Spider-Man 3 is the first of what will be a trilogy-laden summer, and, to be sure, kicks it off quite nicely. It may also be the final Spider-Man film, at least from director Sam Raimi, who has helmed the franchise since the first installment in 2002. If you didn’t know that, or if by some act of God you weren’t part of the masses that flocked to see Spider-Man 3 on opening weekend, it was probably best for me to break it to you because the fact is, in many ways, this film just feels like an ending.
In 3, you can expect all the classic Spider-Manliness you’ve come to love from the previous two: brilliant, fast-paced fight sequences (some of the best CGI and effects I have ever seen), fanatical and mostly-complex baddies, some blithely cheesy comic book voice-overs, and, yes, even some borderline “Oh, please …” eye-rolling dialogue moments (we do roll our eyes, but only because they’re almost, kinda-sorta “sniff-sniff” tearing … up … just admit it). There are also moments of surprising silliness—think the scene from the first film when Peter’s trying to figure out how to shoot his web. They’re wonderfully funny and add some balanced levity to the intense spider-ride.
As mentioned, expect a great deal of closure as well; Raimi is clearly trying to sew loose ends together, tie up storylines and answer any as-yet unanswered questions. But even in the midst of all this finality, the tagline for Spider-Man 3 promises that “the greatest battle lies within,” and it delivers. Indeed, we see some form of emotional disturbance in nearly every main character in the film. Truthfully, though, while occasionally over the top and borderline melodramatic, it works.
The reason that Spider-Man has always been so successful as a franchise is, quite simply, because he is the most ordinary superhero around; things like being late to college classes matter to him. We are taken in by his transparency as a normal person, like you and I (he may be even a little dorkier!), and we resonate with his ungainliness. Tobey Maguire seems to have been born for the role of sensitive super-man, and his emotional candor and willingness to blatantly tear up or do the chin-quiver on-screen is not only available, it’s almost expected. It is the humanity of Peter Parker that truly colors-in Spider-Man’s suit, and the battles he faces within himself make this latest story of our fictional icon both compulsively watchable and utterly timeless.
So, go see it. If you already saw it, see it again. For me. Or in the spirit of comic book cheesiness, for Pete’s sake.
Oh, and props to Bob Murawski and anyone else who edited this film. To have that many storylines moving and still keep it understandable … well, let’s just say I’m impressed. Go web!
