Spider-Man 3 Comic Book Movie Review

Spoilers Below!

Vital Statistics

Opening Date:May 4th, 2007
Run Time: 140 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence.
Based on: The Spider-Man comic books and characters. Spider-Man was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Published by Marvel Comics.

From The Official Press Release:

“In Spider-Man™ 3, based on the legendary Marvel Comics series, Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his Spider-Man suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers, it transforms Peter as well. Under the influence of the suit, Peter becomes prideful and overconfident and he begins to neglect the ones he cares about the most. As two of the most-feared villains yet, Sandman and Venom, gather unparalleled power and a thirst for retribution, Peter’s greatest battle is the one within himself. Spider-Man will need to rediscover the compassion that makes him who he is: a hero.”

The Story:

In this latest story of the Spider-Man movie franchises, Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, couldn’t be having a better time in his life. He is adored by the denizens of New York City, he’s the top of his class in school, and he is about to propose to the girl of his dreams. He’s flying high, but it all comes crashing down all too soon.

His best friend, Harry Osborn, seeks revenge for the death of his father, the original Green Goblin, and his girlfriend, Mary Jane, calls things off before Peter can pop the question. All of this comes down as he discovers that the man responsible for his Uncle Ben’s death is still at large in the form of Flint Marko, the villain known as the Sandman. All of this would be bad enough, but when a symbiotic creature covers Peter, becoming his black suit and increases his rage, greed, and lust for revenge, this all becomes a situation that puts Peter’s entire future in jeopardy.

When Peter discovers just how much the symbiont has truly changed him, he makes a desperate attempt to remove the costume once and for all. The creature flees, only to find a new host in Eddie Brock, whom Peter disgraced and humiliated moments before. The two form a bond of hatred for a common enemy, Peter Parker and Spider-Man. This new villain, known as Venom teams up with Sandman to take out Spider-Man once and for all and Peter’s only hope is to form an alliance with the most unlikely of people, his sworn enemy Harry Osborn.

Review:

Overall, I felt Spider-Man 3 was a solid film for a comic book fan. If you enjoy the Spider-Man comics, cartoons, movies, and history, then you will surely like this movie. There is a lot going on for comic book fans, with the cool looking villains, intense action scenes, and seeing the dark Peter Parker was enjoyable all in its own.

If you are not a comic fan, then this movie might be a little harder to enjoy. Director and co-writer Sam Raimi has put a lot of characters in this film, and if you don’t know their back story and history already, then it may be a bit overwhelming. This movie handled the pairings of the villains much better than say, Batman and Robin, but it still faltered at times.

The Good:

Special Effects
One word would help describe the special effects in this movie - wow. Of the three Spider-Man films, this movie has by far the best special effects of all of them. In the first Spider-Man film, the CG Spider-Man often had a very rubber-like quality and was fake looking in many scenes. Not so much in this film. The Sandman, Venom, Spider-Man, and the new Green Goblin all great visual effects attached to them. Probably my favorite was the gigantic Sandman creature. In all, it was very well done.

Action
This movie had a ton of action sequences all through it from beginning to end. I imagine most teens would want to watch this movie just for the action alone. It by far had the most action of all the films, and I’d say it almost had more than the first two combined. The opening action sequence between the new Goblin and Spider-Man was excellently executed and the finale showdown between four super beings was a huge spectacle of superpowered delight. Good stuff.

Peter’s Character Development
After seeing the film, I joked with a friend that it should be called “Spider-Man 3 – The Crybaby.” The main storyline of Peter’s journey of self discovery was really well done, and took Peter through some amazing twists and turns. The revelation that Uncle Ben’s killer was still at large and what Peter does to seek revenge, not to mention what happens when he keeps the black costume on, feeding his ego, greed, lust, and want for revenge to new heights.