Spidey

Saturday night Maryanne and I went to see Spider-Man 3 at the IMAX. While none of the Spider-Man movies have been 100% faithful to the comics, they have been accurate enough, I think, for most comic book geeks while still being able to tell a story within the constraints of a feature film. There's enough action to keep someone like myself interested, and enough of the human element in the drama to keep someone like Maryanne interested. And thus, like the previous movies, we both enjoyed it. It featured some wonderful casting, including the addition of Bruce Campbell as a maitre d'. Lest I give away any spoilers in my thoughts on the movie, details are in the Full Post.

Spider-Man 3 took on both the Venom and Sandman stories, and despite being shortened to fit into the film, I thought a fair job was done with them. Eddie Brock was portrayed in a slightly different way than in the comics, but I thought it worked well for the movie, and Topher Grace did a good job. There wasn't enough time spent with the related Gwen Stacy storyline compared to what's present in the comics, and I think spending a little more time with it could have made Eddie's need for vengeance a little stronger. The Sandman plot, with Thomas Haden Church in the role of Flint Marko, was convincing, though, and contained that human element that helped set Marvel apart from D.C. in the '60s.

I was a little disappointed in the Harry Osborn plot, though. His drive for revenge was believable. However, his butler's revelation of the truth of Norman Osborn's demise smacked of deus ex machina, and Harry's resulting forgiveness of Peter and helping of Peter was a little cheesy. While Harry's sacrificial death to save Peter was brilliantly foreshadowed, I found it disappointing because we'll never see any further story lines involving Peter's friendship with Harry.

The symbiont story line was handled well, including the introduction of Dr. Connors and the nearly verbatim church bell tower scene where Peter finally rids himself of the symbiont only to have it take over Eddie Brock and turn him into Venom. This, too, was brilliantly foreshadowed earlier in the film.

Maryanne and I both wondered if another film will be made. There are plenty of villains left that a fourth installment wouldn't be out of the question, but I think it behooves Sony/Columbia to make sure they get the same cast back if they want to continue the franchise.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Free: "All Right Now"