Spider-Man 3 · 24 April 2007
Having just watched the above exclusive NBC preview of Spider-Man 3 on YouTube, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Spider-Man 3 is going to be the best super-hero film ever made.
A big call, yeah; and heavily biased. But how could anyone help but completely succumb to the involving action and heightened melodramatic emotion that is the quintessential marvel comic.
I’ve been an obscenely obsessive Spider-man fan since I was 9 years old. Within half-an-hour of receiving my pocket money every Friday I would have already rode my bike to the greenwood newsagents and made a decision on which copy of ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ or ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ to buy.
I’d read the whole thing cover to cover before even getting back on my bike to ride home.. where I would then read it again. Cover to cover.
I’ve always grown up wanting to be a cartoonist; I never considered myself doing anything else; and Spider-Man comics had a lot to do with that.
Yes, they are my number plates, and no I didn’t specifically get them made – I got them in return for drawing a picture…
When I was very young, all I would draw would be a.) Spider-Man, b.) Ninja Turtles or c.) Ren & Stimpy.
By closely studying and absorbing the styles of artists like John Kricfaluci, Ryan Brown, Jim Lawson and some of the best Marvel Artists to have ever graced the pages of Spider-Man. Brian-Michael Bendis was a particular favourite Spidey artist of mine, and I usually found myself copying his style for many years.
Spider-man became the one thing I consistently followed and sustained a kind of child-like fanaticism for. Sure, you could call it childish; but everyone’s got to afford themselves some childish obsessions every now and then.
Anyway, enough of the life story, back to the movie.
When I first heard news that Sony pictures had finally cut through the red tape with Marvel and managed to settle a movie deal for the first major motion picture of Spider-Man, my stomach turned inside out. I gritted my teeth daily with anticipation as the news and snippets slowly filtered down through the various news sources and Peer-to-Peer file-sharing communities.
As the day grew closer, I grew more and more anxious as to whether they would bone-up yet another great super hero by portraying them in film.
Let’s not deny it – Batman & Robin was the last major super-hero film to be released, and my freaking god was it horrendous. If anyone was going to do that to Spider-man, it would be nothing short of gross tragedy. (At least for die-hard nerd boy fans like me..)
Although this time around, something really kept my interest up. The fact that Stan Lee and Avi Arad were executive producers, and the whole Spider-Man franchise was going to be directed by the genius, Sam Raimi. The man behind Xena, Hercules, Darkman and Evil Dead.
The movie turned out a success. Probably one of the biggest understatements of the film world; it was the most successful opening weekend for any film in the history of cinema. Ever.
Spider-man became the new benchmark in super-hero films, and despite the subsequent production of films like the Fantastic Four, Daredevil (*shudder*), The Hulk, Batman Begins, Superman Returns, and all of the X-Men series – nothing has come close to matching the success of Spider-man.
I’m beside myself with excitement that there are talks of a Spider-man 4. coming out in 2009. Insane. Possibly a bad thing – I don’t know how long it could go on before it turns into another Batman-style franchise where the hero is played by a different actor each time. That said, it’s a bitter sweet feeling – you can never have enough Spider-man…??
So! My predictions and expectations for Spider-Man 3…
Okay, based on the two trailers currently out, and the extended preview trailer above, I’d say this is going to be the super-hero movie to end all super-hero movies.
Over the last 6 years, Sam Raimi, the writers and the producers have listened to what the fans – new and old alike – have been screaming out for. Arguably the single most requested character to be included in Spidey 3 is the one and only; Venom.
(click for larger image.)
Briefly; Venom is the result of a black liquid alien symbiotic life-form that is brought back to earth from mineral samples taken from an asteroid passing through the solar system near Earth.
In Spider-man 3, they’ve amended the story slightly to make the symbiote’s origin the moon, rather than the asteroid – and instead of a random astronaut – why not use one we already know; John Jameson. Son of Daily Bugle editor, J. Jonah Jameson – ex-fiancé of Mary Jane.. Hell, if I were left standing at the altar like that I’d probably want to piss off to the moon too.
Anyway the sybiote augments aggression and any form of power when it binds itself with another life-form. But not only does it augment the power; it absorbs it. So if one were to bind with the life form, and then the life form were to bind with someone else – it would take with it the memories, knowledge and powers of the previous ‘occupant’.
We know from the trailer above that Peter comes into contact with the symbiote through some means, but eventually brings it to Dr. Connors – (you’ll remember him as Peter’s university lecturer in the second film who berates him about being consistently late and tired. Incidentally, Dr. Connors becomes one of Spider-man’s greatest foes in the comic when he uses a neogenic recombinator in an experiment using reptile dna to replicate his lost arm, the same way reptiles can re-grow their tails.)
So Dr. Connors ends up examining the sample; and it seems to take a liking to Peter. It would probably be a safe assumption at this stage that it has either already bound with Peter, or at least already attempted to.
Clearly the symbiote inevitably binds itself with Peter; who is ridden with guilt, anger and fear over the loss of his uncle, the re-emergence of his uncle’s killer, and the newfound threat of Harry Osborne – out for blood over the death of his father.
These emotions are augmented by the symbiote and bind themselves in the form of Peter’s Spidey suit. The results are an increase in Spidey’s ability to jump (he can pretty much jump as high and far as the Hulk), his webbing is thrice as strong, his Spider-sense is heightened to the point of ultimate awareness; and his strength is increased 10 fold.
The only Achilles heel of the alien symbiote is that it doesn’t respond well to high-frequency sound waves; especially at close range.
We see from the trailer that Peter works this out and uses a bell in a bell-tower to disturb the alien symbiote into releasing Peter from its grasp, only to drip on to Eddy Brock; Peter’s photographic nemesis from the Daily Bugle. Brock hates Parker, and on discovering that he is Spider-man, wants to reveal his secret to the world… or just kill him.
The symbiote carries all of Spider-man’s powers, and also augments Eddie Brock’s hatred for Parker; thus crating the most formidable enemy Spider-man will have ever faced. Basically it’s Spider-man versus super-Spider-Man… with a nasty case of psychosis.
A lot of things are given away in the trailer
1.) Aunt May hasn’t died yet (as she does in the comic.) and Rosemary Harris continues to do an outstanding job as the grieving widow – Harris could have been cast to a more perfect role; she’s the exact epitome of Aunt May.
2.) That Harry Osborne, as obviously hinted at at the end of Spider-Man 2, does indeed pick up where his father left off and uses the technology of the ‘Green Goblin’ costume with a few modest modifications. One of which is the glider – which I actually kind of prefer in this one.
In the first Spider-Man when Spidey faced Green Goblin Mk I, the glider was too big and clunky, and didn’t seem to have the same rangle of motion or flexibility as the one we’ve all grown familiar with in the comics. Goblin usually flies on the glider (which looks more like a snowboard with green case-mod propellors in this one) – with the ease that Silver Surfer glides on his surf board (see the new Fantastic Four movie for reference.)
The fight in the sequence above looks absolutely brilliant. There are a couple of slips with blue-screen stuff but all-in-all it is an excellent action sequence. Harry’s mask looks a bit naff, but I don’t think we’re missing out on much. (By that I mean that even when the mask comes off, James Franco changes his expression about as often as the steel mask..)
3.) Peter has really gotten the hang of using his ‘web-balls’. You’ll remember these were used on the crooks in the stolen car who were shooting at Spidey when he was on his way to MJ’s show in Spider-Man 2. They looked a bit too cartoony and a little tacky on that occasion, but this time they look like quite a powerful weapon that he’s really honed. Seeing Peter fight without his suit looks awesome too. It reminds me of in the original comic where the first Green Goblin (the original Osborne) nullifies Parker’s Spider-senses using a gas, and ties Parker up with cable and drags him around New York in the air slamming him against stuff while he’s in his civilian clothes which only partly cover his costume underneath – showing everyone his face.
Anyway in this sequence we clearly see that Pete gets the absolute bejesus knocked out of him, but not before dealing Harry a pretty violent clotheslining with his webbing.
4.) Sandman is Spidey’s number 2 foe for this movie; being the real killer of Uncle Ben. (Hmm… can’t wait to see em sort that plot hole out..) is revealed; Sandman (Flint Marco.)
I think Thomas-Hayden Church was a really interesting choice for this role; especially considering his comedic background in his well-known “Ned and Stacy” and “Sideways” roles. Although, so is Topher Grace (“That Seventies Show”) who is playing Venom.
As a side-note; I always wondered if Sandman and Hydro-man got together and combined Voltron-style, would they become “Mud-Man” or “Cementor!”.... indeed.
5.) That Peter is proposing to marry Mary Jane, but the suits augmentation of his emotions is hindering his ability to see that his attitude is changing for the worse.
6.) ..That somehow Venom/Brock finds Mary Jane and tangles her up in his own black web, similar to the regular opaque one at the start of the trailer.
7.) That Gwen Stacy played by Bryce Dallas Howard , makes an appearance, and that Peter starts getting involved with her.
In the comics, Gwen is Peter’s first love and dies at the hands of the original Green Goblin; perhaps this time she’ll die at the hands of another foe, since Gobby Mk I is already dead.
8.) Sam Raimi’s brother, Ted, returns again to play Jameson’s assistant, “Hoffman” but for possibly the first time ever, Raimi doesn’t have a cameo appearance for his all-time regular Bruce Campbell. (The Ring-side Announcer in Spidey1, and the Usher/Stage-Doorman at the theatre in Spidey2.)
9.) For the third movie in a row, Parker manages to have his Spidey-suit completely torn to shreds… again.
9.5) The game is going to be insanely good – with Venom, Green Goblin Mk II, Scorpion, Kingpin, Sandman, Dr Octopus, Electro and Rhino – aaw yeah.
10.) Spider-man is awesome.
That is all.
