Running time: 140 minutes
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bruce Campbell, J K Simmons
Rating 6 out of 10
The third film in the Spider-Man series shows some signs of the law of diminishing returns. Although it's a box office smash waiting to happen, it's a bit of a disappointment compared to the heights reached by the same team in the second instalment, which itself has a strong claim to be the best superhero film of the last ten years. The reasons? There are probably three main issues: at 140 minutes the film is the longest of the saga so far, and at times it feels it. Secondly, far too much time is spent dwelling on the murder of Peter Parker's Uncle Ben from the first film - while the writers may be trying to tie up loose ends, it has a halting effect on the action. Finally, Spider-Man simply has too many enemies to combat leading to a lack of both cohesion and tension.
There are good things too however: the special effects are outstanding, but this is to be expected given the rumours that this is one of the most expensive productions of all time. There are welcome touches of comedy from J K Simmons as Parker's newspaper boss and (especially) Bruce Campbell as a hilarious French maitre d. There's also a bizarre homage to Saturday Night Fever which is likely to delight some fans and alienate others.
Performances from the leads are on a par with the previous films, and it's thanks to the appeal and considerable chemistry of Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst that the romance between Parker and Mary is both believable and touching. Newcomers to the series include Thomas Haden Church as Sandman (a million miles away from his debauched turn in Sideways), and Topher Grace as rival snapper Eddie Brock/deadly enemy Venom.
Director Sam Raimi has indicated that this may be his last time in charge of the webbed one's adventures, and both of his leading stars have recently confessed that they are unlikely to reprise their roles without him calling the shots. It's therefore probably a good point to leave one of the most profitable and enjoyable trilogies of recent times, as the prospect of another film without one of the three key players involved is unlikely to be an attractive one.
Paul Hurley
