Spider-Man weaves his web again

Michael Levy
Copy Editor

Spider-Man should never make a comic book reader groan. Despite defeating the worldwide box office record with $148 million, the movie had its problems.

Don’t get me wrong; there is a lot to like about Spider-Man 3, the latest and possibly final movie incarnation of the Marvel Comics superhero weaves a web that is, for the most part, a strong sequel. It features, technically, three villains: Flint Marko a.k.a. The Sandman (Thomas Haden Church,) Eddie Brock (who turns into Venom, the comic book hero’s arch nemesis, played by Topher Grace) and Harry Osbourn (James Franco) returns as the New Goblin. Spider-Man a.k.a. Peter Parker (bitten by a radioactive spider, should need no introduction, Tobey Maguire,) and Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) return, as well as other regulars of the first two movies.

The plot goes like this: Spider-Man is finally getting the recognition he deserves: woman of his dreams, key to the city, a parade, etc. Mary Jane, however, is not doing so good. With a failing acting career, she looks to Spidey for comfort and receives nothing but ego. On top of this, Spidey faces off against the New Goblin, who he ultimately defeats and gives a coma. Parker and his Aunt learn that Uncle Ben’s killer is not dead as originally thought and that the real killer is actually Marko. Marko is dealing with his own problems, trying to save his daughter from her illness. Plus, throw in another damsel-in-distress, Gwen Stacy (played by Bryce Dallas Howard) and Eddie Brock’s photo-journalism fights with Parker, cameos by Bruce Campbell and Spider-Man’s creator, Stan Lee; the list just goes on from there. The point is this movie is totally jam-packed full of potential. There are so many storylines interweaving, and it’s amazing that the pace keeps up.

The special effects are, for once, jaw dropping. Sandman’s transformation was so incredibly detailed; it was as if real sand was splashing onto the screen. The battles twist and turn the viewers, giving them the roller coaster ride they paid for. It’s moments like the giant fight towards the end, the Spidey/New Goblin fight, and the Spidey/Venom web wars that truly make Spider-Man fans squeak giddily in their seats. It felt right at home with the first two movies in these areas.

However, the biggest complaint I have about this movie is one scene that forever tarnishes Spider-Man fans—this includes movie, comic, action figure, anything. A symbiotic costume change results in Spider-Man and Peter Parker’s attitude change. Gone is the witty banter from the first two movies. To emphasize the character’s dark side, director and writer Sam Raimi (famous for the Evil Dead trilogy and the first two Spider-Man flicks) decided the character should wear dark clothes, darken his hair, comb most of it to one side over his eyes and wear dark thrift store sweaters. Yes, evil Peter Parker is stereotypically Emo. The combination of the popped collar, strutting to James Brown, finger-pointing, and abusing his superpowers to make a total idiot of himself really killed the movie’s mood. I was waiting for him to bust out of the door wearing a My Chemical Romance shirt. It’s made clear Parker’s actions against his friends, relatives, enemies and love interest(s) are of a negative connotation. However, the entire movie’s mood, because of this scene, was completely changed. Audience members were groaning throughout the scene. It was literally embarrassing to watch this part of the movie; I felt bad for the character. Sure, X-Men 3, in comparison, had some bad moments, but this makes X-Men 3 look like Citizen Kane.

Gwen Stacy felt underused and overlooked. Howard’s portrayal of her was smart and warm, much like Mary Jane. Topher Grace played Eddie Brock, who eventually becomes Venom. Grace did a good job as Brock, but feels weak as Venom. I was disappointed Venom didn’t tower over Spider-Man as he does in the comics. He was sleek and deadly. Their fights, while good, felt like they favored Spider-Man too much. Venom is a huge player in Spider-Man’s world. There was also no explanation of where the symbiotic substance came from, other than the fact that it fell from space.

There are other characters that felt useless, or their usage was more job-oriented to set up the next part of the movie. These moments, while mostly providing solid character changes, struggled to bring the viewer more material to work with, trying to dull the stinging sensation that Emo Spidey left viewers.

Despite this scene, the rest of the movie gave a lot of closure for the trilogy. It seems like everything wraps up in a nice, neat little package for viewers to enjoy. It also didn’t tease for a potential sequel like X-Men 3 did, which was a little unnerving. Overall, a fun flick with a few embarrassing moments.