Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageSpider-Man 3 (2007)
Director: Sam Raimi
Synopsis
This action-packed superhero sequel sees Spider-man fighting the mighty Sandman as well as the villain within.
Movie review
From Time Out London
It’s an odd response to such a mammoth movie, but ‘Spider-Man 3’ feels a bit like watching a TV season box-set – in a good way. It’s partly the sheer length, partly the well-paced but notably episodic plot, but mostly because it offers the culmination of the cohesive narrative of honesty and betrayal, to oneself and one’s loved ones, that has underscored the whole franchise. It’s an impressive achievement, balancing petty psychological foibles against citywide peril just as the CG mise en scène roves from the molecular to the multi-storey.We open with Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), and his girl Mary-Jane (Kirsten Dunst) in the pink, though this of course can’t last. Their schoolfriend Harry (James Franco), embittered son of the first film’s Green Goblin, is nursing Hamlet-lite revenge fantasies against our hero, who must also contend with the Dracula-Frankenstein combo of Venom – a black glob of parasitic alien symbiote that brings out its host’s dark side – and Sandman, the shape-shifting result of fugitive Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) being scientifically melded with, er, sand. Needless to say, this all plays havoc with everyone’s private life.
These films’ greatest pleasure is their gleefully swooping exploitation of Manhattan’s vertiginous topography – it’s a good job Spidey wasn’t hatched in, say, Holland – and this one doesn’t disappoint. Dog-fights amid skyscrapers, in the bowels of the subway and, most effectively, in a tight alleyway all exhilarate; impressively, a bare-knuckle punch-up behind closed doors packs as much wallop. Despite such action, some fine comic relief (Bruce Campbell as a French maître d’) and a few cheesy moments, the tone is ultimately more subdued than your average superhero movie. Kudos to Raimi for making it feel justified.
Author: Ben Walters
Time Out London Issue 1915: April 25-May 1 2007
User reviews of this film
-
- Darkflux said...
- Posted on Jan 11 2008 01:32 This is one of the worst films i have ever seen and i mean it.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- LAUREN! said...
- Posted on Sep 17 2007 15:32 the film was amazing!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Tazleema said...
- Posted on Jun 30 2007 18:50 Crap film...its so boring, part 1 and 2 was better....
- Report as inappropriate
-
- dan said...
- Posted on Jun 14 2007 17:31 hello
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Sam Raimi
Producer: Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, Grant Curtis
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Topher Grace, Thomas Haden Church, Bryce Dallas Howard, James Franco, James Cromwell, Rosemary Harris, JK Simmons full cast
Genre(s): Action/Adventure, Science Fiction, Thrillers
Rated: 12A
Duration: 139 mins
UK Release: May 4 2007
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now