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I love a film with merit, integrity and depth - but if I'm seeing a
flick about a giant spider - I want to see shit explode! Thankfully,
despite what the critics say, Spider-Man 3 is the first time in the history of the franchise that Ramai got it right!
The third, and quite possibly last installment in the ground breaking series (Ramai's first Spider-Man flick made way for a slew of nasty titles being given the greenlight - the worst of which was Ghost Rider)
is by no means a brain buster. In it, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is
up to his usual tricks (being a university geek, as well as saving
New York from a variety of villains).
And there are villains aplenty!
This
time around, Thomas Hayden Church blows in as the
Sandman (a convict with a molecular structure that allows him to
form
and reform from piles of sand), James Franco is back (this time as
a baddie - The New Goblin - out to avenge the death of his father) and
of course - the slime ball that is Venom!
While the bounty of plot lines and characters being thrown about may be off putting to the Spider-Man
die hards that loved the simple complexities of the first two
films, you simply can't go past the phenomenal action sequences to
warrant value for money.
From skyline aerial battles and
underground pipe brawls to a simply spectacular finale (many will get
flashbacks of Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters
when Sandman takes his most destructive form) the folks behind the
scenes have really gone above and beyond here. Unlike the previous
Spidey installments, there are numerous and complex sequences, each of
which are bound to give HD Screens and Surround Systems a hell of a
work out!
Much like the third installments of both the Batman and Superman franchises (both of which opted for the multi villain narratives - Superman 3 even shared the Good/Evil hero plot), Spider-Man 3
does tend to lose sight of reality about half way through and opt for a
more camp angle (the now infamous 'Emo Spider-Man' sequence). While
this does deliver a few light hearted laughs, it does tend to take you
out of the film (the first time in any of the films) which is a real
shame considering the lengths that Ramai has gone to avoid such
distractions previously. None the less, you can't really get angry when
Toby McGuire is making a complete dick of himself for the good of the
movie going public!
Positively bubbling with ridiculous plots, CGI and action, Spider-Man 3
is everything you want in a superhero flick. If you're after in-depth
character development, go and rent/indulge yourself in a good five hour
version of The Piano. If you're after perfect popcorn fun, then enjoy Spider-Man 3 for what it is: A Superhero movie.
And a great one at that.
EXTRAS
More
DVD extras than you can poke a stick at. The 'Quality vs Quantity'
question still arises with these sort of 2 Disc Editions. The extras
found on the Feature Disc, while not as bulk packed as the second disc,
probably contains the more enjoyable extras.
Blooper reel, music videos and commentaries really do the trick here. And, most of the time, that really should do - however Spider-Man 3 was the biggest flick of the year, so it makes sense that the folks at Sony throw as much stuff as they can on here.
Sadly, the bulk of the fluffy featurettes on the second disc (and there are plenty
of them!) tend to become rather similar and bland after about five
minutes in - but there is enough included to keep everyone happy
(especially the CGI and Stunt nuts).
Extra points for the cool embossed slip-cover on the US version of the release!
Fun flick, great package. Conclusion:
Movie 75% Extras: 65%
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