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Third Time's the Charm, Almost
Date of Review: May 23, 2007
The Bottom Line: Not a perfect film, but a pretty decent action flick.
As far as Spidey movies go, this one fell somewhere in the middle for me. I enjoyed it more than the first movie, which spent more time setting up character and premise. But it definitely falls flat in comparison to Spiderman 2, arguably one of the best superhero movies ever made. Overall, with some caveats this movie was fairly good.
Everything is progressing nicely for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) and girlfriend Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst); Mary Jane's acting career seems to be picking up and Peter is planning on proposing. His former friend Harry Osborn (James Franco), is still hellbent on revenge, but early in the film he gets a case of memory loss, putting him out of commission. The trouble really starts when Peter learns the police have a new lead on the death of his uncle; it wasn't the slimy small-time crook we saw in the first movie, but his partner, Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church). After his escape from jail, Marko gets trapped in a physics testing ground, and through a freak accident, is turned into Sandman.
Meanwhile, a strange black alien substance has gotten into Peter's apartment, and attaches itself to his Spidey suit. It brings out the darker, aggressive side in Peter, which he must deal with. During all of this his relationship with Mary Jane is on the rocks, and Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard), a Spiderman enthusiast, has moved in on Peter. This comes to the attention of her would-be boyfriend, Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), who vows revenge on Spiderman. Shortly after he becomes exposed to the same alien substance as Peter, transforming into Venom.
If the above synopsis seemed rather dizzying, then it marks exactly what's wrong with the movie. They simply tried to cram way too much into this movie; there are too many subplots and at lest one too many villains. There are plenty of great components here, but the sheer amount makes it impossible for them to gel. Now, for specifics...
On the villains: Sandman is arguably my favorite Spidey villain so far. The CGI transformations, particularly the first one as he struggles to leave the testing ground, are spectacular. The explanation for Marko's life of crime - he needs money to help his dying daughter - is rather cheesy and tacked-on, but Church does a great job with what he's dealt and brings interest and sympathy to what could have been a two dimensional character.
Topher Grace does a good job in the role of Eddie Brock/Venom, but I still think the movie would have fared better without him. His transformation into Venom is rather late in the film and feels unnecessary; with everything else in the movie the last thing they needed was another villain. If they had eliminated Venom the movie still would have been compelling, and this time with less baggage.
Bryce Dallas Howard does a pretty good job as Gwen, although not as good as she could have. In this character the script had a chance for some more original characterization, but instead made her just a sweet, boring girl; not unlike Mary Jane only less endearing.
As for the alien substance: I appreciate what they were trying to do with Peter's dark side, but I think it could have been handled better. The best example is in films like "Batman Begins", in which the hero has a side that is truly disturbing and unhappy. Peter's dark side is a swaggering jerk that's played more for laughs; you're pretty embarrassed for him throughout. But perhaps the filmmakers thought a truly dark side a la Batman wouldn't fit the movie. That's their prerogative.
As always, the action sequences don't disappoint. There are less of them than in the previous movies, and these are stretched out to make up for the smaller quantity. Some might be chagrined at this, but I think it's worth it - all of the fights are spectacular, especially the final one.
Admittedly, this was an uneven movie. There were moments that lagged, and plot points that felt unnecessary. However, as a whole it was a pretty enjoyable movie. If they had trimmed some of the excess material (i.e, the Venom aspect) it would have made it even better.
