SPIDER-MAN 3

"You have a choice"

Peter Parker (Maguire) has finally got his life in balance. Mixing his studies, photography, love life with Mary Jane (Dunst) and being Spider-Man perfectly, even the city of New York now adores him. Things are perfect, or so he thinks. Harry Osborn (Franco) still wants our friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler dead because he thinks he killed his father, the police discover that his beloved Uncle Ben's real killer is still on the loose and an alien parasite has just landed on Earth and is looking for a willing host.

After being the hero in two of the biggest grossing movies of all time, Spider-Man's third adventure has a lot to live up to but the good news is that he swings back into action.

Defeating the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus will seem easy for Spider-Man because what he has to face in the movie will change him forever. Firstly we have Harry Osborn's obsession will getting revenge on Peter for the death of his father. After discovering his Norman's secret lab with all the Green Goblin toys, he continues his father's work, becoming the New Goblin. Secondly we have Flint Marko, the man who was really responsible for the death of Peter's Uncle Ben, on the run after escaping from prison falls into a silicon experiment that transforms him into a being of living sand. Finally a meteorite has fallen to Earth containing a black, symbiotic organism that seeks out anger and hatred and binds itself to that individual, making them supremely confident and overly aggressive. All these factors come together to tear Peter's world apart, transforming him into someone none of his friends or family recognise.

The first movie dealt with Peter understanding that with great power can great responsibility and the second with him learning to live with that power, the third movie deals with how to control it and not be tempted to abuse it. This theme of choosing how to use the power Peter has been given rings true throughout the movie. We see how he gets caught up in the admiration of the city, making him overly confident and slightly big headed and then consumed by anger as the police reveal that the man who killed Uncle Ben is still at large. This is what makes the Spider-Man movies and character such a fan favourite, as he deals with real human emotion and reacts like a normal person would under such extreme circumstances. Peter Parker/Spider-Man has always been a very real character, a normal person with superhuman powers, struggling to cope with all that that entails.

The third movie shows that the cast and crew have really now got to know the characters and the world that the superhero inhabits. 'Spider-Man 2' was arguably one of the best comic book movies ever made and was always going to be hard to follow and director Sam Raimi and his creative team try to surpass what they achieved with the second movie but while they make a superhuman effort, they don't quite match the second film. This does mean to say that Spidey's new adventure isn't still an amazing adventure, because it is. The action sequences are simply jaw dropping, as the Spider-Man battles the New Goblin, the Sandman and Venom numerous times throughout the movie. Each battle sequence is more action packed than the last, pushing visual effects to their limits, setting the standard for the comic book genre.

Tobey Maguire really has to push himself to the limit of the Peter Parker character in this movie. Peter has to show real emotion in this movie, as this is a roller coaster ride of up and downs throughout. From being completely happy and in love, to being riddled with feelings of anger and revenge whilst wearing the symbiotic black suit. This is Tobey Maguire's best and most confident performance in the role and he even gets to inject some comedy and dance into the role. Kirsten Dunst also gets to develop the role of Mary Jane Watson much further than she ever did before, showing jealousy, anger and fear throughout the film. James Franco finally gets to sink his teeth into the role of Harry Osborn and get involved with the action for the first time. As the New Goblin, his is consumed by revenge and goaded by his father as the same traits start to appear in him that lead to Norman Osborn's death. The other returning cast members also have the chance to push their characters on. J.K. Simmons has even more fun as J. Jonah Jameson, stealing every scene he is in. Rosemary Harris continues to be Peter's voice of reason, Aunt May. Dylan Baker makes an all too brief appearance as Dr. Connors. Elizabeth Banks, Bill Nunn and Ted Raimi provide some laughs as Miss Brant, Robbie Robertson and Hoffman but as usual Bruce Campbell's cameo is the real highlight of the film, as he plays a hilarious French Maître d'.

The new cast members are a little mixed however due to the decision to have three villains in the movie instead of one, like the previous two. Thomas Haden Church's Flint Marko/Sandman is a visually stunning character but one that is criminally underused. Serving only as the personification of Peter's revenge, he has little screen time as himself or enough backstory or development to make you connect with this supposedly sympathetic character. Topher Grace's Eddie Brook is suitably sleazy and understandably drawn to the alien symbiote when it leaves Peter. The rest of the new characters don't get much of a look in. The extremely talented Bryce Dallas Howard doesn't get the chance to develop love rival Gwen Stacy and James Cromwell has nothing to do as police chief and Gwen's father Captain Stacy.

'Spider-Man 3' might not be as good as the second movie but fans of the wall crawler should rejoice at his return. The decision to have three main villains means that while Harry Osborn/New Goblin gets the development, the Sandman and Venom suffer from a lack of screen time to really show what they can do. This is a film all about Peter Parker/Spider-Man however and again the movie allows the character to grow and learn a valuable lesson about life as a superhero. Visually stunning, very funny in parts and compulsive viewing throughout, Spider-Man's third adventure will have you captured in his web.

Commentary with Director & Cast
Filmmakers Commentary
Blooper Reel
Easter Egg: Scoring the Blooper Reel
Easter Egg 2: Grant Curtis ADR Session
Featurette: Grains of Sand - Building Sandman
Featurette: Re-imagining the Goblin
Featurette: Covered in Black - Creating Venom
Featurette: Hanging On… Gwen Stacy & the Collapsing Floor
Featurette: Fighting, Flying & Driving - The Stunts
Featurette: Tangled Web - The Love Triangles of Spider-Man 3
Featurette: Wall of Water: The Big Dump
Featurette: Inside the Editing Room
Featurette: The Science of SoundFeaturette: On Location New York - From Rooftops to Backstreets
Featurette: On Location Cleveland - The Chase on Euclid Avenue
Photo Gallery: Sketches
Photo Gallery: Paintings
Photo Gallery: Sculptures
Photo Gallery: Special Effects
Photo Gallery: Director & Cast
Music Video: Snow Patrol - Signal Fire
TV Spots Around the World: Japan, Spain, Germany, Italy, Chile, Russia, Brazil, UK
Spider-Man 3 Trailers

Spider-Man

Spider-Man 2

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2007