Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Today, we'll discuss the final Spider-Man film in the Sam Raimi trilogy: Spider-Man 3 (2007).  But this is not the end of my Spider-Man marathon.  Stay tuned for more Spider-Man film reviews after this one!  Warning: some spoilers ahead.

SYNOPSIS:
All is going very well for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) until an alien symbiote crashes to Earth and bonds with him.  It gives him improved strength while also boosting his confidence and enhancing his emotions.  But who is really in control, the man or the symbiote?  Meanwhile, an escaped convict who actually killed Ben Parker falls into a particle accelerator and becomes the powerful Sandman (Thomas Haden Church).  Peter Parker has to deal with his emotions over his Uncle Ben all over again as the Sandman runs amok in New York.  Peter also has to contend with Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), an amateur photographer who is competing to take Peter's job at the Daily Bugle.  And finally, Harry Osborn (James Franco) has discovered his father's Green Goblin experiments and is preparing himself to take on Spider-Man as the New Goblin.  If all this wasn't enough, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter Parker are having some serious relationship troubles.  Looks like Spider-Man's schedule is about to be very busy...

REVIEW:
Here is the epic conclusion of the Sam Raimi trilogy!  Sam really wanted Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard to be the villain in this film, which he had been building up to in the previous two films.  But audiences had been demanding Venom (the alien symbiote) make an appearance in a live-action film, so Sony decided to go with the fan-favorite villain.  This film is chock-full of villains this time around, though!  Venom, Sandman, and the new Green Goblin all make an appearance, leading up to a full roster and a lengthy runtime.

This film was almost split into a two-part story, but they decided to trim it down and keep it to one film.  Splitting a finale into two films hadn't quite become a trend just yet.  Spider-Man 2 (2004) was re-released as Spider-Man 2.1 with deleted scenes added back in and fans have called for a similar treatment for Spider-Man 3.  But so far, no extended or director's cut has ever come.  Originally, Sony planned to produce six Spider-Man films!  But due to creative differences between Sam Raimi and Sony, this ongoing series ended after only three.

One of my favorite scenes is when Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) is transformed into Sandman and has to learn how to fully form his body again.  It's a wordless scene with beautiful music, showing the struggle to reform and the frustration Sandman feels as he's trying to become human again.  They made Sandman a very sympathetic character. In the original Spider-Man comics, he started out a generic villain who eventually, over a very long time, became a sort of antihero.  In this film, they showed him as a misunderstood character who only did bad things to help his dying daughter.

The CGI to render all the living sand effects did not exist when production started on this film, but through a lot of hard work and tight deadlines, programs were developed that were able to simulate the effects.  I remember being absolutely floored by the visual quality of it in theaters, and it holds up especially well, even today.

Stan Lee actually got a speaking role in his cameo this time!  He showed up to spout some advice to Peter Parker on the streets of New York.  His two previous cameos were so quick, you had to be looking carefully to see them.  This would be the start of his more direct cameos in Marvel superhero properties.

Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi's friend and former star of his Evil Dead trilogy, also made another cameo in this film.  He played a French host at a fancy restaurant Peter invited Mary Jane to.  Peter planned a proposal to Mary Jane, which the French host was very excited to help with.  He got a more involved and silly role this time, which helped undercut the serious conversation between Peter and Mary Jane.

While Peter Parker is having a good time, settling into his role as the beloved superhero of New York, Mary Jane spends the film dealing with nothing but bad luck.  She loses her acting career and catches Spider-Man giving Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) a public upside-down kiss - the kiss that defined Mary Jane's relationship with Peter in the first Spider-Man film.  Every time she tries to talk to Peter, he dismisses her frustration and then turns the conversation back on himself without properly listening to her.  Their relationship is a mess throughout this film because they just don't communicate with one another!  Not only is Peter not listening to Mary Jane, but Mary Jane is just shutting down and not making an effort to effectively communicate back. It's very frustrating to watch.

Gwen Stacy, a fan-favorite love interest for Spider-Man, is introduced in this film as a damsel in distress, saved by Spider-Man.  She's the daughter of the chief of police and happens to be dating Eddie Brock; although she ends up leaving Eddie for Peter later on.  When she presents Spider-Man the key to the city, there's a full parade going on and you hear the old 1967 cartoon Spider-Man's theme playing from a full band nearby the stage.  Finally, a complete Spider-Man theme in a live-action film!

Did I mention that Peter is VERY egotistical in this film?  Tobey Maguire plays a very socially awkward and cringey Peter Parker, but he dialed it up to 11 for this particular film. All right, let's talk about it: the embarrassingly cringey dance scene with "emo Peter."  As I re-watched this awful scene, I noticed that girls are cringing away from him, not impressed or wowed by him.  I think what makes the scene especially awkward is that there's no music playing in the scene itself, it's just emo Peter dancing to - supposedly - music in his head.  We, the audience, can hear it, but in the scene itself, he's just dancing to nothing.  If there was a street performer playing some music that he was dancing to, it would be at least 50% less cringey to watch.

For the longest time, I just hated emo Peter in this film, but upon watching it again now, I realize it's the Venom symbiote that's enhancing his negative emotions and making him a jerk to everyone.  When he finally realizes what's happening, he ditches the symbiote and becomes the superhero we recognize from the previous films.  So I'll give the extra-cringey Peter Parker a pass.  As bad as he is normally, "emo Peter" was not his fault.

In the comics, it was Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8 (1984) where Spider-Man got his new black costume on an alien ship in space.  But several Amazing Spider-Man issues later, he discovered it was an alien symbiote trying to bond with him and he managed to ditch the suit before it took hold of him.  It bonded with Eddie Brock as well, who became the villain known as Venom.  He really became popular with audiences in Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994). In this film, after Peter ditches the symbiote, we see it immediately bond to Eddie Brock, giving us the final form of Venom from the comics.

You may have noticed I have hardly mentioned Harry Osborn (James Franco) much at all in my reviews, and that's because he hasn't really been all that important to the plot.  He's had a 3-film build-up for his character arc and it was... decent.  He was a great friend to Peter in Spider-Man (2002), even if he was secretly jealous of all the attention and affection Peter got from Harry's dad, Norman Osborn.  Then Harry spends all of Spider-Man 2 (2004) brooding over his dead father and blaming Spider-Man for killing him.  His hidden jealousy of Peter slowly starts coming out and he accuses him of protecting Spider-Man from him, assuming Peter knows who Spider-Man is because of the good Spider-Man photos Peter takes for the Daily Bugle newspaper. Upon discovering Peter IS Spider-Man, he swears revenge for his father.  He then finds his father's old Green Goblin lab and, in this final film, we see him turn himself into the New Goblin and take on Spider-Man face-to-face.  It doesn't go well for him, and when he's pretty much a depressed, hopeless mess, only THEN does his butler speak up and give proof that the Green Goblin killed himself.  Oh, thanks!  NOW you mention it, after Harry ruined his friendships and his life.  Still, the climax of the film with Harry teaming up with Peter to take on the villains was pretty cool and a satisfying conclusion to the Harry Osborn revenge arc.

RECOMMENDATION:
This was a decent conclusion to the original Spider-Man trilogy.  I would have been curious about the six-movie deal Sony had planned (they've toyed with the idea of a Sinister Six film - the team-up of famous Spider-Man villains from the comics), but I'm glad to leave Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man for other actors in the role.  At least, until I see Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) in theaters, where I suspect Tobey Maguire will be making an appearance.  My next couple reviews will be on both of The Amazing Spider-Man films, starring Andrew Garfield.  See you then!

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Continuing my Spider-Man movie marathon, today we're going to take a look at Spider-Man 2 (2004)!  Some small spoilers for Spider-Man (2002) ahead, so be aware!

SYNOPSIS:
Two years after the death of Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), his son Harry Osborn (James Franco) still blames Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire).  He has taken over his father's business and invests heavily in a local scientist named Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), who is on the brink of developing fusion power.  In order to control the dangerous power source, Dr. Octavius designs four robotic arms, attached to his spine, which grant him mental control over them.  But when his public test goes dangerously wrong, the doctor decides he will go to any length to complete his life's work.  Even if it means teaming up with Harry to eliminate the meddling Spider-Man!

REVIEW:
This is probably my favorite of the Sam Raimi trilogy. The opening credits are accompanied with scenes of the first film flashed through a spider web, wordlessly telling the story of the previous film.  A very nice way to catch up audiences who hadn't seen the first film in a while.

Throughout this film, Peter Parker struggles to deal with his double life as Spider-Man.  He's constantly late to everything (if he even shows up), he loses his job, he loses his friendship with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), he's at odds with Harry Osborn, who suspects he's buddies with Spider-Man and protecting him from Harry, and of course, he's poor and struggling just to pay rent in his new tiny apartment.  Everything is falling apart in Peter's life, and the stress and anxiety causes him to start losing his powers.  He spends a good chunk of the film powerless, even giving up the Spider-Man suit in a tribute to the famous comic storyline "Spider-Man No More" from The Amazing Spider-Man #50.  Like in the comic, someone finds the suit and brings it to J. Jonah Jameson (J. K. Simmons), who declares victory over ending Spider-Man's "reign of terror" on the city.  But when Dr. Octavius sets his sights on those important to Peter, Pete decides he needs to summon the strength to continue as Spider-Man and stop the insane doctor.

Alfred Molina does a great job being a sympathetic villain as "Doc Ock."  Rather than being a narcissistic genius villain like in the comics, he's given a decent background story.  The failure of his work, losing his wife, and being "saved" and also "ruined" by Spider-Man is enough to drive a villain, but they added an additional detail as well: his robot arms are run by an AI, which he has mental control over.  That is, until the microchip keeping them in line is broken.  Suddenly, the robot arms are mentally communicating with him and driving him to extremes in order to complete the work they were designed for.  I like how we don't hear the conversation between him and his robot arms.  I think it would've been weird if we heard something like whispered suggestions in the background.  It would have definitely distracted from the villain.

A wonderful scene with Doc Ock is shortly after his fateful accident.  He's in a hospital, about to have his robotic limbs cut off, when the limbs come alive and massacre the hospital staff in a gruesome but PG-13 manner.  It was brilliant how Sam Raimi managed to slip in a horror scene in a family action film.  He did start his directing career making horror films (the Evil Dead trilogy), so it was incredible getting a taste of the horror genre in a place we never expected to find it.  If you want to see a fascinating but in-depth analysis, check out the Nerdwriter's YouTube video on this one particular scene.  At just under 7 minutes, it's brief, but gets to the point and walks you through the terrifying action.

A hidden comic book villain in this film is Dr. Curt Connors; a.k.a. The Lizard.  He was mentioned by name in Spider-Man (2002), but we actually get to meet him here. He's Peter Parker's physics professor, and true to the comic book character, Dr. Connors only has one arm.  In the comics, he experimented with lizard DNA in hopes of growing his missing limb back, but his experiments had a nasty side-effect: turning him into an aggressive anthropomorphic lizard.  Sadly, as much as Sam Raimi wanted The Lizard in his films, he couldn't convince Sony to include the villain ("Not an interesting enough character to market toys," they said), so small scenes with Dr. Connors are all we'll get in this trilogy.

Speaking of cameos, Stan Lee returns for a brief cameo again.  In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene, we see him pulling a woman to safety before debris comes crashing to the ground.  Also, Sam Raimi's buddy, Bruce Campbell, makes another cameo.  This time, he's the doorman at the theater Mary Jane is performing at - the guy who denies Peter Parker entrance because the show already started.

Tobey Maguire continues his awkward portrayal of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in this film.  Early on, he gets a tip from Dr. Octavius that you can win a woman's heart through poetry.  So he finds a bunch of books on poetry and makes a very cringey attempt to recite some to Mary Jane, at the worst time, which she rightly shuts down.  The relationship between the two is back and forth throughout this film, with Mary Jane pursuing Peter, and when Peter decides he's going to show his affection, suddenly she's no longer interested and dating someone else.

Mary Jane actually dates an astronaut in this film, who happens to be J. Jonah Jameson's son, John Jameson.  He's a character from the original comics, who eventually becomes the villain Man-Wolf, although nothing of his comic-book character is referenced in this film, besides his name and astronaut title.  My wife and I were saying that Mary Jane should've just stuck with the astronaut.  The back-and-forth drama with Peter Parker was just so toxic and cringey, and she'd have a pretty good life as the wife of an Air Force Captain and astronaut.  But Mary Jane Watson and Peter Parker were apparently destined for each other, so the audience has to sit through manufactured teen drama instead of adult conversations and real relationship struggles. Maybe we'll see better Spider-Man relationships in future films...

Twice in this film, we get to hear a street performer playing the original Spider-Man theme song, which was a more direct tribute to the old 1967 cartoon than we got in the first film.  Even if it's just a woman singing off-key while plucking a violin string.  Danny Elfman returned to perform the film's score.  In the previous film, I mentioned that the main theme song almost sounded like his original Batman theme music from the old 1989 film, before transitioning into a more unique melody.  Danny Elfman went a lot more heavy on the Spider-Man theme this time around, making it much more recognizable and impactful.

RECOMMENDATION:
If you're going to watch any part of the original Spider-Man trilogy, Spider-Man 2 (2004) is probably the best one.  You get a visual recap at the start to catch you up, you get enjoyable characters and story, and plenty of Spider-Man action with a more satisfying ending than the previous film.  As we'll see in the next film, there's far more interpersonal drama going on than actual Spider-Man action.  Stay tuned for the next review in my Spider-Man marathon!

Spider-Man (2002)

Hey! I'm back with another (relatively brief) movie marathon to finish out this year!  With the just-released Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) film supposedly combining the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy and the Amazing Spider-Man duology with the current Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Spider-Man, I felt it was time to binge the old movies to refresh my memory of their story.  I will be binging ALL the modern films.  The Spider-Man trilogy, the Amazing Spider-Man duology, the Into the Spider-Verse animated film, and the current MCU Spider-Man Home trilogy.  Today, we're starting out with the film that made the superhero genre of films popular: Spider-Man (2002).

SYNOPSIS:
Peter Parker, a high school nerd from Queens, New York, is bit by a radioactive spider on a class field trip and develops amazing spider-like powers!  He can crawl walls, he can shoot webbing from his wrists, he has super-human strength and agility, and most importantly, he develops a "spider-sense" that warns him of incoming danger.  When Peter's uncle is murdered by a robber that he let get away, Peter is wracked with guilt.  He remembers the wise words his uncle left him with: "With great power comes great responsibility."  Peter takes it to heart and turns superhero, defending the citizens of New York from criminals.  But a powerful supervillain has also just arisen in New York... a science experiment gone wrong that creates the Green Goblin!  Spider-Man has to save New York from this dangerous menace!

REVIEW:
This film released at the beginning of the new century, so it was still trailing off the old '90s action films.  As such, the action is a bit cheesy and it has quite a few cringey dialogue moments.  Still, as a superhero film, I think it held up pretty well over the years.

This first Spider-Man film takes its origin story directly from the very first Spider-Man short story in the Marvel comic Amazing Fantasy #15.  Released in 1962, it tells of how a high schooler received spider powers, uses them for gain in boxing matches, then lets a robber escape, thinking it's not his problem, only to lose his uncle to the same man.  He chases down the crook and captures him for the police, but decides to take his uncle's lesson to heart and only use his powers responsibly.  The Green Goblin does not appear in the comics until The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (1964).  He was added to this film to give Spider-Man a supervillain to fight, as a simple story about learning responsibility was probably not appealing enough for the big screen.

I like Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, but I personally felt they were terrible for the roles of Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson.  Tobey Maguire has always been very awkward in all his roles and I cringe every time he needs to have a conversation with someone.  His creepy, silent, wide-eyed stare makes me feel very uncomfortable and I hate seeing him trying to interact with people when he's not wearing his Spider-Man outfit.  This, unfortunately, did not improve with his later Spider-Man movies.  In this role as Peter Parker, it kind of works because Peter is supposed to be an awkward teenager, but being Spider-Man is supposed to improve his confidence and he's able to verbally spar with his enemies while fighting them.  Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man still sounds like an awkward teenager throughout the whole film, mask or not.

Kirsten Dunst always seems to have this tortured, broken look on her face, even when she's smiling.  She's mastered the art of the cold, dead eyes, absent of soul and warmth.  She's great in drama films, but in a family action/adventure film, she seems out of place.  Mary Jane Watson from the Spider-Man comics is a very popular, outgoing, energetic person.  The polar opposite of wimpy Peter Parker.  But film Mary Jane comes from a broken home, dates bullies, fails to go anywhere with her life, and is all-around a miserable person.  I feel like they were trying to make her relatable and realistic, but it just doesn't feel true to her original character.  Honestly, I don't think Mary Jane has ever been portrayed accurately on screen.

If there's anyone who nailed their character, it's J. K. Simmons, playing J. Jonah, Jameson, the head of the Daily Bugle newspaper.  He's loud-mouthed, fast-talking, talks over people, and makes demands of everyone.  He has an important business to run, and he does it well.  Stan Lee originally wanted to play the character, as he said J. Jonah Jameson basically mirrored his personality in his young Marvel days.  But he was proud of the way J. K. Simmons managed the role.  And Stan Lee got his first very small cameo - before it became an obvious nod in the Marvel films - rescuing a child from falling debris.

Another excellent casting was Willem Dafoe as Dr. Norman Osborn/Green Goblin.  He was absolutely brilliant!  He was super creepy in the role, but I think that just enhanced it even more.  It's too bad they used a goblin helmet for his suit. The original Green Goblin from the comics wore a rubber mask that made him look like an actual goblin, and Willem Dafoe could have used that to dial his character up to 11 (not that he doesn't try anyway).  If there's anyone I can't wait to see in the latest MCU Spider-Man film, it's the Green Goblin played by Willem Dafoe.  They teased his presence in the trailers, which has me super excited!

Danny Elfman did the score for this film, which became the running theme for this live-action trilogy.  As the film was starting though, I got serious Batman vibes.  The music was very similar to the soundtrack he scored for the Tim Burton Batman films in the late '80s/early '90s.  But it had its own unique flair to it that makes it recognizable as Spider-Man.  We did not hear the familiar Spider-Man theme from the classic 1967 Spider-Man cartoon TV series, but there is a scene with a street performer singing his own Spider-Man song that has some familiar lyrics.

Sam Raimi directed this original trilogy of films.  He's well known for his other trilogy, the Evil Dead films (Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead 2 (1987), and Army of Darkness (1992)).  He is close friends with Bruce Campbell, the star of that trilogy, so he got Bruce a cameo in his Spider-Man trilogy.  In this first film, you see him as the announcer at the boxing match - the guy who messes up "The Human Spider's" name and instead names him "Spider-Man."

RECOMMENDATION:
This is a classic superhero origin story that created the modern day superhero genre. We have this film to thank for every superhero film we've seen in the past 2 decades.  It may be from another generation and it might be a bit cringey and campy, but despite it all, it stood the test of time pretty well.  Spider-Man has always been my favorite Marvel character, so seeing him on the big screen was a dream come true, and I'm glad he has continued to grace the screen in one form or another these past couple decades.  This is a must-watch for all superhero enthusiasts out there.