THE SPIDER SENSE IS TINGLING

SPIDER-MAN 3 (Sam Raimi, 2007)

Spiderman 3 is without a DOUBT, an ENORMOUS DISAPPOINTMENT. Considering its predecessor Spiderman 2 has been often touted as the best superhero movie ever made (although personally I'd choose Batman Begins all the way!), maybe it's the considerable high standards that i've come to expect from this series, and from Raimi and co., that detracts the overall experience of the film. But as it stands, and being the most expensive movie ever made, it definitely should have been better, or at least provide a satisfactory conclusion to the trilogy.

Judging by the trailers, I first thought that this entry would be a much 'darker' and 'violent' version (treading the path of Batman Begins). A black Spiderman, and the promise of Venom as one the villains, are enough to put fanboys in ecstacy.

Instead, Spiderman 3 is more or less similar in tone as the prequels. Only differing in terms of quality; it's messy, bloated and lacklustre in almost every regard. Raimi dished out too much of everything. Too many villains. Too many characters. Too many subplots. In this case, 'more' turns out to be 'less'. It is painfully obvious that no attention was paid towards the 'script', or much of the things that made the prequels great in the first place. Spiderman 2 explores Peter Parker's inner turmoil with sufficient depth and focus whereas Spidey 3 only skims the surface in terms of character developments. And Doc Ock is a more compelling villain than Sandman, Goblin, and Venom combined.

The sappy 'soap opera-ish' story didnt help either. Boring and ultimately unnecessary. The dialogues are dry and cringe-inducing; sorely lacking compared to its predecessor. Sandman is underused, and its 'tidy' tie-up to Peter's history felt 'tacked-on'. Like a lame reason just to introduce the character, and show off the CGI effects. And not forgetting the plainly corny "father-child" subplot, trying too hard to squeeze out the audience's sympathy on the character. The best villain in it would probably be Venom. But again, he appeared too late, and too short a time to make an impression. However, it was Harry Osborne that stands out above the rest. His inner demons and ongoing feud with Peter are compelling enough to garner attention, even when the script sinks into 'Opera' world (particularly towards the end).

Don't get me wrong, there ARE some good, if not great, parts in the movie. But alas, they are scattered all over, with the horrible parts sticking out like a sore thumb. The only thing this film excelled at, is in the action sequences department. At best, they are as exhilirating and imaginative as its predecessor. The special effects are just jaw-dropping. I think the movie would fare better if they would just shut it on the 'melodrama' part, and just get on with the action. Aaahh but let's not forget the Bruce Campbell cameo. Priceless! I'd even be so bold as to claim him as the best thing in the movie!

That said, Spiderman 3 turned out to be just a passable action movie, but a failure as an entry in the series, thus ending the trilogy on a sour note. It's no wonder that the movie's promotions are off the charts. Seems to me that the guys in Sony weren't all that 'convinced' on this entry in the first place. In the meantime, let's not hope this would mark the start of a 'Summer Movie Curse'.

Verdict: 2.5/5