Movie Reviews: Spiderman 3

Spider-Man 3

Recommended For: Ages 10 to Adult

Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of intense action violence)

Peter Parker has finally managed to piece together the once-broken parts of his life, maintaining a balance between his relationship with Mary-Jane and his responsibility as Spider-Man. But more challenges arise for Spider-Man. Peter's old friend Harry Obsourne has set out for revenge against Peter, taking up the mantle of his late father's persona as The New Goblin. Peter is also faced with Uncle Ben's real killer, Flint Marko, who has been transformed into his toughest foe yet, the Sandman. All hope seems lost until Peter's suit turns jet-black and greatly amplifies his powers. But it also begins to greatly amplify the much darker qualities of Peter's personality that he begins to lose himself to. Peter has to reach deep inside himself to free the compassionate hero he used to be if he is to ever conquer the darkness within and face not only his greatest enemies, but also...himself.

Okay, I'm going to have a hard time not geeking out about this. Not especially because Spider-Man 3 was completely awesome, but put together, the three Spider-Man movies are completely awesome. Watching Spider-Man 3 reminded me how much I really loved Peter Parker. I haven't ever seen The Amazing Spiderman or The Amazing Spiderman 2, and I honestly don't intend to. Especially since I just found out there will be no The Amazing Spiderman 3 because Marvel is rebooting the whole Spiderman franchise for Spiderman's appearance in Captain America: Civil War and will presumably give Peter Parker the third backstory in fifteen years. I probably defend the Tobey Maguire Spiderman so fiercely because I first saw part of the first Spider-Man movie in 2006, even before Spider-Man 3 came out. And anyways, on to my review.

Technical: 5/5

Tobey Maguire is a very good and a very unique actor. He did an exceptional job as Peter Parker/Spiderman. MJ and all the other characters were well-acted as well. The special effects: completely up to par. I must admit, the way Sandman's body disintegrates into sand time after time is creepy. Well-done, but creepy. I love how both Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 have overviews of what previously happened in the beginning credits. Best use of beginning credits I've ever seen. And the overview was nice since it had been a while since we saw the first two movies.

Setting: 5/5

It seems almost every superhero movie is set in New York City. This one is no exception. Honestly, it would be kind of weird if this movie wasn't in NYC since the first two were. And it seems to fit. I'm assuming the movie was actually filmed in New York City. In any case, NYC seems pretty realistic to me.

Plot: 4.5/5

It's a sequel. You can pretty much guarantee it won't get all five stars. But despite the sequel aspect, the plot was very intriguing and didn't seem contrived or just a little lame like most sequels of really popular movies are. In fact, this movie was the least predictable of the Spider-Man trilogy. I must admit, however, Peter's relationship problems with MJ made me more nervous than the action parts! Like most sequels with the continuance of a romance subplot, there were misunderstandings between Peter and MJ that cause conflict. Even so, the misunderstanding conflict was the best I've ever seen it done. And the climax...I'm still reeling over the awesome climax. Still probably not as good as the first and second ones, although I'm not quite sure on this. I am relieved they didn't follow through with their Spider-Man 4 plan, though. Spider-Man 3 tied it up perfectly.

Character Development: 5/5

This is probably the main reason why I'm so adamant against seeing The Amazing Spiderman and The Amazing Spiderman 2, and honestly, the whole idea of those two movies ever existing (please don't kill me over here). I mean really, the character development in the original (I refuse to call them "old" when the first movie is a year younger than me) Spider-Man movies is awesome. The characters are stellar. Peter Parker/Spiderman is still just as flawed as ever, which makes him my second-favorite superhero, tied with the Incredible Hulk/David Banner from the eighties and second to only Captain America. I love MJ, and Peter's best friend Harry...I'm really not sure what to say about him. Aunt May is wonderful (I wish I had an Aunt May) and the villains...um...it's kind of hard to develop the character of a mysterious space substance. Frank Marko, while still a villain, just loves his daughter. He wanted to make her healthy again the whole time. And Eddie and Gwen...well. They're...interesting.

For anyone who has seen Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 and hasn't watched Spider-Man 3, watch it. You won't regret it. For anyone who has seen The Amazing Spiderman and hasn't seen this Spiderman trilogy, go watch these movies now. And if you haven't seen any Spiderman movies, you should watch these movies. They're really really good. And kudos to anyone who has seen all three movies. We should really talk sometime.