Spider Man 3
The best of the three. By far. This is Rami’s Jedi. Pulling together parts from all three movies, it puts the close on the franchise. Not to say that they won’t make another one, but everything from the first two movies has been resolved. I was very satisfied with the story and the ending.
It was interesting to see Toby MacGuire play a dick. Even for just a short time. I believe him to be an under-rated actor. Kirsten Dunst’s role in this was the best in all three. Although personally I have had it up to “here” with the love triangle business… the script for SM3 didn’t focus on it the way SM2 did. Much happier.
Elfman pulled off another marvelous score. I think the work he did on Hulk really helped his ability. The music he writes now still carries the sound of Elfman, but it’s not predictable. A lot of the pre Hulk soundtracks all had the same feel. Beetleguese, Batman, Pee-Wee etc. This is a whole new Elfman… and pappa does have a brand new bag.
Speaking of Batman. At this point nearly every DC and Marvel comic has been optioned and franchised and beaten to death. And unfortunately, Much like Batman… as we progress in sequels, Somehow we are no longer amazed with single villains. Batman Returns had Penguin Cat Woman, and Christopher Walken. Then there was Riddler, Two Face, Mr Freeze… I’m blending the last two I’m sure… but the increase of villains weakens my interest. The Joker. The Green Goblin. They entertained us for an entire movie. Then we needed Goblin Jr, and Doc Oc. Now we need Sandman, Venom, Goblin Jr, Black Spidey…. It’s too much. Let’s go back to the days of Lex Luthor. One villain. Three Movies. Works for me.
Speaking of Sandman. Holy Fuck! Those are the most amazing sand effects I have ever seen. The Best Effects in the movie. From Flint Marko’s infusion in the particle accelerator and learning how to control, to his final farewell at the end of the movie. Crap. Those kept me wanting to see more and more. Now. That’s not to say all the effects were great. I’m glad Rami didn’t do any signature montage’s, or sped up camera speeds to point out the rushed feeling of a fight scene. That’s was a silent blessing. Signatures like that get old as the franchise continues. And his career. I don’t know if I saw his car in there though… but Bruce Campbell as the maitre’ d was perfect.
That being said, I was severely disappointed with the flying scenes. I did not feel like I was flying. And when Goblin Jr was chasing spidey through the incredibly narrow alley… the scene although visually appealing seemed to go on for too long. There were good CG moments, Obstacles overcome with web-slinging. Street fixtures used for control and maneuverability. But I feel that they were lacking in making me feel like I was actually flying with Spiderman as I had in the first two movies.
But the ending came as a wonderful surprise. And I felt the closure necessary even if things may not have worked out for all the characters.