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Spiderman
3 ***1/2
*ing:
Tobey Mcguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church
and Topher Grace
Directed by Sam Raimi
Tagline:
The greatest battle lies within
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Spiderman
3 is the latest installment in a highly successful movie franchise
based on the popular comic book character of the same name. As anticipated,
the movie has lived up to the hype surrounding its release and has
comfortably shattered box office records for maximum intake on opening
day and opening weekend.
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film picks up where the previous one left off and continues to spin
an intricate web of conflict, vengeance, love and deceit around Peter
Parker, the physics genius turned superhero who goes by the alias
Spiderman. In the early parts of the movie, Spiderman is pursued by
his friend turned nemesis, Harry Osborne who blames Peter for the
death of Harry's father. This delicate and fluctuating relationship
emerges as one of the dominant themes of this adventure. A recurring
theme is Peter's tumultuous relationship with perennial love interest
Mary Jane Watson. This time around, she finds herself lurching between
two leading men and increasingly alienated from Peter amid his burgeoning
ego. |
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And
that ego itself is the central motif of this movie. Spiderman 1 showed
us how Peter grows into the shoes fate has cast him. Spiderman 2 reveals
his conflict in deciding whether wearing these shoes is in his best
interests. Spiderman 3 revolves around the consequences of Peter growing
too big for those shoes, playing to his growing fan base and become
increasingly flamboyant.
This degradation in his character is visually represented by his donning
of a shiny black version of his customary Spiderman costume. While
enhancing his powers, the suit seems to bring out the worst of his
temperament as he begins to stray from the signature maxim taught
to him by his Uncle Ben, "With great power comes great responsibility".
Spiderman 3 is thus the darkest Spiderman movie of all as our hero
is forced to confront inner demons that threaten to derail him. |
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No
Spiderman movie is complete without a memorable villain. Spiderman
3 serves up no less than three: Harry Osborne arrives as the New Goblin,
the amorphous Sandman carries a link to Peter's tragic past and Venom
emerges from the shiny black suit that Peter eventually manages to
cast off. In Spiderman tradition, each of these villains is humanized
and manages to earn our sympathy at precious moments. But perhaps
the greatest criticism of the movie is that juggling three such villains
denies us the towering singular presence of a character analogous
to Doc Ock in the previous movie.
And like the other ventures in the Spiderman series, this one too
shares with us Peter's thoughts and soliloquies as his conflicts multiply.
The defining moments of the film remain the snippets of advice he
receives and the realizations that dawn upon him at critical stages.
"Everyone needs somebody," insists Mary Jane Watson but
Peter brushes her off and adamantly plots a solo journey. Yet it is
these very words that resonate with Spiderman as he is about to confront
his enemies. "We are defined by the decisions we make,"
reflects Peter at another juncture of the plot where he accepts his
duty to uphold good in the world. |
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While
no one would dispute that this movie is a worthy addition to the genre,
the burning question remains: Does Spiderman 3 surpass its predecessors?
If the criterion for comparing the movies is special effects then
this version easily takes the cake. You really should plan to see
it on the silver screen or at least in high quality print to fully
appreciate the sight of Spiderman swinging between skyscrapers and
engaging in graphic action sequences. But if you prefer a movie that
jogs at a leisurely pace and coaxes you to journey through the intricate
web of Peter Parker's emotions, then Spiderman 3 remains an honorable
bridesmaid to Spiderman 2. Spiderman 3 is a movie that is always running
just a tad too fast, trying to accommodate too many people and often
consigning the best scenes to the status of fillers between meaty
fight sequences. It also disappoints in several plot points such as
failing to justify the origin of the shiny black suit, almost as if
its presence in the movie was an afterthought. If the directors plan
any additions to the franchise, they would do well to flesh out the
human elements and fine details of the plot. Otherwise, Spiderman
threatens to become just another flashy action series and that's not
all that makes a superhero endearing.
--Jazib Zahir *YUCK
**WHATEVER
***GOOD
****SUPER
*****AWESOME
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