Susan Granger’s review of “Spider-Man 3” (Columbia Pictures)
Launching the summer popcorn picture season, this third installment finds the web-slinger battling not only his inner demons but three formidable villains.
Just as Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) manages to strike a balance between his devotion to Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and his crime-stopper duties, he discovers a sinister black suit that enhances his power but evokes deep within him feelings of bitterness and anger. Then there are the bad guys: Venom (Topher Grace), Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church) and Harry Osborn (James Franco), vengeful son of Willem Dafoe’s original Green Goblin, who takes up Daddy’s mantle.
Fiendishly fangy Venom is like an evil mirror-image of Spidey, a symbiote who wants to fuse with him. When he’s rejected, he slithers off and bonds with Peter Parker’s newspaper rival Eddie Brock.
Sandman, a.k.a. Flint Marko, is an escaped convict with an ailing daughter who becomes a crumbling shape-shifter after stumbling into a molecular fusion experiment.
Plus there’s flirtatious Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) to make M.J. jealous.
Based on Marvel Comics characters, the first “Spider-Man” introduced Tobey Maguire as the dual-identity super-hero with Kirsten Dunst as his aspiring actress sweetheart, establishing their individuality and relationship. Writer/director Sam Raimi, along with his brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent, weave lots of gigantic action into this lengthy, complex concept. If you thought the runaway-elevated-train sequence in “Spider-Man 2” was exciting, this time there’s an underground subway fight, an airborne battle and showdown finale at a skyscraper construction site. Intense!
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Spider-Man 3” is a soul-searching, nimble 9, setting the stage for Spidey #4 – and it’s just been announced that U2’s Bono and The Edge with “Lion King” director Julie Taymor will create “Spider-Man: The Musical” for Broadway.
Susan Granger's review of "Spider-Man 3" (Columbia Pictures) Launching the summer popcorn picture season, this third installment finds the web-slinger battling not only his inner demons but three formidable villains. Just as Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) manages to strike a balance between his devotion to Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and his crime-stopper duties, he discovers a sinister black suit that enhances his power but evokes deep within him feelings of bitterness and anger. Then there are the bad guys: Venom (Topher Grace), Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church) and Harry Osborn (James Franco), vengeful son of Willem Dafoe's original Green Goblin, who takes up Daddy's mantle. Fiendishly fangy Venom is like an evil mirror-image of Spidey, a symbiote who wants to fuse with him. When he's rejected, he slithers off and bonds with Peter Parker's newspaper rival Eddie Brock. Sandman, a.k.a. Flint Marko, is an escaped convict with an ailing daughter who becomes a crumbling shape-shifter after stumbling into a molecular fusion experiment. Plus there's flirtatious Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) to make M.J. jealous. Based on Marvel Comics characters, the first "Spider-Man" introduced Tobey Maguire as the dual-identity super-hero with Kirsten Dunst as his aspiring actress sweetheart, establishing their individuality and relationship. Writer/director Sam Raimi, along with his brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent, weave lots of gigantic action into this lengthy, complex concept. If you thought the runaway-elevated-train sequence in "Spider-Man 2" was exciting, this time there's an underground subway fight, an airborne battle and showdown finale at a skyscraper construction site. Intense! On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Spider-Man 3" is a soul-searching, nimble 9, setting the stage for Spidey #4 - and it's just been announced that U2's Bono and The Edge with "Lion King" director Julie Taymor will create "Spider-Man: The Musical" for Broadway.