Moviegoers get caught in Spider-Man's web

REVIEWS BY MARTIN BRADY

You can do a lot with $250 million. Build a new football stadium. Help bail out Social Security. Maybe alleviate starvation in a distressed Third World country. Or, if you're Sony Pictures Entertainment, sink it into Spider-Man 3, which will open in theaters nationwide on May 4, as the third most expensive film—in adjusted dollars—in the history of moviemaking.

International market forces and technology being what they are these days, Spider-Man 3: The Battle Within will have had its world premiere in Tokyo on April 16, then will be released in China on May 3 in an attempt to circumvent the proliferation of pirated copies of the film. It's a Sony first: releasing a film in China before U.S. audiences get a glimpse.

It matters little, though. Modified trailers of the film have been circumnavigating the Internet for at least a year, and nothing helps spur interest in a blockbuster film more than a constant buzz. Overseas reaction will have no influence on American audiences, who, having flocked to the two previous big-screen Spider-Man adventures, should do so again in droves.

Sony, in fact, is hoping the latest installment will jump-start the franchise financially, since 2004's Spider-Man 2 "only" grossed an estimated $373 million as compared to the original 2002 Spider-Man, which hauled in more than $400 million. (Those numbers are fluid; DVD rentals and purchases and merchandise sales always continue to boost such tallies.)

The best news is that, unlike a lot of sequels, Spider-Man 3 has been created by essentially the same team of technically inventive and detail-minded filmmakers as its predecessors. Director Sam Raimi is again at the helm of a logistically daunting project that involved more than seven months of shooting—November 2005 to June 2006—on various Hollywood soundstages and on location in Los Angeles, New York, Cleveland, Chicago and New Jersey. Raimi co-conceived the story with his brother Ivan Raimi, then turned the screenwriting over to veteran Alvin Sargent, who also wrote the screenplay for Spider-Man 2, which was critically hailed as the better of the first two flicks.

With Sony Pictures Imageworks personnel achieving spectacular computer-generated visual effects under the guidance of designer/supervisor Scott Stokdyk, filmgoers can expect all the elements that have been the hallmarks of the series: haunting cityscapes, brain-rattling violence, breathlessly paced action sequences, mysteriously engaging alien science and, in this case, three bizarre villains who stretch to the arachnid max the emotions and crime-fighting abilities of hero Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man).

Film favorite Tobey Maguire returns to play the lead role. In a plot angle derived from the archives of Marvel Comics, where Spider-Man first began life in 1962 as the creation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, a symbiote—a living alien organism that bonds with other living organisms in order to survive—evokes Peter/Spidey's darker impulses. Intent on avenging the death of his beloved Uncle Ben, Peter must navigate a welter of new feelings that affect his love life with sweetheart Mary Jane Watson (again played by Kirsten Dunst), while also battling a triumvirate of intriguing bad guys: The New Goblin (played by James Franco), The Sandman (Thomas Haden Church of Sideways fame) and Venom (Topher Grace, probably best known from TV's "That '70s Show"). Actors returning from the previous series films include Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Cliff Robertson, Dylan Baker and Bill Nunn. One cast newcomer of note is Bryce Dallas Howard, daughter of actor-director Ron Howard, whose character has romantic designs on Peter and helps to fuel the confusion in his symbiote-affected heart. Veteran actor James Cromwell plays Howard's father, police Capt. George Stacy.

Typically, for those who can't get enough of Spidey in his new screen appearance, there is a plethora of spinoff products making their way to retail stores, including a video game based on the film, available for the Wii, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo DS, PS2, PSP and PS3 systems. There are also Spider-Man 3 toy tie-ins forthcoming from Hasbro, action figures from Sideshow Collectibles and a supply of book spinoffs, including a nonfiction account of the filming of the movie, a novelization and a series of children's books from HarperEntertainment (see below).

Then there's Spider-Man 3: The Official Soundtrack, which will feature music from hot bands such as Snow Patrol, The Killers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Flaming Lips. Veteran film composer Christopher Young provided the score for the new movie, taking over from Danny Elfman, whose darkly sensual and often wildly expressive music added greatly to the first two films' distinctive atmosphere.

All the hype aside, the Spider-Man films have been truly spectacular entertainment vehicles marked by canny writing and an appealing depth of character rarely found in a comic-book spinoff. Director Raimi's rigorous approach to well-crafted, visually stimulating filmmaking has always paid off in the past, and the advance word on Spider-Man 3 is "expect more of the same."

And don't hold your breath quite yet, but another sequel is already in the works, set for release in 2009 or 2010.

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Spiders on the bookshelf

Spider-Man weaves his web on the page as well as the big screen, with several new books available to entice fans of the ever-popular superhero:

The Spider-Man Chronicles: The Art and Making of Spider-Man 3. Drawings, storyboards and behind-the-scenes photos enhance this in-depth account by Spider-Man 3 producer Grant Curtis of how the big-budget movie was made. Readers get an inside look at casting, set and costume design, location shooting and how special effects were created.


Spider-Man 3. For those who want a sneak peek at the plot of the movie, this official novelization by writer Peter David turns Peter Parker's battle against an alien force into a real page-turner.


Spider-Man 3: The Movie Storybook. Even the youngest Spidey fans can get in on the action with the storybook version by Kate Egan, which is filled with color photos from the movie that show Tobey Maguire in all his spandex-clad glory. The more "sophisticated" reader (in the 8-12 age group) can delve into Spider-Man 3: The Junior Novel by Jasmine Jones. Also available for children are Spider-Man 3 coloring and activity books, puzzles and early readers.



Theater and film critic Martin Brady plays Dweeble Mahoney in the upcoming movie Thong Girl 3.

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