Spidey Sense

I went to see Spiderman 3 the other day, here is my take on it. First off, Venom is where the money is in all aspects of this film. Venom, or the oily and sinewy alien symbiote that he originates as, was the big marketing push for this film. Everything is hyping up the dark side of Spiderman and the supercool black suit of his. Knowing that they drew the audience in with this, the filmmakers put the bulk of their effort into the way Venom looks, and it is awesome. Although it relies heavily on CGI, the effects are top notch, and the creature often looks almost as good as a practical effect (something I wish I could say for the Sandman, which looks like recycled footage from Brendan Fraiser's Mummy film in the late 90's - although he is a great character). Also, Tobey Maguire is having more fun that I have ever seen him have on screen as he plays Peter Parker gone bad and his enthusiasm makes for fun onscreen antics. The only real problem with the Venom storyline is that it doesn't kick in for a good hour and twenty minutes into the film.

Although it makes a very early appearance, don't expect the symbiote to be a major factor in the film for awhile. Instead get ready for Mary Jane and Peter figuring out their love life, Harry and Peter figuring out their friendship and of course, Peter figuring out himself. The character development isn't even bad, but the time spent on it is too long for me and a little bit repetitive. I feel like MJ and PP have the same talk three times in the film and Harry and Peter have the same discussion twice.

Still, once the action picks up, the last hour+ of the film is solid summer fare...and, damn, Venom looked good.

Same to same,

Capt. Hendry