The Spiderman movies have a history of editorial cuts. The original had images of the World Trade Centre removed in postproduction after the events of September 11. In early drafts, ‘Spiderman 2’ had the Black cat included as a major character. (At the time, some commentators thought there was no future for scenes of urban terror in the cinema. Six years later, Sam Raimi, the director of the Spiderman movies, deploys plenty of images of people falling from damaged office buildings and of Manhattan streets temporarily shrouded in dust.) Ironic, then, that ‘Spiderman 3’, a bloated messy affair, was nearly cut into two films after a screenplay, which only included the Sandman, had to be re-written to include the villain, Venom. The strain shows.
The opening sequence provides the first hint of the narrative problems as it is like watching an episode of ‘Fame’, scripted on the day the writers swapped jobs with their pets. The dialogue craves accompanying speech bubbles and Spiderman appears to have had his sense of humour outsourced to Gotham City.
In the preceding films, the viewer could sit back and enjoy some CGI generated slapdowns. ‘Spiderman 3’ has so many plot elements to introduce, including a superfluous amnesia storyline, that there are plentiful buttock shifts before Peter Parker eventually, satisfyingly, takes a roundhouse to the nostrils.
The story flits from a competitive dynamic between Peter Parker and his best friend, Harry Osborn, to the introduction of convict Flint Marko, who has escaped from prison but, judging by his T-shirt, is not yet free from the confines of Freddie Krueger’s away kit.
Flint is a man on the lam and his badge-wearing pursuers force him to take an unplanned trip to the seaside. Like many who have bought food on a pier, he is soon experiencing advanced molecular restructuring, a consequence of falling into some kind of giant candyfloss maker. It is a boon for his career as he returns as a big, mean, son of a beach.
Spiderman is paddling in the shallows of celebrity, just as his girlfriend’s career needs a life jacket. There are consequences for their relationship, which leads to the funniest scene. It stars Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi stalwart, whose face contorted its way through the ‘Evil Dead’ movies. Parker, traumatised by a row with Mary-Jane and Campbell’s French accent, succumbs to the dark side.
The much-trailed black suit is a wasted opportunity. Spiderman becomes more aggressive but he would still struggle to disturb Little Miss Muffet’s lunch. Parker changes his wardrobe, evolves to a super-fly-guy, strutting his stuff through the streets of Manhattan, before settling as a lounge lizard. His new vanity serves the narrative and the remainder of the film is a battle featuring Sandman and the man in the mirror.
The individual chunks are not terrible but without a convincing structure it is a boring experience, akin to typing ‘Spiderman’ into YouTube and randomly watching the filtered clips.
The final sequence is dramatic but it is the high wire act of a circus performed by men in funny suits. The preceding stunts lack an effective ringmaster and ‘Spiderman 3’ highlights the need to change directors. Sam Raimi has contributed two superb films but has clearly become bored. The franchise needs a new sheriff.
The opening sequence provides the first hint of the narrative problems as it is like watching an episode of ‘Fame’, scripted on the day the writers swapped jobs with their pets. The dialogue craves accompanying speech bubbles and Spiderman appears to have had his sense of humour outsourced to Gotham City.
In the preceding films, the viewer could sit back and enjoy some CGI generated slapdowns. ‘Spiderman 3’ has so many plot elements to introduce, including a superfluous amnesia storyline, that there are plentiful buttock shifts before Peter Parker eventually, satisfyingly, takes a roundhouse to the nostrils.
The story flits from a competitive dynamic between Peter Parker and his best friend, Harry Osborn, to the introduction of convict Flint Marko, who has escaped from prison but, judging by his T-shirt, is not yet free from the confines of Freddie Krueger’s away kit.
Flint is a man on the lam and his badge-wearing pursuers force him to take an unplanned trip to the seaside. Like many who have bought food on a pier, he is soon experiencing advanced molecular restructuring, a consequence of falling into some kind of giant candyfloss maker. It is a boon for his career as he returns as a big, mean, son of a beach.
Spiderman is paddling in the shallows of celebrity, just as his girlfriend’s career needs a life jacket. There are consequences for their relationship, which leads to the funniest scene. It stars Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi stalwart, whose face contorted its way through the ‘Evil Dead’ movies. Parker, traumatised by a row with Mary-Jane and Campbell’s French accent, succumbs to the dark side.
The much-trailed black suit is a wasted opportunity. Spiderman becomes more aggressive but he would still struggle to disturb Little Miss Muffet’s lunch. Parker changes his wardrobe, evolves to a super-fly-guy, strutting his stuff through the streets of Manhattan, before settling as a lounge lizard. His new vanity serves the narrative and the remainder of the film is a battle featuring Sandman and the man in the mirror.
The individual chunks are not terrible but without a convincing structure it is a boring experience, akin to typing ‘Spiderman’ into YouTube and randomly watching the filtered clips.
The final sequence is dramatic but it is the high wire act of a circus performed by men in funny suits. The preceding stunts lack an effective ringmaster and ‘Spiderman 3’ highlights the need to change directors. Sam Raimi has contributed two superb films but has clearly become bored. The franchise needs a new sheriff.
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