And let's not forget the doorknob...

Huge Spider-man 3 Spoilers Afoot!


Spider-man 3 was the first film of the franchise that I knew I would love from the very first moments. I did not know what to expect with the first film and although I felt huge relief that it wasn't like Joel Schumacher's Batman films, I was webslinging home worried that I had dragged my friends out to a children's film. With the second film I was sitting disappointed though vaguely amused until the train scene. With the third film I was immediately plunged into action and emotion.

The first two films had moments of intense action and comedy but this was the first film, I thought, that managed to interweave the two successfully. Unlike both other films, it wasn't an hour of treading water until we got some action. It was straight away. And it wasn't some random crook but a character and a relationship we cared about: Harry Osbourn.

The moment when Peter saw Harry after the play, my heart leapt. There was no messing around. This was straight after Spider-man 2 and we had not missed a single delicious moment of this tragic friendship. Harry's attack on Peter was so sharp and sudden that I was screaming "where can the film go after this?". This was indeed the stunning fight scene of the movie and it was right at the beginning. The audience went wild. Every hit suffered by Peter and Harry was felt by us all. There were gasps and cries at every deftly choreographed move and finally cheers and applause when Peter downed his frenemy using one simple trip-web.

And then silence as it seemed very real that Peter had killed his friend.

In a series that semi-annoyed me with its lack of acknowledgement that Spider-man was dangerous, it took a rather dangerous turn. And I loved it.

Harry survived thanks to Goblin magic and came out of his brush with death with soap-opera amnesia. I both hated this device and loved it for being close to the comics. Then later I adored it for the side to Harry it allowed us to see. The simple childish glee. It bothered me a little that we had not seen this in him before but then it all made sense when he says that not knowing who you are carries a sense of freedom with it. I feel that this line should have been emphasised more (Spider-man is not a subtle franchise usually) as it is a large part of the film. This was a film that asked "Who is Peter Parker?" and then took it away from him to see who was left. More about that later, obviously. Right now I am delighting in my memories of Harry and Peter bouncing a basketball and later, Harry and MJ dancing. And failing to flip an omelette.

Basking over now. Let me mention the Sandman. I was pleased with the special effects but that is all that can be said for the Sandman. His back story was trite ("I was a crook to save my daughter") and the integration into Peter's story only worked up to where Peter "killed" Flint. After that he was just an under-motivated bad guy. And please don't get me started on the Particle Physics Test Facility...

The Sandman was there for Peter to vent on. To lose himself. And so we get to the idea of knowing who you are. Peter loses himself in his fame and later his rage (or rather, his wish to feel rage as it is really the loss of self he longed for). I loved the first part. It is right that Spidey should have such fans. He has very rarely been given fame in the comics or cartoons but whenever he is, this egotism is the result. It felt great to see it in full and hideous glory. I felt his fun as well, how he swung into his parade (posing momentarily in front of the stars and stripes) and, giddy with the love, shared a kiss with Gwen Stacey. It felt good but more than that, we got to the very essence of Peter Parker. The Peter we know and love, no matter the medium, is defined by those he loves. And yet naturally he is a bit of an egocentric prick. Only since the loss of Uncle Ben (and others in the comics) has he really put others first and that is where his fans fall in love with him. Which isn't to say we can't take some glee in revisiting that prick. And then relief and love that Peter is big enough to say "no, I don't want that...".

The result of his egotism was to hurt MJ. MJ who was the star of the second film for me and continued to out-perform everyone else. She was still the mature woman we saw a few years ago but now the consequences of her "sacrifice" came home and her life was more of a struggle. She never seemed to be brought down by that though. She dealt with her problems with a great strength and belief in self (in contrast to how Peter broke down in Spider-man 2). Every moment with her was a delight. When she turned away from Spidey in disgust as he kissed Gwen, I turned away with her. I was with her every step of the way when she attacked Peter in the restaurant. A moment that was possibly the most real and yet the most funny in the whole film. When Bruce Campbell came on screen the audience erupted into cheers. His best performance to date. But back to MJ, she runs thoughout all the films with her own story that is superhero free and about the tribulations of Real Life and I love her for it. A shame she has to end the film screaming though.

As I just mentioned one cameo, I feel I ought to mention that Stan Lee also got riotous applause. Plus all the other comedy performances in the show excelled. Diktovich and Ursula returned to my delight. And who would have thought that even Betty Brant could make me laugh so hard as she shocked poor J J Jameson into keeping his stress levels low? Jonah has never been so funny as when he was meekly taking his medication. Hoffman also made the Daily Bugle a fantastic place to be with his incessant sucking up.

The new addition to the Daily Bugle was of course Eddie Brock Junior. Or was it Brockman? At our first introduction with him I was not happy with the terrible character writing that was having someone care more about taking a photograph than their girlfriend falling to her death... but of course that was all part of setting up this villain, the first in the series to feel like a truly bad person rather than someone driven mad with science (aren't we all?). The disappointment of the Sandman was easy to ignore when we had a simple bad person to contend with. His attempt to weasel into Jonah's good books/newspaper with a faked photograph was brilliant as it led to a fabulous confrontation with Peter in the real world rather than Spider-man in the cartoony one. Eddie and his hatred of Peter Parker was set up brilliantly.

Of course, when the confrontation occured Peter was already in symbiote heaven. Peter lost himself to fame and then just plain loved losing himself. Attacking Sandman, Eddie and Harry (where I gasped at the venom- and truth- in his words) kept me glued to the screen. In a world where Peter gave up the most integral part of him, his concern for others, he really beame a force I couldn't tear my eyes from. And who would want to when this force was such fun at a jazz club? I go to sleep each night with a huge smile on my face, picturing him leap from piano to table to Gwen.

It couldn't last though as it wouldn't be Peter. He enjoyed it all, sure, but he chose to be himself. It perhaps was't much of a choice though as who else could he be? Harry's choice was the big one and this one I felt to be handled clumsily. He could cling to the madness he fell into in Spider-man 2, or he could let it go. And for me, why he let it go was not made clear. I know what I would have done. Well, actually I would have not even done that. When Harry and MJ danced together, I anticipated the end of the film which is not something I often do as I find it spoils my enjoyment but this time I could not stop myself. I saw Peter purposefully bringing back the Green Goblin to help him out. But that aside, I don't think that what we saw in the film was Harry making a Choice. He merely believed the truth because some Jeeves told it to him. I really wanted Peter to apologise to Harry, accept that he did wrong in letting Norman die. Accept responsibility at long last and leave Harry with the Choice of forgiveness. But no. A missed opportunity maybe but the many Imaginings that I have been able to have about the subject is testament to how well they have made these characters and themes come alive.

Which brings me to the end of the film and oh boy did it take my breath away. Peter and Harry together. The action could never be as good as the fight at the start of the film but the joy factor certainly made up for that. And I really think that Harry showed Peter up a bit, don't you? Could I be a Gobby fan as well as a Spidey one please? I was overwhelmed and just praying that they would end the film on this high point akin to Angel and friends fighting forever in their alleyway. It was not to be. But I don't mind because that is where my spirit resides. Forever thwipping and gliding. For eternity.