Spiderman 3 - The Review

Well, it is finally here. Read and enjoy the review of the new Spiderman movie, brought to you by Holy Family's answer to Jonathan Woss...


For me Spiderman has its roots back in my childhood. Growing up reading comics you were either a reader of DC (Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman etc) or Marvel (Spiderman/Daredevil/Captain America/The Hulk/etc). I belonged to the Marvel camp and I grew up with these characters and their problems. Why you might ask? Well, all the characters in the Marvel Universe had superpowers but they also had a humanity that was often lacking in other comic book characters. Spiderman was a geek/outsider who was forever coming second in his personal life while achieving much as a superhero; there was a vulnerablility to him that I could appreciate and that made him believable. The Spiderman movies have been true to this aspect of the character as well as delivering the box office thrills that we all want for our £7. Spidey 3 is no different; it's true to the character and is full of spectacular set pieces.

It is a very good movie but not a great one. It has a complicated plot and it reaches for the sky but it falls short by attempting to do too much. I'm happy that it does so because it would have been so easy just to rejig the first two movies and ramp up the effects. More of the same would have been good box office but Sam Riami (the director) is a fan and cares about the characters and so we do see developments and new challanges.

We begin the movie with Peter Parker (Spidey) finally being accepted by the city;his relationship with MJ (girlfriend) is going well but then all hell breaks loose and Peter is targetted by an alien parasite that amplifies negative emotions. Peter becomes stronger but he is filled with Pride and the film is about how you deal with it and the need for revenge. We get to meet Venom and one of the classic villians the Sandman (brilliantly done by the effects crew!), throw in Harry Osborne as a new Green Goblin; Topher Grace as an arrogant press photographer; Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacey; the great Bruce Campbell (king of the B movie) as a french Maître d'; JK Simmons retutrning as Jonah Jameson (two great scenes, especially with his stress pills) and you can see why I say that it's trying to be too ambitious. There is a lot going on, but can you fault a movie for trying to be great?

Should you go and see this movie.....? YES, YES, YES - it's great fun and it has a moral core to it that is often missing in blockbusters; I would like to see an extended cut released for the DVD so that some more of the back story could be filled out but that's a quibble of a long time fan. I will be seeing it again and I urge you to do the same. In the words of Stan 'the man' Lee, Excelsior True Believers!!

Brought to you by Rev. Simon P. O'Connor