Spider-Man 3 swings back into the cinema screens in a way never before seen: bigger (with a production budget of at least $380m), longer (at 140 minutes), and loaded with more action than the 2 previous iterations in the Spider-Man film franchise. And the first blockbuster of the summer box office most certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Director Sam Raimi has, in Spider-Man 3, crafted a super end to a story that first started out in 2002 that both touches the heart, and dazzles the eyes. It’s at once, exceedingly beautiful, and magnificent in more ways than one.

Fans of comic book-turned movies usually expect character-driven action movies that focus a lot on developing the character and showing how good he or she is, when it comes to dealing with adversity. However, Spider-Man 3 debunks all that with Raimi keeping to what made the first 2 movies in the series work in the first place (Spider-Man 1 and 2 grossed $1.25b and $1.2b worldwide, respectively), a motley ensemble of super-villians, lots of drama, as well as those very nice, yet really useless comic effects.

Instead of the movie simply stringing together scenes with lots of CGI action, Spider-Man 3 not only fill its action quotient (that surely all fans anticipate with salivation), but adds in Peter Parker’s (Tobey Maguire) emotional dilemmas, and ties up loose plot points from the previous iterations to devastating, spectacular effect.

The movie starts off with a brilliant CGI title, backed by a beautiful theme (by Spider-Man 2 composer Christopher Young) that seamlessly incorporates Danny Elfman‘s original themes. We also see Bob Murawski‘s dynamic editing and Bill Pope‘s vibrant cinematography at play early on during the title, when we are brought back to the time of Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 with flashbacks to the key scenes in both movies. It serves a purpose: it makes you feel like you’re revisiting an old friend after a long time, just like how Spider-Man 3 comes out nicely to round up the series after a time gap of 3 years.

It’s in Spider-Man 3 that Director Raimi allows the established characters to fully realise themselves, and by doing so, it not only is a big-budget summer blockbuster, but also a fantastic plot-driven movie as well. It’s this cinematic achievement that will hook audiences and keep them on the edge of their seats, while alluring them to come back over and over again, long after its initial box-office impact would have worn off, simply because it’s so much fun, such a magnificent screen spectacle, that watching it once just isn’t enough.

It’s in Spider-Man 3 that the impossible love triangle between the 3 main characters – Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and Harry Osborn (James Franco) – finally crosses swords. At the same time, the other character building subplots, such as Harry’s oath to avenge his father’s death (which has a memorable scene of its own), Peter’s long yearning for Mary Jane, and his obstinate quest in finding anyone and everyone linked to his uncle’s death in Spider-Man 1, all climax into an amazing crescendo. And as if this wouldn’t already be the backdrop of a stunning movie, Peter has 2 new foes to battle it out with – one of them being the super strong powerful creature with Spider-man like characteristics known as Venom (Topher Grace), and the other being an escaped con called Flint Marko who by chance falls into a scientific experiment and is transformed into the Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church).

We’re introduced to the Sandman / Flint Marko early on and ironically, he’s the biggest early surprise of the movie. Not only because he’s an escaped con who actually has his family’s interests at heart, but also because of the subplot involving Ben Parker (Cliff Robertson), Peter’s late uncle and surrogate dad., and the fact that Flint Marko is more connected to Parker than he knows, but which he later finds out, and wow, what a scene it is.

Flint Marko also teaches Parker that the past is the past, and if he really wants to be a hero, he has to be able to forgive, as revenge will do nothing but make things more unbearable, more painful. And Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) echoes that, telling Peter that, “Revenge, is like poison. It can take you over and turn you into something ugly.”

And that is precisely what happens, when the alien form known as the symbiote first attaches itself to Peter

There are 7 key action scenes in the movie, all of which are glorious and of epic proportions. It starts with a Parker vs Harry scene that develops into another subplot, followed by a Parker vs giant crane scene that results in Peter meeting Gwen Stacey (Bryce Dallas Howard) for the first time.

At this point in time, die-hard Spider-Man comic book fanboys would surely have their hands up in disapproval for it doesn’t follow strictly to the comic’s storyline. We then see Parker battle Sandman twice, a Parker vs Harry rematch, the birth of Venom (the one with Topher Grace), and a grand finale that is a four-way battle at a construction site that would surely be a shoo-in for an Academy Award nomination for special effects.

Under the excellent direction of Raimi, backed by an almost flawless production crew, Spider-Man 3 is like the Lawrence of Arabia of the comicbook superhero-turned-movie world.

It makes the rest of the superhero movies seem poor in comparison. The cast is superb and the action is gratifying and of fluidity never before seen. For the entire duration of the movie, it envelops you into the world of Spider-Man, it makes you feel along with the characters, and you end up laughing, and crying with them. While the climax ends up like another save the damsel (Mary Jane Watson) in distress sequence that is similar to the previous 2 iterations, it still glues you to your seat, even if you may or may not know what would happen at the very end.

Spider-Man 3 is truly a modern-day classic, a fine example of the very best in movie-making that couples excellent acting, brilliant storyline, and superb cinematography and editing. It’s an experience that is not to be missed. You’ll find yourself wanting to watch it over, and over again because it’s that good.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Movie Details
Opens: May 1
Runtime: 140mins
Language: English
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco
Director: Sam Raimi

Pictures courtesy of Buena Vista International