Spectacular, But Not Perfect

10:50am on May 1 Labor Day here in the Philippines, one of the first showings of Spider-Man 3 finally came. It was a long wait since part two, and the expectations for this one was high due to it being the trilogy wrap up episode where every story arc is tied up. Add to that the much awaited debut of fan-favorite villain Venom and the hype for this movie was at fever pitch.

Could part 3 possibly live up to the acclaim of the first two films? For me, a die-hard Spidey fan, the answer is yes and no. Since i like saving the good for last, let's start out with what didn't work:

the wRong
The dance number. For those who haven't seen, I am not kidding. It seemed a bit campy and indulgent of director Sam Raimi to execute this scene that way. Another thing that I was worried about was the abundance of characters in this movie. While I enjoyed seeing Gwen Stacy and Eddie Brock for the first time, I honestly could have waited for them until another movie and just focus on Green Goblin 2 and the Sandman, BUT teasing a Venom appearance for a full-blown story in 'hopefully' a part four. In fact, in the original script, Raimi didn't have Venom at all because he loved classic villains like Sandman more than fan-favorites. Marvel Films producer Avi Arad told Raimi to "listen to the fans" and give them the much beloved Venom on screen... but in this case, I'd have to agree with Raimi. While I love the character myself, and his 20 minutes of screen time was some awesome CGI eye candy, I still stand by my opinion that they could have saved him and not be 'rushed' into the franchise just to sell more merchandise.

It was a Herculean task to fit all these new characters, three villains, and the black costume into one movie, and while it succeeded to a certain degree, it made each element in the movie less special than what it should be. Little things that peeved me were the origin of the Symbiote (where did it come from? I read somewhere that it came from a space mission of John Jameson, but this wasn't explained in the movie) and the sand experiment. I guess I was used to well-done origins in the first two movies, that this one felt a little more 'they get powers cause it's convenient'. The Venom origin though is straight from the comics, so at least that was ok. Oh, and one last thing to put in this section was the HORRIBLE British news reporter in the end... just bad.

the Right:
Ok, now that I got all that criticism out, it's time to totally mark out for Spidey. As always, the cast was awesome. From the supporting roles of Aunt May and J.J. Jameson, newcomers Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church), Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard), and the core of Peter/Spidey (Maguire), MJ (Dunst), and Harry (Franco) - the cast delivered big time in this movie. Harry in particular is the standout in my opinion, as he struggles the line between friend and villain. Maguire is great as always, as he runs the gamut from geek, to dickhead, to best friend, lover, and of course, hero. Although his dark 'emo' look when influenced by the black costume is kinda funny. Another thing that goes into this section are the effects. This is easily the most spectacular Spidey yet - the scene where Sandman arises and virtually every scene with Venom are just awesome and I'll definitely watch over and over again on DVD. Another thing I liked was the motives of the villains. No one is trying to take over the world here - Goblin2 and Venom want to destroy Parker for personal grudges, and Sandman just wants to rob banks to save what's most important to him, no cockimaney plot to make land out of alien rocks and make profits from real estate (Luthor from Superman Returns). Speaking of villains, while I'm sort of iffy about Venom appearing here, there's no doubt that I enjoyed what was there. Grace did a great job in the role, and I think was more effective and creepier when he reveals his face in the Venom suit.

Another thing I loved was the final battle, which was truly epic and really tied up a lot of things for both Parker and Spider-Man. Oh, and someone that deserves to be in this section is Bruce Campbell who steals a scene for the third film in a row as the arrogant 'French' restaurant clerk.

The veRdict:
Overall, it was a satisfying conclusion to the Spider-Man trilogy. It saddens me that it may be the last one with Raimi, Dunst, and Maguire involved. Their contracts are only for a 3 picture deal, and Maguire was stated that he'd like to move on from the franchise unless there's something really interesting to keep him on board. The movie delivers in the effects department and in tying up loose threads, while comes up short in letting the numerous amount of new characters develop and shine. To me, Spider-Man 2 is the best in the series because of the fewer characters and cohesive script. Plus, nothing tops MJ seeing Spidey unmasked for the first time as the greatest Spider-Man movie moment to me. Spider-Man 3 is definitely a great time, whether you're a casual fan or hardcore geek, there's plenty to love about part 3. Here's hoping to more Spidey flicks in the future!