Summer Movie Mayhem - Week 1

It feels like decades since I've seen a movie this big in theaters.  Granted, 300 in IMAX format doesn't count because it's not quite Summer yet, but there really will be no movie bigger this season than Spider-Man 3.  The hype-machine has been in full-throttle mode the last few weeks for anyone in Los Angeles cannot walk down a street, drive down the freeway, turn on the television, or even open their own refrigerator without seeing an ad or promotion for this film.  It's been marketed as big, reviewed as huge, and now we've seen the film, and I can use yet another appropriate adjective: enormous.

Three villains, two romantic interests, two photographers vying for one job, a $250 million budget, a $151 million opening weekend, and record-breaking IMAX revenue make this one gigantic.  Some critics feel the inclusion of three villains - James Franco as the new Green Goblin, Thomas Haden Church as the Sandman, and Topher Grace as the fan-favorite Venom - bloats the screenplay beyond budgeted proportions.  Given the amount of storylines and actors director Sam Raimi has to juggle this time around, the criticism is not unfounded as the 2 and a half hour running-time really left a few of my fellow theater-goers squirming in their seats.

Personally, I didn't care.

The full cast returns, yet again, for the third episode in the franchise.  Will it be the final time?  Box office returns say, "no" but the mind tends to wander.  Can they really pull together for a fourth time after the pre-release controversy both stars created with their comments ( Toby Maguire saying he's vaguely interested in a fourth and Kirsten Dunst claiming a sequel would be nothing without the full cast and director)?  With the performances they give on-screen, I really wish they do come back.  Maguire displays some really unique acting chops this time around, having to portray his original Peter Parker along with the newly symbiote ensconced black suited Spider-Man.  There was some talk of heresy over the Saturday Night Fever homage midway through the flick, but I loved how comfortable Maguire seemed in the role of cocky bastard.  Yes, the haircut is disturbingly emo, yes some people consider the dance moves as wildly inappropriate, but yet again...

I didn't care.

Ms. Dunst, on the other hand, displays a vulnerability that has been inherent since the first film on her sleeve.  Her Mary-Jane has been critically lambasted, ignored by her boyfriend, and fired from her job, and you really see the desperation in her eyes when she comes looking to Peter for help.  Only when she falls back into the arms of a care-free newly amnesiac Harry Osborn do you see her crack under the pressure.  You'd also think the same would happen once she's kidnapped and attacked by the supervillain combo team of Sandman and Venom and you'd also think she'd be more critical of Peter when he tries to liken her falling star to his rising star, but in my opinion, the movie might crumble under such fallacies.  Or maybe the relationship is a fallacy in itself.  Am I reading too much into all that?

Whatever the case is, their relationship felt real.  They looked hurt on-screen when they should be looking hurt, and most of all, they looked most endangered when their hearts are broken.  It really helped to drive home Peter's willingness to break himself down and take out his anger on others by using the symbiote costume, as in the last two movies, it is his devotion and love for her that motivates him.  It is also raw emotion and power that drives the newest and latest addition to this piece, Venom.  Appearing for too few moments within the last act, Topher Grace plays Eddie Brock as a slimy paparazzi type with interesting moral fiber.  He's very convincing in his hatred for Peter and his ambition.  Where he fails the most perhaps, is in his inability to fill out a Venom suit designed for someone who was initially drawn as twice the size of Spider-Man. 

But what of the movie, how was it as a whole?  Let's see, the action was awesome, the effects were enthralling, the acting raised the tension to new limits, and the villains were incredible.  On the down-side, the movie felt long in parts, there was not enough development of both Sandman and Venom, and I felt it was missing... something.  Even with these flaws, I was still engrossed in the majesty and romance.  Perhaps my expectations of it all were lowered by early mixed reviews?  Perhaps I'm a blind follower of all things Spider-Man? 

I didn't care.

I still love Spidey.

Overall Score:  3.5 out of 5 stars.