The more I analyze this movie, the more I like it. I admire Raimi for both his boldness and his moxy. He gave us a movie that doesn’t feel the need to hold the viewers hand or the need to connect every dot. He assumes a viewer is intelligent enough to shift through inconsequential matters and that’s remarkably refreshing. He doesn’t feel the need to waste exposition on the nature of the Sandman or Venom’s powers. Just watch, learn and enjoy. Watching Peter’s first experience with the black suit and the intoxication it provides leads to a crisp and complex internal struggle that plays out masterfully. Peter becomes addicted and starts to look to the suit for a boost and even to overcome insecurities. If you’re smart enough, you pick up these nuances and you enjoy the film even more.
There’s little doubt that Raimi has made an outstanding movie that flows perfectly and draws upon the work he’s already done with this franchise. Supporting characters from the previous films are used with surgical yet powerful precision. Aunt May’s few scenes are vital as she continues to serve as Peter’s moral compass. Even the landlord and Ursula from the second film serve a poignant purpose and add to the rich depth Raimi has built. It’s obvious that Peter has won over the cranky landlord because Pete’s a likable man of character. Peter’s taking advantage of Ursula not only serves to illustrate his dark turn but adds more perfect humor to the film. Raimi also manages to make the most out of the one new non-villain character he introduces in Gwen. Not only is she integral to the story but her early interaction reinforces everything we know about Peter. Despite being a near intellectual genius, he knows little about relationships and affairs of the heart. Gwen serves as an antagonist to MJ but manages to remain likeable throughout. Even Harry’s butler Bernard steps up and helps this movie to flow.
To retain a crisp yet intelligent movie, knowing what to omit is an important as what to show. I don’t need to see Peter looking for any remnants of the black suit after he recovers from the trauma of separating himself from it. Transitioning to him in the shower then on with the story is perfect. I’m smart enough to understand why MJ breaks up with Peter on the bridge. She truly fears for his life because Harry not only wields incredible strength but he’s clearly maniacally twisted and has the money and resources to more then follow up on his threat. I also understand that Sandman isn’t the sharpest tool in the drawer. He’s every bit the loser his wife accuses him of being. He teams with Venom because he knows that Spider-Man really tried to kill him. As is the case with the Uncle Ben robbery, he clearly didn’t think about the consequences of his actions. After partaking in the battle royal, it makes perfect sense that he would simply quit fighting after confronted with those consequences. Again, it’s masterful work.
What’s really remarkable is that Raimi manages to play both sides of the fence. He offers tremendous wild action for those not smart enough to follow the intricate character motivation and development that’s been unfolding for three films. He also allows the viewer to pick up the little nuances and enjoy this movie on another level. Fans already know why Venom displays spider powers or why he doesn’t set off his Spider-Sense or why Sandman can become hard enough to smash concrete. Non-fans don’t need to deal with explanations because it offers nothing to the story itself. It’s a masterful juggling act. Knowing that you can’t please everybody, Raimi made the film on his advanced level. If you can follow along and appreciate the movie on his level then, great. If not, tough luck. Just enjoy the action and leave the complexities to people who aren’t interested in nitpicking the flaws that appear only in their own mind. For the rest of us, this movie is a real treat and it truly deserves every box office record it’s already earned.
This is exactly how I feel about the movie. I know it sounds trite, but I think SM3 is operating on both a popcorn flick level and a smart level, at least as smart if not smarter than SM2. One gets a sense that Raimi's leaving it to the audience to make the necessary connections, instead of beating us over the head with "development", so that he can get more done. Everyone's so up in arms over what wasn't properly explained, but the fact is, we got it, non-geeks got it, and everybody else who generally gets it got it. Sam was confident in the general audience, why can't we be?
