Day 197 - Spiderman 3

Day 197        Spiderman 3 [2007]

                          

Screenplay                    Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi & Alvin Sargent

Based on                       ‘Spider-man’ by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko

Director                         Sam Raimi

Cinematography            Bill Pope

Music                            Christopher Young

Leads                            Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rosemary Harris, Elizabeth Banks, J. K. Simmons, James Cromwell

IMDb                                 6.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes                63%

I’m not sure I have the time do delve into everything wrong with this film. It was a mess from start to finish. Everything about it was muddled, as if someone was jabbing a hot poker into my side all through the film as I felt myself become maddened by a disaster of a movie. The first Spiderman movie is a guilty pleasure of mine, so I’m not trying to take shots at the franchise, cast or director. Trilogies often deteriorate over time, as the Hollywood machine whirs through the gears, squeezing out as much money as it can before a franchise is left wheezing and coughing on the side of the street. However, that is not written in stone, off the top of my head LOTR and Toy Story show that if you work hard and you keep the team together your franchise may even improve throughout. Despite its big budget, strong cast and attractive characters (FOUR superheroes/villains) this film is abysmal. Where do I begin? Maguire’s acting, I think. How did he get away with three films? It’s as if by the third film he’s so chuffed to have gotten away with it that he’s given up acting. The worst came when under Venom’s influence – he was a sheep in wolf’s clothing or like Topher Grace trying to play Venom – oh wait, have I not yet mentioned that Grace plays Venom? Maguire’s dance scene and ‘cool’ walk were two of the cringiest scenes I’ve ever had the displeasure of watching. The worst thing about the jazz bar bit was that it seemed to be a tribute to Ron Burgundy’s flute scene or perhaps to The Mask (Day 194), but it was like a small-town improv club paying tribute to a west-end show and expecting to be recognised. I have plenty of other questions, such as isn’t the Sandman something to do with your dreams, rather than just literal sand man? And, how the hell doesn’t James Franco not die when a grenade explodes inches from his face? All this chaos made me forget that there are good actors in this film! Kirsten Dunst and J. K. Simmons do their best, but sadly it’s nowhere near enough to save the sinking ship. I’m trying to think of a single positive thing, and I suppose the special effects were impressive, but really even things like the editing were not of a standard I expected with rushed cuts and news coverage clips that were out of a Z movie. I have heard that the director and producers battled over putting Venom in and if that is the case then I can sympathise with Raimi. Having to squeeze in multiple storylines and characters would have made it hard to create any worthy dialogue or plot. I urge you to avoid this film or to watch it and have a good laugh.

Acting                               1 / Maguire

                                     2.5 / Everyone else

Writing                             1 / 4

Cinematography               3 / 4

Music                               2 / 4

HWF rating                  1 / 4