Nashville friends, I've said this before, but it bears repeating: Regal Green Hills 16, at the Mall at Green Hills. Seriously, it's the only way I'll go to a theater on a Friday or Saturday night. It's a neighborhood full of conservative rich people, and the theater's management knows it. They throw out people who talk on cell phones or make too much noise, and I've never seen more well-behaved audiences. Plus, it's a Regal, which means comfortable stadium seating.
Last Saturday night was the worst experience I've ever had at that theater... and it was still pretty damn good. The audience was full of teenagers, and yes, some of them were talking (both to each other and on their cell phones). And yet overall, the room was still quieter than a Wednesday afternoon at any other theater. I remember when I saw "The Mummy Returns" on a Friday night at Hollywood 27, the audience reminded me of the theater scene in Gremlins.
I've noticed that people have started using their cell phones as flashlights when returning to their seats after a bathroom/concession break. Is this really neccessary? We got along fine before cell phones, and back then we didn't have those neat little light strips on the stairs. I guess technology really is making us helpless.
Another tip for the Green Hills theater: Park on the lowest level of the parking garage. Then when you leave the movie, use the lower level exit. You'll be right at your car.
Anyway, the movie. This is not going to be spoiler-free, so let me bottom-line it for you: If you liked the first two, this one is almost as good.
Before I saw Spider-Man 3, I read a lot of negative reviews. I agree with most of what the reviewers had to say - the script wasn't very good, the plot was a bit convoluted and contrived, and some of the emotional scenes were actually painful to watch. But it's a comic-book movie, and the worst thing a comic book movie can do is bore me. (Yeah, I'm looking at you, Elektra!) Spidey 3 did not bore me; not even close.
The problem is the high bar set by Spideys 1 & 2. While still cheesy in their own right, those two were just good enough to trancend the status of "comic book movie", and were enjoyable even by people who don't know the difference between Marvel and DC. But I really think you'd have to be a fan of the comics (or at least the cartoons) to love Spidey 3. The movie is written so that fanboys could say things like, "Hey, that's Gwen Stacey! She was in the comic book!" It's also a bit less believable than the first two. Not that 1 & 2 were particularly believable, but they both had "science gone mad" themes that could classify them as "sci-fi" instead of just "comic book movies". This one is a definite comic book movie, no question.
I did not like Venom's "origin". He just comes to Earth from a meteor, like "The Blob". And just happens to touch down near Peter Parker. Gosh, how lucky can a symbiote get? It's like he was specifically trying to target someone with super powers, which would have been a neat plot point if they'd ever actually said it. Once he bonds with Peter's costume, it turns the suit black. No "suit grows around him" ability, and this version of Spidey already has organic web shooters, so it's a bit unclear how the suit really helps him. Spidey mentions that he feels more powerful, but since we really never knew the limits of his spider-strength, that's not as impressive as it could have been. Symbiotes are supposed to give back a little, ya know? All this one does is make Peter act like a jerk (complete with corny "Evil Peter" haircut). I mean, the nerve of some aliens; no wonder immigration laws are so tough.
The Sandman is given a backstory that ties in with Peter's, and has his own sob-story reasons for being a bad guy. If there were ever a series of movies to make you sympathetic for villains, this is it. Green Goblin? His experiments make him crazy. Doc Oc? Loses his wife, and his cybernetic implants make him crazy. Harry Osborn? Not really a "criminal" per se, but thinks Spider-Man killed his dad. And now Sandman, who is stealing to help his sick daughter. It's like the director is trying to say, "There are no bad people, just misunderstood people with different points of view." What I wouldn't give for a villain Spidey could pummel without saying, "I don't want to hurt you!" I suppose Venom fits the bill, but even Eddie Brock is under the influence of the symbiote (he just happens to like it).
Topher Grace as Eddie Brock - not the casting choice I would have made, but he does a great job. He's sleazy, slimey, and scuzzy; an unethical fast-talking greaseball with no depth. I honestly don't think I would have recognized the character as Topher Grace. Toby Macguire looks more like Eric Foreman than Topher does.
The movie's climax is extremely over-the-top and "comic-booky". The trap Venom and Sandman set for Spidey is melodramatic and grandiose, with giant evil spiderwebs and a dangling damsel and a super-sized Sandman. Venom still doesn't show much depth, and even at the end of the movie he's pretty much just an evil alien monster who looks like Spawn.
Peter Parker has trouble keeping his mask on. Throughout the trilogy, and especially in this one, he's constantly pulling it off at weird times, or having it yanked off by his enemies. I think the director wants us to see him as a person, instead of as a one dimensional comic book character. It's the whole "which is the disguise" debate regarding secret identities: Where "Bruce Wayne" is just an act that Batman sometimes puts on, "Spider-Man" is the act that Peter Parker puts on. Still, if my mask came off that easily, I think I'd consider investing in some velcro or something. And what happened to his Spider-Sense? There were a couple of great Spider-Sense scenes in 1 & 2, but in this movie it seems like they forgot all about it.
Overall it's a very fun - but very flawed - comic book movie. If you're the kind of person who likes that sort of thing, then I imagine you know it. There is talk of a fourth movie featuring Carnage and the Lizard. I would like to see that, but if it doesn't happen, I'm still happy. This movie wraps up the Harry & Peter story quite nicely. If they made a fourth one, I'd like to see Pete and MJ get married at the end, just to wrap up that storyline. But I don't want to see the series go beyond that; if Spidey 3 is any indication, there's no way they could keep up the quality.
