You've probably seen Spider-Man's new black suit, a costume guaranteed to arrive on your doorstep this Halloween on many an 8-year-old. The color change, brought about in "Spider-Man 3" by an alien parasite that (briefly) darkens Peter Parker's heart and mind, might have you thinking that the latest Spidey installment heads into more brooding territory than its predecessors, but that's not really the case. And it can't be the case, because writer-director Sam Raimi believes too much in Parker's goodness and essential nerdiness to build Spider-Man his own version of the Bat Cave.
"Spider-Man 3" may not be as good as the second entry in the series and it may introduce a few too many new characters without giving them enough depth,
I'd watch them in a heartbeat. The movie begins with Peter (Tobey Maguire) reveling in the love he's receiving from Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and Spidey's loyal public. Now that he doesn't have to keep his identity a secret, Peter can relax with Mary Jane on a web hammock, counting shooting stars on a beautiful summer night.
Problem is, one of those
It's not just the alien parasite and it's not just the revenge-minded Harry Osborn (James Franco) looking to squash Spidey. There's also the shape-shifting supervillain Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and an amoral tabloid photographer (is there any other kind?) named Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) looking to take Peter's job at the Bugle.
One more wrinkle: Mary Jane's mojo isn't working on Broadway, and a new girl, Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard), is catching Peter's eye. With all the villains, is there room for a green-eyed monster? Why not?
To the credit of Raimi and co-writers Alvin Sargent and Ivan Raimi (Sam's brother), the overstuffed plot of "Spider-Man" remains clear and hurtles forward. Some characters don't pay off until the movie's thrilling finale; others (notably the thinly sketched Gwen) will have to wait for another movie. Sometimes the movie feels a bit episodic, and sometimes that doesn't matter because the episodes (especially the one involving Bruce Campbell's fussy French maitre d') are so wonderfully realized.
If it takes another movie - a "Spider-Man 4" is inevitable - to get Gwen Stacy going, you could point to "3's" finally nailing the Peter-Harry rivalry as an example of good things sometimes taking time. Thanks to a bout of amnesia, Franco's Harry goes all Jekyll and Hyde, allowing Franco the chance to flash his charm and million-dollar smile. Watching Harry play Peter for a fool is almost as much fun as seeing Peter, infected by that creepy-crawly alien virus, turn into an egotistic emo rocker, strutting through Manhattan like a geeky Tony Manero to the James Brown funk classic "People Get Up and Drive Your Funky Soul.
" Peter's "dark" night is a lot more fun than a certain Dark Knight, and indicative of a comic-book franchise that never loses its mission to engage and enthrall. Running time: 2 hr. 20 min.
Playing: Midnight showings Thursday. Opens in wide release Friday. In a nutshell: Exhilarating mishmash will leave you ready for No.
4.
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