Spider-Man 3
May. 6th, 2007 11:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stevekensonChristopher and I saw Spider-Man 3 last night.
Overall, a good movie, but not as good as it could have been. It definitely fell victim to the attempt to pack too much into one film, with plotlines involving the Peter and MJ relationship, Harry Osborn, the Sandman, and Venom (both the “black costume” plot and Venom’s origin and revenge scheme). Given the amount going on, the writers handled it fairly well, but I feel like they’d have done even better if they didn’t have so much going on at once.
I was mildly disappointed in Harry’s lack of a supervillain identity (call me old fashioned, but I like my costumed types to have code-names and masks and stuff). Would have been a cool nod if he had adopted the Hobgoblin motif. Speaking of masks, I understand acting behind one can be limiting, but it started to bug me just how often all the masked characters doffed or lost theirs. I’d swear it was a point of contract negotiation, it happened so much. Would have also been nice if Venom had been named in the dialog, even only peripherally (”Eddie Brock is gone, you destroyed him, all that’s left is pure venom!” or somesuch).
The action scenes and special effects were great, of course. It’s gotten to the point where, if a big-budget flick doesn’t have amazing CGI effects, that’s unusual. On the other hand, I felt like some of the action sequences were too fast and hard to follow, maybe because I’m not a member of the video game generation and my visual coordination is too slow.
So an enjoyable flick overall, but not quite so much as 1 & 2 and suffering from the sequelitis Spider-Man 2 managed to avoid. On the other hand, Christopher enjoyed this one better than No. 2, so, to each their own.
Overall, a good movie, but not as good as it could have been. It definitely fell victim to the attempt to pack too much into one film, with plotlines involving the Peter and MJ relationship, Harry Osborn, the Sandman, and Venom (both the “black costume” plot and Venom’s origin and revenge scheme). Given the amount going on, the writers handled it fairly well, but I feel like they’d have done even better if they didn’t have so much going on at once.
I was mildly disappointed in Harry’s lack of a supervillain identity (call me old fashioned, but I like my costumed types to have code-names and masks and stuff). Would have been a cool nod if he had adopted the Hobgoblin motif. Speaking of masks, I understand acting behind one can be limiting, but it started to bug me just how often all the masked characters doffed or lost theirs. I’d swear it was a point of contract negotiation, it happened so much. Would have also been nice if Venom had been named in the dialog, even only peripherally (”Eddie Brock is gone, you destroyed him, all that’s left is pure venom!” or somesuch).
The action scenes and special effects were great, of course. It’s gotten to the point where, if a big-budget flick doesn’t have amazing CGI effects, that’s unusual. On the other hand, I felt like some of the action sequences were too fast and hard to follow, maybe because I’m not a member of the video game generation and my visual coordination is too slow.
So an enjoyable flick overall, but not quite so much as 1 & 2 and suffering from the sequelitis Spider-Man 2 managed to avoid. On the other hand, Christopher enjoyed this one better than No. 2, so, to each their own.
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no subject
Date: 2007-05-06 04:53 pm (UTC)All in all, it was better than X-Men 3, so I'm happy.
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Date: 2007-05-06 05:55 pm (UTC)Speaking of masks, I understand acting behind one can be limiting, but it started to bug me just how often all the masked characters doffed or lost theirs. I’d swear it was a point of contract negotiation, it happened so much.
Dude, I said exactly this after leaving the theater.
CU
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Date: 2007-05-07 01:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-07 05:01 pm (UTC)Sure, feel free.
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Date: 2007-05-07 05:39 pm (UTC)But don't get me wrong ...seeing both Sandman and Venom in action was AWESOME. And I loved the fight scenes, primarily because fo their speed ... it made them seem like actual fights to me.
I'll be curious to see if there's a director's cut of this film when it releases on DVD and how long it is. With different editing, this film could've been 3 hours without breaking a sweat.
Masks in the Movies
Date: 2007-05-07 06:51 pm (UTC)Batman, Daredevil, Spider-Man, Captain America ...
I don't mind so much if they get them torn to shreds in a fight, or if the villain tears them off in an attempt to find out just who their nemesis really is.
But what really irks me is when the hero takes his own mask off in front of a villain, or several civilians, in some poorly-written attempt to be more dramatic.
I also found it amusing that, while the cameras on the street could get a close-up of Mary Jane sitting in the cab, they just didn't seem interested in getting a close-up of Spider-Man without his mask.
Same goes for Spidey standing on the rooftop, maskless, apparently in plain view of Gwen Stacey, at the Key to the City celebration.
All in all, I agree with your review. (I'd just add that I'd like to have done away with the jazz club scene. It was so painful that I chose that segment to excuse myself for a visit to the men's room.)
JD