Spider-Man 3: Initial Reaction

[nathalia]

I just watched Spider-Man 3 and what follows is a brief initial reaction.

I liked it.

I really did.

I know how much I was dreading that it would suck because there were three enemies (Sandman, Goblin Harry and Venom), the symbiote and somewhat of a love triangle between Gwen, Peter and MJ, but I mostly like the way it was handled.

When Harry has this convenient accident and forgets that Peter is Spider-Man, I could have cringed at how stupid that is, but in this case, it was something completely different because, let’s face it, how often have Norman and Harry Osborn lost their memories and conveniently forgotten Spidey’s identity.

And it was obvious that Harry was going to die in this movie. There were many times when I thought it had happened, it was just necessary and after he told the doctor that he would die for Peter and Mary Jane, that was it. It sealed his destiny.

The first time I thought Harry was going to die was when he ambushed Peter which lead to the accident. There was a moment when I was sure Peter had killed him and I was like, "Maybe the symbiote will sense Peter’s pain over having killed his best friend". But Harry survived and it was so wonderful to see Peter and Harry as buddies.

Then, when they fight in the Osborn mansion and Peter leaves, throwing the pumpkin bomb at Harry without even looking back, I thought he could have been killed as well.

The scarring wasn’t something I had expected as I don’t think there was such a think in the comics. It was done very well, only showing the scarred side of Harry’s face when he shows Peter what he has done to him. And when Peter asks him for help you know he is going to go and save Peter and MJ, thus sacrificing himself. The peptalk from the butler was nice, but it was very Batman-esque. I guess you can’t have a butler in a superhero movie without having people think of Alfred.

It was very ironic that like his father, Harry was impaled by his own glider. I knew he was going to die, but I liked the way it was done, it was unexpected.

One major complaint was that in my opinion, the movie’s last scene was unnecessary and took away from the film as a whole. Peter standing alone on Harry’s grave after everybody had left the funeral saying that everybody makes their own decisions, a lesson he learned from Harry Osborn would have been such a perfect, satisfying end, but no, they had to have Peter reconcile with MJ.

I want this to be the last Spider-Man movie because the three movies told a storyarc that has now been completed. It dealt with Peter and Harry’s friendship and the obstacles they had to face, which choices they make.

The movies might be called Spider-Man, but they are very much about Harry Osborn. He is the character that develops most throughout the movies. He commits crimes, is on the way to become just like his father, but he makes the choice to be his own man and live his own life even if that means dying for someone you love. (In a way it reminds me of the rise and fall of Darth Vader although Harry was a lot less evil and such).

Without Harry Osborn, the movies wouldn’t feel the same, he’s an integral part and you can’t just substitute him with another character.

Gwen. I liked her. I wanted Peter to love her as well, I wanted him to be in love with her in some way, not just use her. And I would have liked to see her with her iconic hairband more frequently. I still think that MJ should have died. I mean, I wanted her to die, but you can’t kill Harry and Mary Jane and have Gwen who we don’t know very well instead.

The movie was well-done. Some things were predictable, but it was good. It wasn’t Spider-Man 1 which I still hold up the highest, but it was a good movie nonetheless.

I liked the Stan Lee cameo, caught a few references to other characters like Bart Hamilton and Curt Conners, it was a fun movie.

A thing I didn’t like were the Sandman effects, especially in the beginning, it was just, I don’t know, it didn’t feel right. It felt over-done. And you knew that Peter was going to let Flint Marko walk away.

Another problem I have is that Peter goes to this church to rip off his costume. It would have made a bit more sense if he had tried to tear the black costume off at home or so at first and not succeeding, it would have made it more clear that sound affects the symbiote.

I didn’t like how Venom looked. They shouldn’t always have gone back to show Eddie Brock’s face and Venom’s face should have been bigger, his teeth more menacing. He only had these strange teeth and that was all. A bigger mouth would have fit the character better. At least that’s my opinion.

And I don’t need to mention the fun scenes with J. Jonah Jameson, the best one is the one between him and Betty Brant, it was so hilarious. J.K. Simmons looks as if he had just been pulled out of the comic book and I just love that and the fact that they gave Betty a bigger role in this one because of the fans’ positive reaction to her cameo in the first movie.

You can never make a mistake bringing back Willem Dafoe for a scene or two which I hoped they would do in this one once again. And no matter what James Cromwell who portrayed Captain Stacy is handed, he always delivers good material without exception.

I’m posting this about a day after writing it (I wrote it after coming back from the movies and talking a bit to my parents), but my internet’s gone crazy and so I’ll go to sleep and post it when I come back from school tomorrow.