By the end of its first weekend, Spider-Man 3 had made $382 million dollars. Were Spider-Man 3 a country and were that the only week it bothered to make any money, it's gross domestic product would still be larger than the GDP of Samoa and a few other nations. By all accounts, it's the most expensive film ever made, costing Sony somewhere over 250 million US dollars.

It's telling, perhaps, that the apparent reason for all that money--the major action setpieces--were perhaps the most boring parts of the film. Unlike the second (best) film in the series, this one lacked any true standout action sequences (certainly nothing on the order of the magnificent operating room scene). Most of the villainy felt largely obligatory and merely seemed to be getting in the way of the plot.

Some critics have decried the film for being a touch too jokey, focusing more on the relationships of our twentysomething protagonists than on awesome, high octane superpower-on-superpower showdowns. But these character scenes are really where the film shines. James Franco, particularly, goes all out in painting a beautifully over-the-top distillation of Harry Osborne's arc. Dunst and Maguire's chemistry was also on target here.

There's a sequence midway through the film that actually bests the fantastic "Raindrops Falling on My Head" sequence in its predecessor. Truly, it's one of the greatest scenes these eyes have ever witnessed. Blunt, hilarious, and potent. Peter's dark side is a wondrous thing.

Despite a powerful introduction sequence, the Sandman is reduced to a very flat character of dubious motivations very quickly. Venom is rightly publicly denounced as an element that feels unnecessary, forced, and underdeveloped. Had the Eddie Brock character been better established, perhaps I could have forgiven it, but it was just too damned rushed. Too damned rush in a film that's too damned long. Again, none of the villains (except Harry's Goblin, which is the only of the trio of baddies that seems to have any real relevance to the backbone of the film) are nearly as compelling as Doctor Octopus from 2.

It's telling that in a movie with some ridiculously grand battles, the best scenes are all in what some call its digressions: scenes set in a coffee shop (O, the pie!), Peter's apartment complex (O, the landlord's daughter!), and an editor's office (O, the J. Jonah Jameson!). These are, of course, also surely the cheapest scenes in an unbelievably costly film. This is where the spine of the film is and it's glorious. Considering how slapdash and lacking in suspense the action scenes play out, one almost wonders if perhaps director Sam Raimi is making a statement about what real, awesome filmmaking is truly about.

Three stars, if you're curious.

Five years ago, when the first film was released, I made a SpiderWoman comic book. In case you missed it.

Labels: babbling about films