Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray Movie Review

A web of excess.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 19, 2014

More slingin', less feelin'. Director Sam Raimi's chaotic Spider-Man 3 follows up on the heels of two of Hollywood's better Superhero movies, Raimi's own Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, both pictures that almost perfectly embody the Superhero film essence, combining huge action, seamless visual effects, character origin and dissection, and dramatic value. Spider-Man 3 integrates all of those pieces, too, but it does so within a jumbled mass that's two parts too much of the same thing, four parts structural excess, and not enough focus. The movie is fun on its face but a failure relative to the successes of its predecessors, an experience that, like its hero's fling with good feelings and overconfidence, pushes forward with too much of a good thing, over-saturating the experience, jumbling the world, and forcing too much into too little of a frame. The film might have worked better with a more laser-like focus on about a quarter of its dramatic arcs, half of its villains, and minus some of its runtime. As it is, the picture represents the Superhero film at its most bloated, overbuilt, and underwhelming, a far cry from Raimi's lean, sturdy, and focused franchise films.

The end?

Peter Parker's (Tobey Maguire) life has become an ebb and flow of joy and sorrow since first donning the Spider-Man mask. He's set to propose to girlfriend Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) who has recently been given the leading role in a major Broadway production. He also finds himself in the sights of a vengeful Harry Osborn (James Franco) who blames the web-slinger for his father's death. To complicate matters, he learns of the escape of one of the men implicated in his uncle's death. When escapee Flint Marco (Thomas Haden Church) gets caught in a particle accelerator, he's fused with sand and becomes a powerful entity with an ambiguous goal. Complicating matters is the arrival of a mysterious alien sludge that, when it fuses with a human host, drastically alters its host's mental, emotional, and physical states. Finally, Peter finds himself in competition with a hotshot new photographer (Topher Grace) at the Bugle.

On its surface, Spider-Man 3 represents the prototypical big, high-flying sort of Superhero film. There's plenty of mayhem and no shortage of scenes featuring the title hero slinging through the city, often while battling one of several different bad guys he faces through the course of the film. It's all very much exciting but loses some of its luster rather quickly, coming off as thrilling but repetitively so, sort of like the third time through the circus or re-watching the same car race time and again. All of the pieces are in place, in good working order, but the film never once distinguishes its action scenes from the other Spider-Man films or, indeed, others like them, content to simply rehash basic actions with the only difference being the bad guys involved in the fight. When the film isn't overplaying its repetitive action scenes, it efforts to build a story that's brought together through both humor and heart with plenty of drama flowing from both while manipulating characters towards their destinies. The picture has suffered a bit of justifiable criticism for its cringe-worthy moments that see Peter Parker strutting through New York like a man totally liberated from all worries and concerns, bopping to his own rhythm and demonstrating overconfidence that turns into smugness rather quickly. That at least serves a purpose, to expose the inner man under the influence of a slimy alien substance that will later be used for something a little more nefarious than juicing up a conceited superhero, but the execution leaves a bit to be desired, pushing a little too far to the comically absurd and embodying most everything that's wrong with the film in one go.

Perhaps the film's biggest flaw, away from the repetitive action and questionable plot contrivances, comes in the sheer over-saturation of plot devices, characters, happenings, character relationships, and all form of story lines that overwhelm the audience and leave the movie feeling unfocused and jumbled rather than coherent and tightly told. The film deals with Spider-Man's alien-influenced alter-ego that sees both the costumed web-slinger and the everyday Peter Parker experimenting with another side of their personalities. It deals in Sandman's personal backstory, villainous ways, and dramatic arc. It features Peter Parker wrestling with his Uncle's murder and working through new revelations that push him towards a justifiably dark place. It covers Harry's quest for vengeance and the character's transformation. It covers Peter's new rivalry with the Bugle's newest staff member and Spider-Man's battles with the sinister Venom. The film sees Peter in something of a quagmire when Spider-Man kisses another girl, upsetting an already fragile Mary Jane whose career seems headed for the dumps and who flirts with the idea of leaving him for another man. And those are only the dramatic story lines. The film feels further crowded considering the focus on all of that repetitive action and its admittedly first-rate special effects. In short, it's a terribly congested film that seems to know it's the end of the line for the franchise with these actors and this crew and becomes hellbent on squeezing as much as it can into a film that simply cannot absorb all of it, at least not satisfactorily and not with the tightness, focus, and fun of the previous two pictures.

Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Spider-Man 3's "Mastered in 4" Blu-ray transfer, presented at 1080p for its Blu-ray release, looks fantastic. The film was the beneficiary of a previously released disc that was itself of reference quality. This "Mastered in 4K" releases polishes it up a bit but does not represent a quantum leap forward in picture quality. In fact, it's not really a blindingly beautiful presentation like some of the other "Mastered in 4K" products, but it's nevertheless a flawless, film-like transfer that's certainly up there in the top percentile with the best the Blu-ray format has seen. This release delivers a clean, accurate image, showcasing robust colors and lifelike detail in literally every shot. The image is effortlessly detailed across the board, from fine facial and clothing nuance to old, chipped paint in Peter's run-down apartment and more lavish and warm wooden accents in Harry's more costly living spaces. Even under darker conditions, such as a scene in an alleyway in chapter three, pavement complexities and worn and weathered building walls showcase gorgeously lifelike details. Colors leap off the screen with regularity, displaying pinpoint accuracy in the major shades -- Spider-Man's bright red costume, a green classroom chalkboard, and the red, white, and blue American flag -- as well as all of the lesser and earthy but no less critical hues, like the dark green stripes on Sandman's sweater. It's bright, even, and capable of perfect color nuance and transition in every frame. Likewise, black levels are deep and accurate while flesh tones appear natural in every shot. The image suffers from no perceptible flaws, such as print wear or artificial sharpening. A light and constant coating of film grain accentuates the positives and rounds the transfer into picture-perfect form.

Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Spider-Man 3's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is every bit as good as its "Mastered in 4K" picture quality. As one may expect with a huge Action-oriented Superhero Summer blockbuster, the track serves up a dizzying array of action sound effects, music, and ambient supports throughout. Musical delivery is rich and satisfying, playing with an immersive, engulfing stage presence that's not short on surround support or supportive and deep bass. Clarity satisfies with every note, and that same attention to detail is evident in every crash, whoosh, and slam. Indeed, action scenes offer a plethora of nuanced and authoritative sound effects both, bringing the stage to dramatic life with a hodgepodge of pinpoint effects that throw the listener in the middle of the mayhem. From general combat to the particle accelerator's heavy whirring and pulsating sounds, from screams and shouts to the symphonic pipe reverberations heard in the final battle, the stage becomes every environment to satisfying, sometimes ribcage-rattling effect. The track also springs to life with a variety of city ambience in a number of scenes that transform the listing area into bustling New York streets. Rounding the track into final form is seamless, clear, center-focused, and lifelike dialogue.

Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This "Mastered in 4K" Blu-ray release of Spider-Man 3 contains no supplements. A UV digital copy code is included in the Blu-ray case.

Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Spider-Man 3 is big, loud, dizzying, and sometimes dazzling, but it's too much in so many ways. It's too much repetitive, seen-it-before action. It's too much clutter and too little focus. It's too much smarmy Peter Parker. There's enough here for two movies and both better than this one. It's easy to see why the franchise has taken another direction, and it's easy to see the potential and possibilities for the series in Raimi's first two films. Third time's not the charm, but 4K certainly is something else. Sony's "Mastered in 4K" Blu-ray release of Spider-Man 3 delivers pristine video and reference audio. As with all Sony "Mastered in 4K" Blu-ray releases, no extras are included (A UV digital copy code is included in the case). Recommended to fans who don't already own the excellent standard Blu-ray release and don't care about the absence of supplements.