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Spider-Man 3 [DVD] [2007]
![Spider-Man 3 [DVD] [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DSt7a8poL._SL160_.jpg)
How does Spider-Man 3 follow on the heels of its predecessor, which was widely considered the best superhero movie ever? For starters, you pick up the loose threads from that movie, then add some key elements of the Spidey comic book mythos (including fan-favourite villain Venom), the black costume, and the characters of Gwen Stacy and her police captain father. In the beginning, things have never looked better for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire): He's doing well in school; his alter ego, Spider-Man, is loved and respected around New York City. And his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), has just taken a starring role in a Broadway musical. But nothing good can last for Spidey. Mary Jane's career quickly goes downhill; she's bothered by Peter's attractive new classmate, Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard); and the new Daily Bugle photographer, Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), is trying to steal his thunder. Enter a new villain, the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), who can transform his body into various forms and shapes of sand and who may be connected to Peter's past in an unexpected way. There's also the son of an old villain, Harry Osborne (James Franco), who unmasked Spidey in the previous movie and still has revenge on his mind. And a new black costume seems to boost Spidey's powers, but transforms mild-mannered Peter into a mean and obnoxious boor (Maguire has some fun here). If that sounds like a lot to pack into one 140-minute film, it is. While director Sam Raimi keeps things flowing, assisted on the screenplay by his brother Ivan, and Alvin Sargent, there's a little too much going on, and it's inevitable that one of the villains (there are three or four, depending on how you count) gets significantly short-changed. Still, the cast is excellent, the effects are fantastic, and the action is fast and furious. Even if Spider-Man 3 isn't the match of Spider-Man 2, it's a worthy addition to the megamillion-dollar franchise.
RRP: £15.99
Our Price: £2.20 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Major disappointment
Review date: 2010-06-18 Rating: 2 out of 10
I liked the first Spiderman film, and I loved the second one. The second movie really got it right in terms of the villain, he was great to watch, and the action scenes between him and Spidey really made the film. Also at this stage of the films, his relationship with Mary Jane was still kind of evolving and it gave a nice side element to the film itself.
This third movie has missed a chance to do even better. The villains? Well the alien "Venom"? Doesn't even have a face, a personality - dull. Sandman wasn't too bad, although by the end of the film he'd evolved into a "giant" sandman, thereby losing any "human" element to him. The final fight scene was also super dull, the Green Goblin's son assisting our hero in trying to defeat Sandman.
Also by now, I was bored of the relationship between Peter Parker/Spiderman, and Mary Jane. Instead of it being something brooding underneath the surface, it was now a normal relationship with insecurities, jealousy etc rising to the surface. If we wanted this, we'd have watched a romcom. This was the same mistake the producer of Hellboy 2 made (review of that coming at a later date).
Ultimately this could and should have been better.
Similar Products
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- Fantastic Four/Fantastic Four - Rise Of The Silver Surfer [2005] [DVD]
Reviews
A Stumble but not a Drop
Review date: 2010-06-15 Rating: 6 out of 10
There are certain films in a franchise that get stuck with the retrospective label "only for the most dedicated collector". They come across as the seemingly universally panned instalment of a series; the one everyone loves to hate; the proverbial weakest link. As years go on we discover that the creative team behind the project was put under pressure by their backers or studio, which helped to suck the soul out of a well-loved series. We know that Raimi was under pressure to include a character he didn't like, but does he really fall down with Spider-Man 3?
My answer is that he stumbles, but doesn't completely drop the proverbial ball. An obvious mistake is the inclusion of a character Raimi didn't like: Venom. Having said this, the black costume saga had huge potential to have been the slow burn build-up that could have replaced the Harry Osborne story arc that had been beautifully set up in the original Spider-Man. Osborne is actually the strongest part of the whole feature and it finishes very well without the distractions presented by the Sand-Man and Venom sub-plots. The Sand-Man character is apparently one of Raimi's favourite super-villains and his complex character is at least given more respect than say the recent GI Joe movie's Storm Shadow. However, tying his life with events in the first Spider-Man film just seems to be a clumsy step to unnecessarily tick the boxes of establishing the three films as a self-contained trilogy. This sense of completion is not what I feel anyone really wanted with Spider-Man 3, despite Raimi and lead actor Tobey Maguire's contracts expiring.
The resulting problems are that we have too many sub-plots and characters such as Venom and Gwen Stacey - Spider-Man's tragic first love in the comics - barely resembling their source material. This gives the impression of a rushed product desperately trying to hit as many key notes as possible.
Nevertheless, even with these flaws Raimi still pulls together an entertaining picture. The casting is as strong as ever, the effects continue to improve and the action sequences are ambitious. The cast from the previous two films plausibly play their roles with integrity and, as I said before, the Osborne story arc does finish well. Few fans of the franchise will be disappointed with the two disk set. The extras are reasonable with documentaries that do what they say on the tin.
All in all we have an above average sequel that frustrating shows signs of being something much better. Such is the curse of a third instalment it would seem!
Summary: Amazing potential missed, but it's not without its charm.
*This review was first published as "BlackSwan" on my Dooyoo and Ciao accounts*
spider-man trilogy
Review date: 2010-05-23 Rating: 10 out of 10
thye dvd's reached me in excellent condition and i am very pleased with the purchase.thankyou
All 3 as one movie
Review date: 2010-03-29 Rating: 8 out of 10
I chose to buy this DVD collection, when I heard that sony will be doing a re-boot of the Spiderman Franchise, and Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst Etc will be not appearing in the next film.
For the story it self, I think its a great conversion from Comic to Screen, and with the extras in 2.1, about 15-20 mins.
Good Buy
Spiderman 3
Review date: 2010-01-09 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is wonderful as I have already got 1&2 so thought I had better get this one to go with the set would recomend it to anyone
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Tobey Maguire
Topher Grace
James Franco
Thomas Haden Church
Kirsten Dunst
Creators:
Tobey Maguire (Primary Contributor)
Kirsten Dunst (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
EAN: 5051159495433
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, PAL,
Release date: 2009-08-17
Aspect ratio: 16:9 - 2.40:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 133 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2007
Language: Hindi (Subtitled)
Language: Norwegian (Subtitled)
Language: Finnish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Danish (Subtitled)
Language: Swedish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)