Spider-Man 3

By Jason Tozer 

Spider-Man has won the hearts of the American people and learned to balance his vigilante ways with his personal life as secret identity Peter Parker.

However, when an alien virus-like creature lands on earth via a meteor and attaches itself to Spider-Man, enhancing his abilities and emotions, the superhero has to deal with his inner demons while handling not one but three super-villains.

This instalment, and I say instalment because I fear Hollywood isn't done with Spider-Man just yet, suffers the same problem other superhero series have faced.

Just like Batman Forever , Superman III and X-Men: The Last Stand, Spider-Man's third chapter fails to build upon the series in the spectacular way his second one did.

Spider-Man 3 suffers from a plot overload. Despite being the longest of the three films, the multitude of supporting characters and numerous subplots see the main characters neglected the screen-time needed to properly develop their stories.

I think the film would have benefited from one of its villains being cut and saved for the next film (we all know its coming), and reducing its running time by 10 or 20 minutes.

All that said, it can't be denied the film is fun and exciting. It has a number of truly funny scenes to break up the action and, as always, is a veritable feast of colour and wonder for the eyes.

Director Sam Raimi has perfectly balanced his use of computer-generated visuals. While it has just as many CGI scenes as the first two films, if not more, they no longer have a cartoon-like, computer game appearance.

Particular note must be drawn to the Sandman's genesis scene. It is crafted so beautifully that it conveys the conflicted emotion and inner struggle of his character without a word of dialogue.

When considered as a whole you'll find this Spider-Man outing is still fun, entertaining and visually breathtaking, but fails to reach the dizzying heights of its prequels.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

This review first appeared in the Queanbeyan Age

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