5.06.2007

Just saw Spidey 3 -- Initial reactions

Alright, so I just got back from a late showing of "Spider-Man 3," Sam Raimi's most recent installment in the Spiderman franchise. Not quite sure just what to think at the moment, but here's a few of my initial thoughts.

Things I didn't like:

  • Three villains is too much for one film: the appeal of the first two Spidey films lies in its heavily developed and interesting villains. With Sandman, Harry's Goblin and Venom all vying for screen-time, I never really felt like any of them were properly developed. They're all inferior to Green Goblin and Doc Ock, and Venom felt really, really thrown in.
  • An alarming number of song and dance numbers: Mary Jane sings twice, and there's two dancing scenes. Just a tad ridiculous. I almost laughed out loud when Peter jumped on the piano at the jazz club.
  • Too silly/campy. The first two films attempted a semblance of realism, this one doesn't even try. A giant sand monster, an alien symbiote, etc.
  • Peter Parker is too emo for my taste. He even flips his bangs in front of his eyes at one point. A scene where he whines about his girlfriend on his MySpace blog was cut during post production.
  • Topher Grace as Eddie Brock: just didn't work for me.
  • The middle third of the film is completely ridiculous.
Stuff I did like:
  • The action. Crazy fight and chase choreography.
  • The effects. All of the CGI is top-notch. The Sandman and Venom effects are especially tasty.
  • The Harry/Peter conflict. This dynamic really hits its stride here. I could've used some more.
  • The Bruce Campbell cameo: HILARIOUS.
  • The first third, the last third: the opening is strong, and the last thirty minutes are awesome.
Overall ... I think I liked it. I was disappointed with a few important aspects, for sure ... yeah. I'll post some further thoughts later.

3 comments:

  1. I think Peter Parker's emo wasn't too over the top. So he flipped his bangs, so what?

    I think they could have taken one villain out, but considering there were three, I felt strongly for each one. Oh, and if there weren't "3" villains, there wouldn't have been that amazing end fight scene.

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  2. Song-and-dance = not acceptable for a movie with a hoverboard, a man made of sand and a teenager who can shoot webs from his hands.

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  3. Comic book movie means comic book campy moments. That's why it's good that Sam Raime directs...he grew up reading the originals and maintains that feel, despite the world's tendancy to take comic book characters and make them "realistic". I enjoyed the fact that new themes have been explored in each film. The first focused on the making of a hero, the second was romantic love and I think this third is about forgiveness. Just some thoughts from the Bangsund Peanut Gallery. And don't worry. We so rarely see films, my thoughts will be few and far between.

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