden Church has a great, Depression era face and his transformation into The Sandman is spectacularly beautiful - the creature is like a Henry Moore sculpture.

Meanwhile, Peter, Mary Jane and their rich friend Harry Osborn (James Franco) convince as fragile, ambitious twentysomethings trying to make it in the big city. All the encounters are emotionally intense. They're also full of humour. "Where do they get these guys?" says Spidey, tipping out sand from his boots.

Hats off to Maguire. It can't be easy playing boyish at 31, and, at times, he certainly looks rough: a middle-aged baby, all tremulous lips and bulging, vacant blue eyes.

Mostly, though, he does fine, and his spell as a vengeful evil doer - he acquires eyeliner, a Franz Ferdinand fringe and some dodgy disco moves - is hilarious.

Perhaps the film-makers are trying to steal some of Johnny Depp's thunder in the forthcoming Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. If so, it's a smart move. Cheekiness suits Maguire. It suits this franchise, too. Angst be damned. Spider-Man 3 is worth taking seriously, because it's so hell-bent on having fun.


Tobey Maguire ... Spider-Man / Peter Parker
Kirsten Dunst ... Mary Jane Watson
James Franco ... New Goblin / Harry Osborn
Thomas Haden Church ... Sandman / Flint Marko
Topher Grace ... Venom / Eddie Brock
Bryce Dallas Howard ... Gwen Stacy
Rosemary Harris ... May Parker
J.K. Simmons ... J. Jonah Jameson
James Cromwell ... Captain Stacy
Theresa Russell ... Emma Marko
Dylan Baker ... Dr. Curt Connors
Bill Nunn ... Joseph 'Robbie' Robertson
Bruce Campbell ... Maître d’
Elizabeth Banks ... Miss Brant
Ted Raimi ... Hoffman


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