It's shaping up to be a spectacular summer. My trip to the movies
tonight reminded me how many blockbusters await over the next few
months: Shrek the Third, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, The Simpsons Movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix...
Tomorrow I may begin rubbing my hands together in anticipation. But
today, I'll simply bask for a while in the brilliance of the film that
kick-started the season for me: Spider-Man 3.
The line
wound around the lobby of the cinema where I attended a midnight showing
of the highly anticipated third volume in the Spider-Man series.
Originally slated for two Thursday night showings, the theater had added
others; I imagine each of the allotted theaters was filled to bursting,
as ours was, with fans who persevered as patiently as possible through
countless repetitions of inane trivia, advertisements and, more
enthusiastically, previews for some of the summer's most promising
films.
And then came the movie, its dramatic opening credits a
montage of spider webs and brief footage of key characters leading up
to a shot of unassuming Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) gazing, mildly
impressed, at an electronic billboard welcoming visitors to the hometown
of Spider-Man. It's been a bumpy road for Peter since he was bitten by a
radioactive spider, but as this movie begins, everything seems to have
settled down in his life. Spider-Man is now revered rather than reviled,
and Peter remains firmly in Mary Jane's (Kirsten Dunst) affections.
The only trouble is Harry Osborn (James Franco),
who still carries a torch for the girl he and Peter both admired as
school chums and is none to happy with Peter, who he blames for his
father's death. Unfortunately, this is big trouble indeed, since Daddy
dearest is haunting Harry from beyond the grave, compelling him to
avenge him by becoming the new incarnation of the Green Goblin and going
after Spidey. And that's only the beginning...
There's a lot going on in this movie, whose action is driven more by events in the first film than in the second.
We have the ongoing romantic trials of Peter and Mary Jane, who is
struggling mightily as an actress, though Peter is too wrapped up in his
own concerns to notice. We know that they love each other, but they
hurt one another - and Peter is especially culpable in this department,
particularly when he evidently lets his publicity go to his head and
indulges in a rather steamy trademark Spidey kiss with a fellow college
student during a photo op. He does this shortly before he intends to
propose to Mary Jane, knowing that she must be watching, and even if she
isn't that it will soon be plastered all over the papers; why would he
ever think locking lips with another woman would be an acceptable idea?
Then there's the matter of the antagonists, and there are three: Eddie
Brock (Topher Grace), who covets the same position of staff photographer
at the newspaper that Peter does; Flint Marko (Thomas Hayden Church),
the skulking petty thief who put a bullet in Uncle Ben; and Harry. It
was this last who I figured would be the most important of the figures,
and I think I can truthfully say that he is, though not quite in the way
I expected. Each of the characters comes to a critical moment in which
he must decide whether or not to forgive past wrongs. Because this is
Peter's movie, the greatest focus is on him as he becomes infected with a
mysterious black ooze that amplifies the worst traits in the person to
whom it has attached itself. Initially drawn to this dark force by a
lust for revenge on the man who killed his uncle, Peter finds himself
irresistibly entangled in its influence, to the point that he barely
knows who he is anymore. He must choose between the visceral power that
comes with the mysterious substance and the security of being in control
of himself, even if it means getting hurt in the process.
Maguire does as fine a job in this third installment as in others. At
times, he is delightfully dorky, chugging along on his bike, getting
spit-balls thrown at him in class, explaining the acoustics of the
theatre to a self-conscious Mary Jane. But gentle, often goofy Peter
fades as he begins to wear his new black suit at all times. Soon he is
like Clark Kent on red Kryptonite, swaggering his way down the street,
using his powers cavalierly, snapping at anyone who tries to talk a
little sense into him. At still other times, he is humbled, reverent,
somber. We see all shades of him, and it makes him very human.
The other cast standout is Franco as Harry, who spends half the film in
a euphoric daze following a near-fatal incident that leaves him with no
short-term memory. Conveniently, among his lost memories is the fact
that he now hates Peter. The two are awarded a clean slate, a chance to
repair their tarnished relationship, which they do, beautifully. And
then, all at once, the seemingly possessed portrait of Harry's father
speaks, and everything comes rushing back to the younger Osborn. Now he
remembers what happened between Peter and his father, and he too must
make a conscious choice. As nice as it is to see plenty of Franco's
lop-sided grin while Harry is wandering through life in blissful
oblivion, the dark emotions with which he wrestles upon receiving his
revelation are what give his role in this film real depth.
If
this all sounds a bit heavy for a blockbuster... Well, it is, but there
is plenty of light to balance it out. The audience laughed aloud many
times, including during every scene in which abrasive, tantrum-throwing
editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson (J. K. Simmons) took part. They
chortled at the first sight of Bruce Campbell, who appeared briefly but
memorably in the first two films and took on a similarly comical role
here as a maitre d' with a ridiculous French accent. Grace's aspiring
professional photographer is entertainingly irritating, with constant
snappy remarks and an attitude compelling him to do whatever it takes to
get to the top. Always a treat: Peter's paternal, heavily accented
landlord (Elya Baskin) and his daughter (Mageina Tovah), who chirps out
messages for Peter and admires him from across the hall. And there are
all sorts of moments throughout the film involving the main characters,
from a botched proposal dinner to a reading from a play Harry wrote in
high school, that elicit laughs.
So, too, is there plenty of
web-slinging action to keep everyone happy, to say nothing of the
impressive effects of the poisonous goo and the sand allowing Flint to
morph into forms far more threatening than his original body. As a
villain, he certainly is ominous, lumbering around town like
Frankenstein's monster wreaking havoc. We know, too, that he killed
Uncle Ben in cold blood. But the first time we see him in this film, he
is risking life and limb to return to his home and see his terminally
ill daughter, so we're inclined to be a little more sympathetic to him.
But is Peter?
Spider-Man 3, directed by Sam Raini and
written by Raini and his brother Ivan, is at once exhilarating and
devastating. It ends not with a bang, but with a whimper as characters
in the aftermath of traumas attempt to find their way together. Not only
lives but souls are at stake; some are lost and others are found. The
conclusion is a deeply satisfying one, albeit tempered by the realities
of grief and loss. There were no throaty cheers that escaped the
audience just as the credits began to roll. But there were minds in
gear, spirits challenged, hearts opened. This is a movie that deserves
all the ticket sales it will undoubtedly garner. If Spider-Man 3 is any indication, this will be a fantastic summer at the movies indeed.
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