Spiderman 3 Reviewed

I went to see Spiderman 3 last night and I'll try my best not to reveal too many plot points, but let's just say I was disappointed in the story. The action scenes were flat out amazing and the fight scenes were definitely worth the price of admission.

The problem was the acting and the story.

The movie could have benefited from chopping 20 minutes off the running time and the acting was wooden, especially in what were supposed to be heart rending scenes. Instead of a highly emotional scene, these scenes came off as over the top and the crowd laughed through these scenes.

I don't think that's what Sam Raimi had in mind when he put them on film.

Tobey Maguire contorted his face and scrunched it up into a tight little ball when he cried and it was more funny than it was sad. Maybe that's what Raimi was hoping to get out of those scenes where Peter Parker was running into relationship issues, but I don't think so. Kirsten Dunst was adequate eye candy, but I saw no reason to have the love quadrangle involving Mary Jane Watson, Parker, Harry Osborne and newcomer Gwen Stacy. Stacy's character was a distraction that added little, even as Stacy was involved for a brief moment with Eddie Brock who later becomes Venom.

Of the performances to watch, Topher Grace's Brock/Venom character along with Thomas Hayden Church's Flint Marko/Sandman were the most interesting. They were flawed people, whose superpowers exaggerated those flaws and the special effects for bringing both to life were impressive.

Too bad the acting between Mary Jane and Parker was so wooden. You just didn't get the feeling that the two were in love.

As for the box office, I think the movie will do impressive business this weekend, but it will drop off significantly as word of mouth filters out. It will not do nearly as well as Spiderman 2 either. I figure a solid $280 million, and Shrek 3 and Pirates 3 will likely surpass it.

UPDATE:


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