Kathmandu:

Spider Man- 3 stands accused of trying to wind up the series with too many plots for one movie and director Sam Raimi, people say, has taken on more than Spider Man can chew.

Not so. The pace for Spider Man -3 is admittedly fast, furious and entertaining but Raimi handles it as though he has all the time in the world, often lingering on small details and sometimes playing it for sheer humour. Also interesting is the way Raimi tackles the need to explain someone’s dark side (particularly a super heroes) to kids. It is far fetched but brilliant and the two evolutions of human to super villain and then super villain to mortal is fascinating.

Critics have also pointed out that Raimi uses characters to push the plot along whereas he should have given the characters more depth. Again not true. The various people in the movie are well-formed for the purpose of the film- to entertain. We must remember that Raimi has become a past master of interpreting the world of comic books which are pretty much one dimensional and usually carry a single message. That Raimi has done more with such aplomb shows his dexterity.

But most of all Spider Man 3 itself shows that Tobey Maguire can really act and those who have seen The Good German will be ultimately convinced that Maguire is an actor to watch for sheer diversity.

Says Scott Huver, “Maguire, in particular, really lets himself go this time around and embraces everything the story provides him to play with aplomb. The actor plays everything from angst-driven avenger to wounded romantic to cocky tango partner in perfect pitch.”

Adds David Horiuchi, “How does Spider-Man 3 follow on the heels of its predecessor, which was widely considered the best superhero movie ever? For starters, you pick up the loose threads from that movie, then add some key elements of the Spidey comic-book mythology (including fan-favourite villain Venom), the black costume, and the characters of Gwen Stacy and her police-captain father. In the beginning, things have never looked better for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire): He’s doing well in school; his alter ego, Spider-Man, is loved and respected around New York City. And his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), has just taken a starring role in a Broadway musical. But nothing good can last for Spidey. Mary Jane’s career quickly goes downhill; she’s bothered by Peter’s attractive new classmate, Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard); and the new Daily Bugle photographer, Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), is trying to steal his thunder. Enter a new villain, the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), who can transform his body into various forms and shapes of sand and

who may be connected to Peter’s past in an unexpected way. There’s also the son of

an old villain, Harry Osborne (James Franco), who unmasked Spidey in the previous movie and still has revenge on his mind. And a new black costume seems to boost Spidey’s powers, but transforms mild-mannered Peter into a mean and obnoxious boor (Maguire has some fun here).”

Actually the real hero of the Spider Man series is Sam Raimi, and back to Scott Huver saying, “Simply put, Sam Raimi knows how to make Spider-Man movies. As a student of the Stan Lee-Steve Ditko-John Romita school of storytelling which helped revolutionize comic book superheroes four decades ago, Raimi continues to understand that, unlike Superman’s awesome powers or Batman’s intense obsession, it’s Spidey’s Everyman humanity underneath his mask that makes him an engrossing character.”

Can Sam Raimi adapt to a post Spidey world? Watch this space.