Spiderman 3
by James Harper
I am a huge Spider-man fan and have been since the age of about eight years old. Spider-man has been around in various TV forms for a long time, and it is great that special effects can finally do the character justice, something that was not true back in the 60s when various Marvel TV shows popped up on Saturday morning in animated versions that were not all that animated. The newest version has not one, not two, but three villains, and even though the movie is two hours and twenty minutes long, it moves along rather briskly. I was never bored with it except for when the director, Sam Raimi of the Evil Dead trilogy, zooms in on a shot to show us what is going on at a molecular level in a character, as he did in earlier films. It is a cute trick but adds absolutely nothing to the movie.
There are a couple of new characters that show up in this film. Byrce Dallas Howard is drop-dead gorgeous as Gwen Stacy. As I remember the comic books, Gwen was always more serious than MJ was, and MJ was more of a freer spirit, somewhat of the opposite of the way they are portrayed in the current movie. This small point does not distract from the movie though. Mary Jane Watson, played by Kirsten Dunst, is in somewhat of a down mood for most of the movie, but the actress still holds the screen beautifully. Even when she is acting like a spoiled brat we are rooting for her.
The biggest surprise is Thomas Haden Church who plays the Sandman. It is absolutely perfect casting, and he brings a pathos to the character that otherwise might be missing. For my money, the Sandman is the most interesting character in the film, though he is not given that much actual screen time.
In fact Spider-man 3 does not have the heart and soul that Spider-man 2 did. There are so many plot threads going on, and they are not all pulling in the same direction, that the movie feels busy but is lacking an emotional tug. The film might have been better off by eliminating a story line and making it a little slicker meaner movie. But this is a comic book type movie, and the action sequences do not let you down. It will be amazing to see what someone with vision will do with the special effect capabilities that the film studios have at their fingertips today. I don't think they have even scratched the surface. Movies have come a long way since Terminator 2 , but there is still a lot of room left for imagination. I saw Spider-man 3 in the Imax version, and it looked great. If you are going to spend the money, consider spending the extra few dollars and see it in the larger format with the better sound system.
You can write James Harper at movielover77061@yahoo.com
UnRated Magazine Movies
I am a huge Spider-man fan and have been since the age of about eight years old. Spider-man has been around in various TV forms for a long time, and it is great that special effects can finally do the character justice, something that was not true back in the 60s when various Marvel TV shows popped up on Saturday morning in animated versions that were not all that animated. The newest version has not one, not two, but three villains, and even though the movie is two hours and twenty minutes long, it moves along rather briskly. I was never bored with it except for when the director, Sam Raimi of the Evil Dead trilogy, zooms in on a shot to show us what is going on at a molecular level in a character, as he did in earlier films. It is a cute trick but adds absolutely nothing to the movie.
There are a couple of new characters that show up in this film. Byrce Dallas Howard is drop-dead gorgeous as Gwen Stacy. As I remember the comic books, Gwen was always more serious than MJ was, and MJ was more of a freer spirit, somewhat of the opposite of the way they are portrayed in the current movie. This small point does not distract from the movie though. Mary Jane Watson, played by Kirsten Dunst, is in somewhat of a down mood for most of the movie, but the actress still holds the screen beautifully. Even when she is acting like a spoiled brat we are rooting for her.
The biggest surprise is Thomas Haden Church who plays the Sandman. It is absolutely perfect casting, and he brings a pathos to the character that otherwise might be missing. For my money, the Sandman is the most interesting character in the film, though he is not given that much actual screen time.
In fact Spider-man 3 does not have the heart and soul that Spider-man 2 did. There are so many plot threads going on, and they are not all pulling in the same direction, that the movie feels busy but is lacking an emotional tug. The film might have been better off by eliminating a story line and making it a little slicker meaner movie. But this is a comic book type movie, and the action sequences do not let you down. It will be amazing to see what someone with vision will do with the special effect capabilities that the film studios have at their fingertips today. I don't think they have even scratched the surface. Movies have come a long way since Terminator 2 , but there is still a lot of room left for imagination. I saw Spider-man 3 in the Imax version, and it looked great. If you are going to spend the money, consider spending the extra few dollars and see it in the larger format with the better sound system.You can write James Harper at movielover77061@yahoo.com
UnRated Magazine Movies
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