5-07-07, 9:38 am

Spiderman 3 Directed by Sam Raimi

Alter-Ego Spiderman shows his nasty side.

Your friendly neighbourhood vigilante is back. This time, fighting to save New York from a trio of super-villains called Venom, Sandman and the Goblin. But the most important battle that Spiderman faces is with the dark side of himself.

All this is going on while he continues to woo his childhood sweetheart Mary Jane Watson. You might say that it's symbolic of a major mid-life crisis, possibly a super-size puberty.

Yes, it is that complicated. But web-heads wouldn't want it any other way - Spiderman is the fans' favourite franchise and is bound to demand a follow-up despite all the denials to the contrary.

In this, the third installment, there are incredible choreographed CGI fight scenes. Add to that a host of evil villains and a sympathetic sob story and you're bound to attract punters who want to follow the fortunes of Peter Parker as he tries to come to terms with life's contradictions.


Spidey wants to continue doing his job. Mary Jane wants him to spend more time with her, despite launching a career as a singer in a Broadway musical.

Poor Peter (Tobey Maguire) finally gets to see Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) exercising her tonsils only to learn later that she's been savaged by the critics and is suffering a crisis of confidence.

Naturally, she has former lover Harry Osbourne (James Franco) offering help because he's still under the impression that Spidey killed his rich dad Goblin (Willem Dafoe).

And, to make matters worse, there's the arrival of a rival (Topher Grace) at the Daily Bugle and the news that Parker's late uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) wasn't killed by the man accused.

Next up, we have Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko, a poor fool who, in trying to escape the police, discovers himself inside an atomic centrifugal force and turns into Sandman.

Appearing like a living sculpture - think Anthony Gormley meets Anish Kapoor - he acts as a metaphor for the fact that we're all an assembly of atoms.

However, such changes are nothing compared to the transformation of Parker when he becomes contaminated by some sticky black stuff emanating from a meteor.

Thus, like Batman and Superman before him, poor old Parker gets to wear a black outfit while he struggles with his alter ego, an act that inspires the birth of a new venomous rival also out for revenge.

Sadly, like the canonisation of Superman, the film-makers have tried to force this anti-establishment champion into assuming the pose of the brooding martyr atop a church spire.

Worse, there's even a shot of a US flag. It may be intended to remind us of the principles of the founding fathers, but, given that it's New York, it may be attempting to appropriate other allusions.

The difference is, unlike the indestructible Superman and the affluent Batman, Spidey is a local working-class hero trying to survive without profiting on his super powers.

It may not be the great American novel, but the epic power struggles and Herculean efforts have shades of Homer.

Still, with the superb JK Simmons as the barking mad editor of the Daily Bugle and Rosemary Harris as Auntie May, this is Spiderman's most excellent epic.

From Morning Star

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