Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here. In the weekend before I saw the highly anticipated (at least by me) Spider-Man 3, I did something I almost never do, but I plan on doing as often as I can this summer. I watched the first two Spider-Man movies. I'm not exactly sure what inspired me to do this. It's not like there are vital plot points from the first two films that are carried over into the third installment (although the issue of the death of Peter Parker's beloved Uncle Ben is re-evaluated). But something compelled me for some reason, and the idea of immersing myself in the Spidey universe seemed like it would be a fun thing to do in the days leading up to the screening last week.

And I'm going to make every effort to continue the practice by watching the first two Pirates of the Caribbean entries; the first four Harry Potter films; the first three Die Hard adventures; the first two Jason Bourne chapters; the first two capers of Danny Ocean and his crew; maybe 28 Days Later; possibly the first two Shrek films; probably not the first two Rush Hour movies; 50-50 on Bruce Almighty; most definitely Night Watch; definitely not Fantastic Four; already got the first Hostel cued up; with Hal Hartley's Henry Fool (Fay Grim would be the sequel there) after that; and Mr. Bean rounding out the pile (I'm kidding). Hey folks, there are an enormous butt-load of sequels filling theaters this year, averaging about one per week. And while I firmly believe that a film should stand on its own regardless of what came before, I'm looking at this summer as a personal experiment by trying something I've never done before: watching what came before immediately prior to seeing the latest entry. I'm sure you're all reading this with a true sense of wonder and delight.

Watching the first two Spider-Man chapters had an interesting impact on my enjoyment of Part 3. It made me not enjoy it as much. But a part of me firmly believes that this is because it's the weakest script we've seen in the franchise so far, if only because it crams not one, not two, but three villains; two girlfriends; one flirty neighbor; a small handful of musical numbers; one major costume change; and a French waiter with boatloads of attitude into one fairly lengthy production. The film has the series' most exciting action sequences, but their impact is dampened by some of the most profoundly limp character interactions between Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) and Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), and between Peter and his elderly Aunt May (Rosemary Harris).

Returning director Sam Raimi has and will always be one of my favorite filmmakers to watch, and he absolutely shines in both his action directing and the nice bits of comedy in these films (Bruce Campbell's supporting work here--far more than the cameos he's made in the last two films--is his absolute best). But Raimi seems almost bored by the interpersonal relationships of his main characters, and focuses his energy on kick-ass fight scenes and his supporting players. The scenes at the Daily Bugle are among my favorites here, as Ted Raimi, Bill Nunn, Elizabeth Banks, and the always screamingly funny J.K. Simmons as editor J. Jonah Jameson really stand out is some sublimely paced comedy moments. The addition of Topher Grace as Peter's photography rival Eddie Brock (the man who would be Venom) fits in perfectly in this coven of misfits. This guy is an utter ass-munch, and Grace's timing and rapid-fire deliver are his gifts. The blond tips in his hair don't hurt either.

The long-overdue addition of the Gwen Stacy character is surprisingly strong, but it underscores just how poorly utilized Dunst is this time around. Plus Bryce Dallas Howard's Gwen is so strikingly beautiful and utterly sweet, she kind of makes Dunst look like a grumpy wet dog in this film. By the end of this story, I was truly hoping for the death of Mary Jane and a little late-night consolation by Ms. Stacy.

And what about those three villains? Well despite the return of Dylan Baker as Peter's professor Dr. Curt Connors, we still don't get my number one choice for new villain: The Lizard. Instead we get Harry Osborn picking up his father Norman's (Willem Dafoe, brought back again as in Spider-Man 2, as the voice in Harry's head and vision he sees in the mirror) glider and pumpkin bombs and going after Spider-Man, whom he knows full well is his one-time best friend Peter. He hurts himself in their first battle, bumps his noggin, and temporarily loses his memory of the events leading up to his injury. So for a short time, at least Peter's identity is safe.

We also get The Sandman aka Flint Marko (an inspired Thomas Hayden Church), an escaped convict who, through a freak accident of science can turn his body into sand. The scene in which Marko first realizes what has happened to him and is learning to control his power is really cool, but the filmmakers have saddled him with a backstory involving a sick little daughter that seems unnecessary. I think they actually want to like the guy, which is silly. And I'm not even going into Marko's connection to Uncle Ben's death. Still, I like the way Church plays Marko and his fight scenes with Spidey are fantastic, especially one set in the confines of an armored car, so that makes the silly plotlines easier to stomach.

Then we get to the black suit that becomes Venom. The way the suit is introduced is so matter of fact that I couldn't believe they weren't even going to try to explain its existence just a little better. Granted, the filmmakers can't use the comic book origins of the black suit, but my God, just having it drop out of the sky in an unexplained meteor? That's the best they could come up with? That being said, I do like the way Maguire plays the black-suited Spider-Man, with a little more confidence crossing over into cocky and hot headed, even dangerous at times. Sometimes his newfound behavior is played for laughs; sometimes it's downright scary. Maguire lets his hair flop down almost covering his eyes (which might be sporting a hint of eyeliner; he looks a bit like Jared Leto in full emo mode), and lets a swagger enter his step. It's a riot.

Even with all it's deep flaws, Spider-Man 3 is still all about being entertaining, sometimes to a fault. But the last 20-30 minutes of so, as Spidey takes on both Sandman and Venom (Brock covered by the symbiotic black goo), with a taste of new Goblin on the side, are some of the finest action sequences I've seen in a comic book adaptation. And these are the moments upon which I choose to dwell and remember fondly. This is a decent start to the summer movie season, people, but I anticipate still better things to come both from sequels and other adaptations, as well as original works. This is only the beginning.

Capone
capone@aintitcool.com