I remember sitting in the theater on the big day. The room was so crowded, there wasn’t even room for me to have my own seat. I had to sit in my dad’s lap, a humiliating and uncomfortable seating position for a 10-year-old in a public place.
Everyone waited with bated breath for the movie to start. Excitement was in the air to see the conclusion to the Sam Raimi “Spider-Man” trilogy.
Previously, in “Spider-Man 2,” Harry Osbourne just found out that his best friend, Peter Parker, is Spider-Man, the man who allegedly killed Harry’s father. Mary Jane finally accepted Peter’s feelings and ditched her would-be wedding to be with him. The couple had finally found true, honest romance. Top all of this climactic buildup off with the inclusion of Sandman and Venom, two of the biggest villains in Spider-Man lore, and expectations for “Spider-Man 3” could not have been higher.
It was one of the biggest sequels of the 2000s, and it would go on to be one of the highest grossing movies of the year.
However, as the movie began and the flat, deflated opening scene played out before our eyes, we slowly realized this was not going to be the masterful sequel we had hoped. All of our expectations were dashed against the rocks. The story was an overstuffed mess, the characters took a turn for the worse, there were terrible dance sequences and they made Venom, the most intimidating villain in Spider-Man history, look like a joke. As huge expectations turned into huge disappointments, “Spider-Man 3” came to be known as one of the most infamously disappointing sequels ever made.
Twelve years later, a lot has changed. A year after “Spider-Man 3,” the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched with “Iron Man,” then the DC Cinematic Universe launched with “Man of Steel” shortly after, and now we live with an overabundance of comic book movies that are released every year. This overabundance has shown us the highs the genre is capable of, and it’s also shown us the terrible lows it can sink to. “Spider-Man 3” is a faded memory compared to the comic book movies we’ve gotten since then, some of which are even worse than the derided threequel.
All of this has people reminiscing about a simpler time where we were lucky if we got one superhero movie a year. We yearn for a time when every movie wasn’t part of some cinematic universe and where movies didn’t feel like they were made on a factory assembly line. This yearning has led us to appreciate ever more the original Spider-Man movies that started it all.
There was a magic to the Sam Raimi trilogy that just couldn’t be replicated in any other superhero movie. Raimi’s directing style, coupled with great casting and fantastic character writing, made the first two “Spider-Man” movies some of the best examples of comic book films done right.
However, as appreciation for the first two Raimi films grew, so too did appreciation and forgiveness grow towards the once universally maligned “Spider-Man 3.” As bad as it was, there are still unmistakable charms and nuances to it that are sorely lacking from the plethora of superhero movies today.
Part of it is Sam Raimi’s directing. Most of us are now all too familiar with how behind-the-scenes drama and studio interference ruined the final product we got with “Spider-Man 3.” In hindsight, knowing all the pressure and stipulations that were put on Raimi, it’s clear that he was still trying to put his best foot forward. “Spider-Man 3″ is a prime example of how a good director can elevate terrible material. The action scenes were still exciting and engaging, minus the terrible CGI, and the movie was brimming with the same unique style that made the last two films so iconic. Honestly, the first hour of the movie isn’t terrible. Even Eddie Brock, a character that Raimi didn’t even want to include in the movie, has a decent arc in the movie up until he becomes Venom.
I think the most impressive thing about “Spider-Man 3,” though, is how Raimi tried his best to tie the trilogy off thematically despite having to include characters and events that were not part of his original plan. The first movie introduced to us the central concept of the series, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” It depicts this thematic struggle as a delicate balancing act that requires personal sacrifice. The second movie shows us what happens when you abandon the balancing act all together. Abandon your power, and you can be free of any responsibility.
The third movie reveals what happens when our hero tips too far to one side of the tightrope. What happens when our hero keeps his power, but recklessly disregards his responsibilities? He becomes a narcissistic egomaniac. The black Spider-Man suit is the literal personification of Peter’s already inflated ego at the start of the film.
Peter isn’t the only one with a big ego. Every character in this movie has an ego that causes conflict within the movie. Peter’s ego about his success clashes with Mary Jane’s bruised ego as a result of her failure. Peter also clashes with Eddie Brock’s ego, as the two very proud men strive for the same goal. By the end of the film, Peter and Harry learn to let go of their pride for the greater good, and Eddie Brock further embraces his narcissism to the detriment of others. Brock is ultimately consumed and destroyed by his ego––literally––while the rest of the characters humble themselves and set aside their differences to face the responsibilities they have all been ignoring.
It’s this fantastic thematic blueprint at the very heart of the movie that makes many of its flaws forgivable. The image of “emo Peter,” as people like to call him, isn’t meant to be seen as cool by the audience. Peter’s embarrassingly hot-headed strut down the street is goofy and laughable.
Many have pointed to this scene as a testament to how bad the movie is, when in reality, it’s the embodiment of what the movie is trying to say. Peter’s groovy dance on the sidewalk is meant to be seen as an embarrassing display of someone with an over-inflated ego. The audience thinks that what Peter is doing is stupid, and the film agrees by showing you how the character lacks any self-awareness in the middle of a massive ego trip.
Ironically, the theme of ego that absolves and makes sense of many of the film’s problems is also reflective of why the film failed in the first place. After two massive successes, I imagine everyone involved in the Spider-Man series was feeling pretty good about themselves. They were untouchable. They could do no wrong. So, why not throw everything and the kitchen sink into the movie? Why not add in an embarrassing and pointless jazz club dance scene? In many ways, “Spider-Man 3″was the series’ own embarrassing sidewalk dance as it prematurely celebrated its own victory.
The strength of the classic Spider-Man trilogy is that it’s about very human characters dealing with human struggles and making human mistakes. Raimi tried his best to continue what people liked about his Spider-Man movies despite the restrictions and stipulations placed on him, but he still fell short.
I think what has made “Spider-Man 3” earn its redemption over time is that people can see Raimi’s effort. They can see the very human mistakes made that caused the movie to fall short of what it should have been. That’s really what “Spider-Man 3” was, a product of fallible, but passionate, humans that make human mistakes. Human mistakes that are not only forgivable, but that are part of an image of charming earnestness that is sorely lacking in comic book movies today.
Grade: C
