Spiderman 3

Starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace.
Directed by Sam Raimi

Summary
The third in the installment of the webslinger is the most complicated for Peter/Spidey personally, and it is the most complicated of the three films in terms of intersecting villains. Peter Parker's best friend Harry Osborne has completed his journey to becoming his father's successor as The Green Goblin. He is out for revenge against Peter because he is still under the impression that Peter killed his father. All the while Peter finds out that the man who shot and killed his uncle has escaped from prison (it turns out that the man Peter thought killed his uncle was only an accomplice). This man, Flint Marko, is a misunderstood villain who becomes Sandman. Peter's heart is filled with a desire for revenge, and this darkness ends up taking him over and turning him into a dark Spiderman. However, the darkness is inside of Peter as well as on his suit, as he alienates friends (Mary Jane in particular) and finds a new energy that allows him to take revenge against those who wrong him. By the time Peter finally realizes the mess he has made, he finds that he needs to wage a hopeless battle against the combined forces of Sandman and Venom (who was created when Peter sheds his darkness).

Review
My summary actually may make the movie seem more complicated than it is. It is hard to talk about, but if you are watching it, it comes together much more smoothly. I love the Spiderman movies, and I enjoyed this one. I thought the strand of Peter being taken over by his dark desire for revenge was powerful. There was some comic relief that took place in this strand and some people really disliked that. I was okay with it. I thought it just reminded us all that this is a comic book story. The movie had some powerful things to say about revenge and the choices we make. I thought it fell a little short of really answering the questions it raised, but it went far enough that I was not left hanging. I also thought the actions sequences (especially the opening fight between Peter and Harry) was amazing.

Question for Thought
Spiderman movies are infamous for being very un-subtle with their messages. This one was no different. Revenge was the subject, and the message had to do with the fact that we always have to make the choice to do the right thing. An interesting question for thought is, "When we allow revenge and bitterness to become a part of our lives, how do these things impact other areas of our lives?" If we are honest with ourselves, we may be able to see just how detrimental it is when we allow a root of bitterness to grow.

Overall
While this was my least favorite of the three Spiderman movies, that must be qualified by the fact that I really loved the first two. I thought this one was good, not great. It was fun and worth seeing.

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5 possible