Oh, Emo Spidey
By Sarah Carlson
May 4, 2007
The reviews for the much-anticipated "Spider-Man 3" are mixed, but the clear opinion is that the third installment is weaker than its predecessors. I saw a midnight showing with hundreds and hundreds of my fellow Abilenians, and although the special effects were amazing and it had its funny moments, I couldn't help but be disappointed. Perhaps I went in with my hopes too high; I was just asking for a let-down by walking around the office yesterday trying to coerce co-workers to see the midnight showing with me while half-yelling "Spider-Man" and pretending to shoot spider webs out of my arm. I was entertained, though, especially when my friend Courtney rightly concluded that the dark, Emo Spider-Man (pictured) looked like Garth Brook's alter-ego Chris Gaines. Think about it.
"Spider-Man 3" is still worth your time, but I can't promise if you'll love it or hate it. I can say, though, that my friend Ryan said it best: It's the "Return of the Jedi" of the series. If you're not a geek, then that won't make sense to you. But trust us. Here's a look at some of its mixed reviews, from best to worst:
"This is a wonderfully imagined, heartfelt piece of pop entertainment that soars not only for its spectacular eye candy, but also during the moments when its protagonists simply stand still and talk to each other. How many comic-book movies can you say that about?" -- Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
"The wow factor works overtime with state-of-the-art effects sequences that often are as beautiful as they are astonishing." -- Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter
"Overly long and complicated, it's packed with crowd-pleasing moments and satisfactorily wraps up the trilogy -- without quite capturing the magic of the first two installments." -- Lou Lumenick, New York Post
"So Spider-Man 3's action is superb and its theme fairly weighty. Then why does it feel a letdown from its predecessor? Nearly all the blame rests with director Sam Raimi, who's taken the success of some light slapstick moments in Spider-Man 2 as a cue to get even sillier." -- Noel Murray, The Onion (A.V. Club)
"An overlong, visually incoherent, mean-spirited and often just plain awful Spider-Man 3." -- Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
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