Spider Man. . .Spider Man .. .Does Whatever a Spider Can. . .

From all the horrible, negative reviews my co-workers were giving Spider Man III, I thought that I was going to be so disappointed when Mom and I went to see it this evening. Just goes to show that co-workers while usually right, can be dead wrong at times about movies and this was one of those times.

I think that they didn't have a good time at the movie because they weren't good Spidey fans. So, here are some tips for those going to see it--and everyone should go and see it, it really is superb!

First of all, any Spidey fan worth their webbing knows that the story line is going to be angst ridden and more 'cerebral' than other comic book character movies. This is not your typical ''kill em all and let God sort em out'' movie and if you go in expecting to see plain ole' violence and mayhem then you are going to be sorely disappointed. So be a good Spidey fan and remember that when you go to the movie.

Secondly, you need to be up on what happened in Spiderman II before you go and see Spiderman III. There is a lot of closure brought to things that happened in the second movie in the third, and a lot of foreshadowing done in the second is resolved in the third. So, review Spiderman II before you see Spiderman III.

Thirdly, be prepared for a long sit. The movie started at 6:45pm and ended at 9:00 pm for us. Show time was 6:30, I'm counting from when the previews actually stopped and the movie began.

Now, to answer some complaints from my coworkers.

1) It dragged, there wasn't enough action, you were too often asked to look at the emotional side of things.

Right, well yeah this one was slower than the previous two movies, I agree to that.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of action sequences in this movie, Peter's not doodling tic-tac-toe on the sidewalks or playing hop-scotch and thinking about his mistakes, not hardly. But the action sequences are more spaced out than in Spiderman II, which means the pacing is slower. Also, having 3 villains in this tale makes the focus divert, and while the story lines interlace well, you have to be paying attention for them to make sense.

Too emotional? Bah! Spider Man isn't Batman (who is emotional too, it's just rage and revenge that he deals with mainly) he's younger, he's just recently lost his uncle, and he's had some pretty weird/odd/devastating things happen to him. It's refreshing to see a hero who isn't a hardened commando being an island unto himself and never second guessing his actions or doing the wrong thing.

I loved the rehashing of Peter and Harry's friendship, I thought that came through as one of the shining points of the movie. There are other twists and turns among the relationships that make the tension within and the tension without well balanced, and fans of the comic books will see nods to plot points in the relationships between Peter and Mary Jane, between Mary Jane and Harry, and between Harry and Peter.

There are some sweet revelations too! You learn more about what happened the night that Peter's uncle died, how the Hob Goblin really met his end, and what drives the Sand Man to do what he does.

2) There were too many villains.

Too many villains. Oh, really? This is likely the last Spidey movie! I want to see as many villains as possible in here! And, in the plot it made sense for Son of Hobgoblin to be in there as well as Sand Man, they tie into Spiderman II and those plot points needed to be tied up neatly. The only villain that they could have done away with and not lost anything would have been Venom. Aha, I hear you yelping at that. No, I didn't think you'd want to lose him.

That's one of the things I loved about Spider Man comics, the villains were never wooden or two dimensional. They all had reasons for doing what they are did, and their actions were justifiable to them, as outrageous as they might have been. The movie carries on that tradition of villains that aren't evil merely for the sake of being evil (even Venom has a reason for doing what it does) that Stan Lee started.

3. There were corny parts.

(MINOR SPOILER ALERT)

Don't scroll further if you want to be totally surprised by the movie.

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Are there some corny bits? Uh-huh. Peter's walk down to get a new suit is . . .groan-worthy but I think it's suppose to be groan-worthy.

4.) There were too many CG fights and not enough real ones

I don't know that this even deserves a rebuttal. I think they might have slept through the fist fights Peter and Harry had. And the ones that Peter and Venom had. And the one that Peter and the Bouncer had.

The special effects were mind blowing, Sand Man is truly incredible. Some of the fight scenes, especially the ones where part of him is worn away. . .took my breath away they looked so real. The web-swinging shots were amazing as always, and Venom gave me goose flesh towards the climax of the last fight scene.

So, in summation (having tried hard not to expose any spoilers) I can say that this movie needs to be seen on the big screen to be appreciated, that the plot was outstanding, that the acting really by everyone I think was pretty solid, and the special effects were the best to date for Spidey.

So what are you waiting for?

Go see it!