Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Story: As Peter (Tobey Maguire) prepares to take the next step in his relationship with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), they each struggle professionally, putting a strain on their relationship. Peter competes with Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) for a newly available staff position at the Daily Bugle, while Harry (James Franco) puts his plan for revenge in motion. At the same time, Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), a new suspect in Uncle Ben's murder, escapes from prison. All of these things are set on edge when a symbiote space attaches itself to Spider-Man's suit.

I've been reading a number of interviews with director and co-writer Sam Raimi over the last little while, and he talks a fair bit about a) what kind of person Peter is and b) his concerns about having Peter go dark. Makes sense to me. It's Peter, not Spider-Man, that makes the more compelling character. His struggles are far more relatable and interesting. At the same time, there's something messed up about Peter. There's something wrong with a person who believes it is his duty to operate outside the law. All those things come together to provide the true tension of the Spider-Man movies.

As for the going dark bit, I had the following reaction: part of me said, "Ack! Not my dreamy, moony, ageless, semi-sexless Peter/Tobey!" and the other part of me wished it had gone on a lot longer.

I was kind of surprised by how much I liked Franco in this movie. Recently in the Ask the A.V. Club, someone wondered why critics all seem to like Franco in reviews even when they complain about the crappy, crappy movies he's in. The answer was pretty simple: Freaks and Geeks. To be honest, I haven't really liked him in anything since either. Well, I liked him in these movies, but that was more the movies than anything he was doing. And yet, here? I began to think that F&G wasn't a one-off. Maybe there is something to him.

Now, Harry's revenge as been two movies coming, so it was nice to see that finally come to a head. His sub-plot kept me engaged. Less engaging was, say, Marko's subplot. Oh, look, a little girl is on oxygen! Now I care! Except . . . meh. I know Sandman's old school, and I am sure that there are a lot of people out there waiting to see what would happen when he came to the big screen. I found it hard to connect. Church holds a lot back for a lot of the movie, and it's not that he can't act (you see him do it). It's just that he plays up how dim Marko is to the point of pushing everything else aside, which isn't that fun to watch.

Grace is a lot more fun to watch. I'm pretty sure he's always fun to watch: the over-the-top confidence that barely masks a vast ocean of self-doubt, the sarcasm, the (kind of hilarious) desire for revenge. He makes a wonderful Venom if for no other reason than the fact that I totally believe he's got it in for Peter/Spidey.

I think we already know that Maguire rocks harder than anyone in these movies. Well, except for Rosemary Harris as Aunt May. And maybe Bruce Campbell because he makes everything better. Anyway, I'm not going to press the point of how Maguire is the one of the most wonderfully naturalistic actors I have ever seen. Nope, not pressing the point. And he has lovely chemistry with the generally underrated Dunst. Okay, now I'm done.

Now you're thinking to yourself, "What's with all this character crap? When is she going to get to the good stuff?" You've hit the nail on the head there, gentle reader. That's what an impatient person might be asking Raimi right now. That person might say, "Listen, that sequence where Sandman tries to reform out of sand for the first time is really cool, and I was moved at the end when we learned what really happened the day Ben Parker died. But what was with the rest of it?" I feel like it was more of a going out of business sale (despite what the studio may want) than a movie. Maybe if I wasn't so invested in Harry or dark Spidey or Venom, I could have spared some empathy for Marko or for Mary Jane's (unbelievable) professional problems.

Of course, it doesn't help that Spider-Man 2 was not only a great comic book movie but also one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. That's a lot to live up to, and, in a lot of ways, this movie does (minus Christopher Young's egregious score). If only it weren't so character heavy. B