FILM REVIEW

‘Spider-Man 3’ weaves crowded web

Choices are part of life, and daily choices extend even beyond deciding what to wear for fictional web-slinger superhero Peter Parker.

Choices abound in “Spider-Man 3” (Columbia) with three villains, two love triangles and several revenge storylines. Complex as the new villains are, the most difficult obstacle Parker must overcome in the latest chapter of the Marvel comic book trilogy is himself.

Kicking off the summer of trilogies (the “Shrek” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” installments come out this month as well), “Spider-Man” does not disappoint as the third piece of the Peter Parker puzzle.

Certainly not the best of the films, “Spider-Man 3” is a bit self-absorbed, takes on too many villains and soap opera-style subplots. But overall it is an enjoyable film with obvious moral messages.

At the outset of the film, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is ready to propose marriage to longtime love Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). Life is going great for Parker and Spider-Man — now beloved by the city of New York.

Unsurprisingly, everything takes a turn for the worse a few minutes into the saga. And a saga it is, with three villains — four if you count the alter-ego Parker develops midway through the film (a substance from a meteor turns Spider-Man’s suit and intentions black) — love and revenge.

Flint Marko, played by Thomas Hayden Church, enters the story as an escaped convict with a connection to Parker. Harry (James Franco) returns as the new Goblin and Topher Grace plays Eddie Brock — a competitive photographer turned villain. The result is a film that is longer than it should be, more convoluted than it need be, yet still fun to watch.

In the terms of the comic book genre, the exaggerated acting, villains and dramatic love stories are not necessarily appropriate, but forgivable.

“Spider-Man 3” gets away with its weaknesses by playing off the power of the franchise, and viewers get exactly what they want: an action film with a good but conflicted hero who chases after and saves a girl throughout the film.

The plot strength of “Spider-Man 3” is the struggle not against, but with evil. Parker acquires a black suit that “feels nice” and powerful.

This black suit and the evil that comes with it bond to Parker. Revenge seeking, prideful and self-obsessed, he makes many ill-fated choices.

This evil steadily grows throughout the film — literally and metaphorically — in Parker’s character — and nearly takes him over.

Parker’s Aunt Mae (Rosemary Harris) saves him, telling him that revenge is “like a poison. It can take you over and turn us into something ugly.”

Parker seeks redemption by literally ripping evil from his body — not an original concept to those who know Jesus’ lesson of cutting any sinning limb from one’s body. He sheds this evil skin, appropriately, atop a bell tower of a Catholic church.

Beyond Parker’s choice to extricate evil from his being, “Spider-Man 3” also focuses on the issue of vocation. When Parker tells his aunt of wanting to marry Mary Jane, she says a man must be ready to put his wife before all else when committing to marriage.

After his struggle with vanity, evil and cruelty, Parker postpones his proposal, telling his aunt, “You have to put your wife before yourself. I’m not ready” — an impressive reflection on the vocation of marriage for Hollywood.

“Spider-Man 3” is an exercise in discernment. Parker must decide if he is called to be a hero, a husband or a villain. He, along with every villain in the tale, must choose between the good and evil version of himself. It is a choice that, on a smaller scale, people make every day.

Far from perfect, each viewer will have to decide if “Spider-Man 3” meets the standards set by the other films. Yet if one embraces the comic book tale of epic — albeit overly dramatic — proportions, it is hard not to love the third chapter of America’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Rebecca Bostic is a regular contributor to The Catholic Sun. Comments are welcome. Send e-mail to letters@catholicsun.org.