First Unofficiall Spider Man 3 Review (from the movie novelization)

[Dr.Omega]

Spider-Man 3 [SPOILERS]
by Peter David (based on the screenplay by Alvin Sargent)
Pocket Star

Even allowing for the fact that this is a novelization - and so granted there's always going to be some expanding to get a 100 page screenplay into a 350 page book - but even allowing for that, Spider-Man 3 feels like a lot thrown in at once. Much like X3: The Last Stand, it feels like they took the two or three directions they liked the most and decided to go with all of them at the same time. Or maybe it's just that there's too many plot threads to wrap up, too many new characters introduced that don't get the development they deserve. Peter David seems to be Marvel's go-to guy for novelizations these days. With the Hulk, he made a dark and bewildering movie a little lighter and easier to understand, and with Fantastic Four he made a light and funny movie a little...lighter and funny. I don't know how much is David's work here and how much is the original screenplay, likewise I don't know how what's changed since the earlier draft that David most likely would have worked off of, so a bit of a warning before I get into the nitty. And this whole thing is going to be spoiler territory so let them avoid, that must.

The first thing we notice starting out is that this isn't the hated and misunderstood spidey of the first two films. His face is plastered everywhere, and not in wanted posters either, but up on billboards and the jumbotron in Times Square along with the words 'NYC <3 Spider-Man!' He's now the unofficial 'face' of New York. The board of tourism decided to use him as a way of making everyone feel safe again, in these crazy times. It's the only city that has a Spider-Man looking out for you. Peter has reached the top and has all he could hope for. All the conflict and indecision in him, the love unrequited, has all evaporated. People love him. And more importantly...Mary Jane loves him. Not too much has changed since we last saw him. He still works freelance at the Bugle, Harry still hates him but isn't making any moves. He has a new lab partner in Dr. Conners' class, named Gwen Stacy. And though he just met her, Gwen's actually known about him for a long time. Her father (Captain Stacey) was the first on the scene after Uncle Ben's murder, and he often retold the story of the grief stricken youth who watched his uncle die.

The first third of the story takes place all in the span of one night, the night that Peter's (almost) perfect little world is shattered. It's the opening night of Mary Jane's big Broadway debut, and also coincidentally the night of a meteor shower. After the show, Peter and MJ go off to some secluded spot to watch the cosmic fireworks. It's here (as we already know from the footage online) that Peter realizes that he's going to ask Mary Jane to marry him. Peter can be forgiven for not noticing that after one of the meteors crash nearby, an alien goo seems to emerge and attaches itself to Peter's shoe. Afterwards is the scene that's been placed online where he heads to Aunt May's place to give her the news, and its on his way back that Harry attacks him in full on Goblin mode. This doesn't go to well for Harry, and he ends up in the emergency room flat-lining.

Spidey 3 is actually a lot like Superman Returns, to be honest. This is a story of fathers and their children: Harry's quest for vengeance mirrors Peter's, Flint Marko's turn to crime was to provide for his sick daughter. It's ironic that Flint Marko's reasons for becoming a criminal (and ultimately killing Uncle Ben) are more noble than Peter's initial reason for becoming Spider-Man. (Naked self-interest, to win the wrestling prize money to impress Mary Jane.) I'm not sure where Eddie Brock fits in to that analysis, partly because I'm not sure how Eddie Brock fits in the story in general. He feels a bit tacked on, like he belongs more in a Spidey 4 than this movie. Which is sad because at least the way David portrays him, Brock is the most three dimensional of all the characters. Brock's dating Gwen, at least he thinks he is. And he's now Spidey's new personal photographer, at least he thinks he is. He's as pathetic and pitiful an antagonist as Peter can be as a protagonist. They cross paths when suddenly (after Peter working freelance for years) a staff job opens up, and JJ decides it'd be sporting to watch them go head to head for it. So he tells them that the first one who gets a shot of Spidey being the fake, the criminal, the menace that he knows he is...gets the job.

One thing you can always count on from Peter David is the little in-jokes and nods to the comics, or to fandom in general. There's a part where Peter, upon seeing a kid spraying a toy Spider-Man webshooter, remarks to himself that he couldn't even begin to imagine how he would've built webshooters for himself if he didn't have the organic ones. A little forced? Maybe..

One annoying thing is how much Flint Marko's motivation and arc feel a little too much like Doc Oc from the last go-round. Which isn't too complex: He needs money, so he robs banks. Far more interesting is Brock's turn to venom, which sadly we only just get in the final act. One thing to ponder is how much of Venom is Brock, and how much of it was Peter. It's fascinating that it's actually harder to watch Brock's descent than it is Peter's. We're used to seeing Peter suffer.

The final battle goes pretty much as has been rumored. I don't feel the need to spoil something twice. Everyone already knows how Harry figures in. By its nature, the fight scenes in a comic book film are going to lack a certain suspense: you know that the hero is going to be okay, and that the bad guy obviously won't. So I was surprised by just how violent the big four-man brawl really was, by just how bad Spidey gets his ass handed to him. You end up actually thinking to yourself "Could... this... be... the end of Spider-Man? *gasp*".

In the end, I guess you could say it's a satisfying conclusion to the series, if they do decide to end it here. The last scene ties up nicely with that of the first film, and you walk away knowing that while there's always more stories to tell, it doesn't feel like they absolutely need to tell them. One door is closed, another opens. As it should be.

[youngeurow]

Mann fucc that this is what happend:
*THIS IS NOT IN ORFER*
Sandman is a ***** ass nicca who crys to much
Spiderman whoops harrys ass
Mary jane is jealousy of gwen stacey cause he saw them kissing
Brock becomes venom
Harry now has amnesia
Venom and sandman team up againts spidey
Harry dies
Sandman stops being evil because of his daughter and he leaves the fight in one piece
Spidey gets his ass whooped
Venom kills brock and leaves nothing but skeleton at the end.
Oh and venom only says like two things in the whole movie
It looks like venom won't be back and preety much it seems ok............*SUPER SPOILER* I HEARD THAT IF YOU WAIT TILL AFTER THE CREDITS A CLIP IS SHOWN WHICH MIGHT LEAD INTO A SPIDEY 4. CARNAGE?

[Dr.Omega]

Originally Posted by youngeurow

Mann fucc that this is what happend:
*THIS IS NOT IN ORFER*
Sandman is a ***** ass nicca who crys to much
Spiderman whoops harrys ass
Mary jane is jealousy of gwen stacey cause he saw them kissing
Brock becomes venom
Harry now has amnesia
Venom and sandman team up againts spidey
Harry dies
Sandman stops being evil because of his daughter and he leaves the fight in one piece
Spidey gets his ass whooped
Venom kills brock and leaves nothing but skeleton at the end.
Oh and venom only says like two things in the whole movie
It looks like venom won't be back and preety much it seems ok............*SUPER SPOILER* I HEARD THAT IF YOU WAIT TILL AFTER THE CREDITS A CLIP IS SHOWN WHICH MIGHT LEAD INTO A SPIDEY 4. CARNAGE?

I dont know where you got that from but that would absolutely suck