Best. SPIDER-MAN. Ever!!!

You know you're in the middle of an unforgettable
movie experience when you realize that Spider-Man 3
director Sam Raimi is a fan of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER.

In an unbelievable homage
to another nightcrawling cinematic legend from New York,
Peter Parker struts down Manhattan just like Tony Manero.
(and seconds later, he even Dirty Dances like Patrick Swayze!)

The "Time of My Life" indeed....
All that's missing is the BeeGee's wailing "Staying Alive"!



And speaking of staying alive,
our hero definitely has a hard time doing so;

what with three super-villains to contend with,
an aggressive hotshot photographer rival,
major problems in his lovelife,

and an internal battle with his own id/ego/super-ego
to top it all off!

Freud never would have guessed the tremendous implications
of his "super-ego" on a superhero!




Top 5 Reasons Why I Love SPIDER-MAN 3:

1. Harry Osborne finally comes into his own,
not merely as foil to Peter Parker,
but as his best friend, and worst enemy.
The new Green Goblin's first fight with Spidey is a doozy.


2. Gwen Stacy, in one particular scene,
looks exactly like Spider-Man's other great love
did in the comic books, right down to her bangs.


3. Marvel Comics' Stan Lee has a sweet speaking cameo:
"True Believers" will cherish his line, which includes "'Nuff Said!"

Ditto for Sam Raimi's hero from the Evil Dead movies,
Bruce Campbell (he was the wrestling ring announcer in Spider-Man I),
and he returns, this time, as a hilarious French (!) maitre'd.


4. The special effects and action sequences don't disappoint;
Sandman's grainy metamorphoses,
Venom's vampiric visage,

and the movie's final battle sequence,
which is the stuff I used to dream of as a kid addicted to
The Amazing Spider-Man,
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man,
and Marvel Team-Up comic books.

And Spider-Man's costume seems to have brighter Blues & Reds,
a perfect counterpoint to his venomous Black suit.


5. And most of all,
the movie stays true, in tone and in humor,
to the original character that Stan Lee created.

Peter is still a sensitive klutz,
a man-child cursed with bad timing and awful one-liners,
an extraordinary hero struggling with all too ordinary problems.



This third film perfectly and poignantly bookends the events
and character arcs established in the first movie.

And in doing so,
gives audiences worldwide a classy conclusion that encapsulates
all that we love about these movies:


Peter Parker's just like you and me,
trying his best to live his life,
and to love his loved ones,
the best way he can.


And in this regard,
Spider-Man is all too human.