Along came a Spider (Man)
0 Comments Published by Steven Friedman on Monday, April 23, 2007 at 11:40 AM.
Let's try an analogy... Say you're about to go on vacation. Not of the lowbudgetty type. A real fancy one. You're packing your suitcase and, by looking at all the shirts, pants, ties, shoes and accessories you've meticulously placed on your bed, just know that you'll never be able to cram all that into your trusty old Samsonite. There's just no way.So what do you do? I guess the smart thing to do would be to make a decent selection that would actually fit into the suitcase. But of course, being smart doesn't matter half as much as looking good at your holiday destination. So you'll try to stuff everything in anyway, throwing your full weight on the case in an attempt to lock it. The result is a bulging case, too heavy and filled with things you probably won't use anyway.
Now for the part where I explain what all this suitcase-nonsense has to do with the third installment of the Spider-Man franchise.
Spider-Man 3 felt exactly like the situation I just described. The film felt crammed... filled to the brink with (admittedly cool looking) stuff that was evidently put in just for the sake of having it in the film.
I can just imagine the early story-meetings at Sony. "Well, Tobey and me really want Sandman as a villain in this one", says Sam Raimi. The executives at the table nod their heads in agreement. "And of course, we'll also need Harry Osborn as the new goblin", Raimi continues. Again, everbody nods. "Also", says an executive. "The fans are calling for Venom. We gotta have that thing in there". And then of course, the large bags marked with dollar signs are thrown on the table and everybody dances around naked to the theme of the Spider-Man song.
Okay, so maybe that didn't happen. But my point is: why put just about everything you can think of in this one, when the previous films connected so well on an emotional level - and didn't just work as a large-scale visual effects spectacle?
Don't get me wrong, I like the Spider-Man 3 story, to a certain point. Peter trying to cope with his arrogance and sudden vengeful attitude, his transformation to the 'dark side' and back again, the emotional gap he creates between himself and Mary Jane... It all works. Just not on the level I think it could have worked. This time around, Raimi has put so much emphasis on the different fight sequences (there are five of them, all clearly defined and marked out from the rest of the film), he just barely allows us time to breathe and to let the emotional core of the story shine through.
Then again, I guess most pundits won't buy their Spider-Man 3 tickets for an affecting emotional core. Nor has Sony coughed up 250 million dollars for an artsy movie about two people learning about life and love in the big city. This is Spider-Man and yes, when this film enters true rollercoaster-mode, prepare to be blown away. As far as bigbudget summer blockbusters go, this film still makes for an unbelievably entertaining ride.
Well, it's not exactly summertime yet (we're only half way through april), but this past weekend made Al Gore's Unconvenient Truth seem quite convenient. I mean, screw them polar bears. I like walking around in a tee and shorts this time of year.Normally, the outside temperature in Holland would be around 12°C (about 54°F), but at the moment, we're enjoying agreeable bbq-temperatures of about 27°C (81°F)!
So hooray for global warming. And if Holland were to be flooded in about ten years, just think it would probably be for the greater good of mankind. Or something. If things go according to plan, we'll be moving to the US of A quite soon anyway.
The great thing about this weather (and owning a laptop) is being able to work outside, in our terrific backyard (see picture). As I'm very busy writing and developing a new spec at the moment, this sunny weather comes in quite handy!
