Midnight Review of "Spider-Man 3"

On Thursday, I went into Omaha for the midnight show of the next installment of the Spider-Man films. This one had a lot more to go in on. Spider-Man 2 had to perform as Spider-Man did and it did wonderfully. This one had to preform as Spider-Man 2 did and I believe it is on par with the other two. Instead of doing one villain at a time, this film tried 3 enemies: New Goblin, Sandman, and Venom. OK, enough of the intro on to the movie. I'll try not to spoil too much so If you want full surprise, just stop it.

The first thing I was looking for was a consistent intro. The second one basically copied the style of the first and created a precedent. The third follows suit. Whew. I love consistency. I knew Danny Elfman would not be directly involved with the score but it seems they got everything he had done prior to the film. The new music for the most part, takes some getting used to. The "symbiote theme" at first listen sucks balls but it does grow on you like the X-Men: The Last Stand soundtrack. As much as you want to hate it, you realize it is good, and grow to like it, but not at first.

Three villains does affect the pacing, but not enough for me to realize that it was crowded. They did do something with MJ's character that made me mad, and if you've seen the movie, it's not quite what you think. When she gets canned (no spoiler here, it's at the very beginning), she never, ever tells Peter. She tells Harry for once, considering the theme of the first movie was "Don't tell Harry." It makes me have less sympathy for her if she's not being honest. It gives me creepy Lana Lang vibes I don't like. Also, symbiote-influenced Peter Parker looks a lot like Conor Oberst. Jodie agrees.

Venom was very well done. Sandman's CG was exquisite. New Goblin did at the end exactly what I hoped he would do since the second film was finished. There's also some poetic justice with the first film. The ending is very poignant and lost some consistency with no Spidey-swinging-happy scene to close, but I love the ending. It leaves room open for a potential, yet not-required sequel. If they do start talking about it, watch for news from Tobey Maguire. He's only doing it if the story is good and Kirsten Dunst and Sam Raimi are back. It's kinda the same way for the other two. My favorite scene has to be when Sandman first awakens after his transformation. The music is perfect and the scene itself is also very poignant. Cameos are fun, too. Stan Lee's is silly but so him. Bruce Campbell's steals the show.

My review: 9 out of 10, I still love Spider-Man 2, especially Doc Ock but it is totally on par with the other two.
DVD-worthy: Midnight run to pick it up.