Spiderman 3

-Directed by: Sam Raimi

Starring:
-Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco

Ok, I'll admit it. I bought my tickets for this movie about a month ago. I braved the crowds and the fans who were stranger than me just to sit through a movie that was a bit of a disappointment. Now, don't get me wrong...this was a perfect way to open the summer movie season. The problem was that the movie was just too much in a lot of ways. Too many villains, too many clunking points in the plot and too many attempts at being clever that added up to the end result of being a little less than hoped for.

The movie opens with Peter Parker trying to find a balance between being a boyfriend to Mary Jane Watson and being the hero of New York. It's a hard job, but he does the best he can and you see the lengths he wants to go to to make her happy. The problem is an understandable one though. He can't be everything for everyone and Maguire is believable in his frustration. Adding to Peter's problems is the arrival of a new Green Goblin thanks to his former friend Harry Osbourne, but it doesn't stop there. The story has two more villains with the presence of Venom and The Sandman. Presentation wise, the effects for all three villains are amazing. The problem is that the story doesn't really let you get involved as well as I would have liked. It jumps from scene to scene and can leave you feeling a little short changed. I think it would have been much better if you'd have eliminated one villain. You could have fully told the story and given the audience a show worth watching.

Also, I feel like this story if not the franchise would benefit from a new leading lady. Dunst's performance is incredibly wooden and you keep wishing she'd either get a backbone or a clue. She's a poor match with Maguire and Franco who present their characters with a lot of depth and personality. Spiderman is a great story and I think audiences want to fall in love with the story. That might be a lot easier with a warmer actress in the lead. There's also a lot of problems with the script. I kept wondering why certain parts were necessary and in an action movie that's rather distracting. A good action film moves you seamlessly from point to point in the plot and keeps you on the edge of your seat with the action. This film deserved that. It just didn't deliver.

Content wise, the franchise holds to form with little to no objectionable language and no nudity. The violence is most certaintly there, but you're not presented with a lot of gore. A refreshing change from some of the horror movies out now. Unfortunately though, I just can't recommend it no matter how much I might like to. Hopefully, the other offerings of the summer will give me something to cheer about.


-Jenn Untch
Liberty, Missouri
jennuntch@yahoo.com
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