REEL REFLECTIONS

"SPIDERMAN 3"
Grace-fully Flawed

David Greiser

After reading one of my recent reviews, my son asked me, "Do you ever review movies that weren’t very good?" It was a good question. On reflection I answered that, since I usually write four reviews per year for Dreamseeker Magazine, I try to choose films that are excellently made and thought-provoking. I don’t review enough films to indulge in the twisted pleasure of panning bad films. Why take up valuable time on a flawed movie?

But this time I will. "Spiderman 3" is a film with significant flaws. By the time you read this review, you may well have already heard or decided for yourself that the film is too long, that its plot tries to accomplish too much, and that the amazing special effects fail to redeem the presence of underdeveloped characters and over-acted sequences. Not to mention Kirsten Dunst’s abominable singing.

All true. The presence of not one but three villains makes for some confused viewing. I would have preferred one well-developed villain, with the others saved for the inevitable future installments. The film drags in spots—I found myself sleepy after the first 45 minutes. And my feminist sensibilities were strained by the amount of attention the film paid to the old damsel-in-distress routine. I suspect that this aspect of Spiderman’s comic book origins is still caught in an Eisenhower-era time warp.

And yet, this was my favorite installment in the Spiderman series. I found more psychological, cultural, and even theological grist in this film than any film I have seen in recent memory. For those with eyes to see, "Spiderman 3" poses questions about life, fate, community, choice, grace, and human nature that would make the early church theologian Augustine proud.

An abbreviated plot summary: As the film opens, things are going swimmingly for Peter Parker, alias Spiderman (reprised for the third time by Tobey Maguire). Spiderman’s popularity as a superhero is at its peak in New York City. Peter has declared his love for his girlfriend MJ (Kirsten Dunst) and is getting ready to pop the question. Of course, he still lives in the same dump of an apartment, but you can’t have everything. (Moral: If crime does not pay, ditto for crime fighting.)

But trouble looms, in multiple forms. Peter’s old friend Harry Osborn (played by Topher Grace) harbors a grudge, because Harry believes that Peter/Spiderman killed his father, the villainous Green Goblin (cameoed by Christopher Walken). Moreover, Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), the stick-up artist who killed Peter’s uncle, has escaped from prison and traveled through a nuclear testing zone in which radiation has morphed him into the Sandman—a creature made from living sand.

If all this weren’t enough, a parasitic substance from outer space called Venom has come to earth. Venom has gotten into Spiderman’s suit, turning it jet-black and enhancing Spiderman’s powers while infecting him with an overweening pride.

Together, this trio of nemeses makes for an unwieldy storyline. Yet each villain serves to evoke the kind of deeper metaphors that make this film irresistible to a pop theologian.

The Harry vs. Peter grudge is a study in the nature of revenge. Harry has sworn to avenge his father’s death by killing Spiderman. But did Spiderman actually kill Harry’s villainous father? Does Harry know the full story? Questions of factual accuracy (Where were the weapons of mass destruction?) and motivation frequently remain unasked when revenge-minded people rush to judgment. Can Harry and his friend Peter be reconciled before someone gets hurt?

Then there’s the tortured presence of Flint Marko/Sandman. Desperate to help his sick daughter, Marko has broken out of prison. He, too, is bent on revenge against Spiderman, for sending him to jail.

Marko’s estranged wife tells him, "You’re guilty, guilty as sin."

But Marko replies, "I am not bad. I had bad luck. I want to do good."

While Marko stalks Spiderman, Spiderman also harbors a grudge against this man who killed his beloved uncle. Will one of the men finally gain his revenge, or can they reconcile their differences?

Third, there is the Venom, that impersonal yet satanic, extra-terrestrial substance that invades Spiderman’s suit and draws a promethean shadow side out of his nature. The new Peter/Spiderman hits on unimpressed women and entertains fantasies of brutally subduing adversaries. Interestingly, Spiderman’s climactic confrontation with his dark side takes place in a church.

There is, as I said, ample material for reflecting on theological anthropology here. Humanity’s double nature is a theme throughout the film. The apostle Paul’s dilemma, "I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out," is personified by all the major characters. The bad guys have a human side; likewise, the chief good guy must confront pride, anger, and lust for revenge.

The question of predestination and free will makes an appearance. In a key scene near the end of the film, Spiderman explains to Flint Marko that, despite life’s unfair events, "Everyone has a choice. We are our actions."

Then there is the necessity of community. As Peter revels in Spiderman’s popularity and his ability to solve crimes singlehandedly, his girlfriend MJ reminds him, "We all need help sometimes, Peter. Even Spiderman. This pride of his—maybe he’s not perfect."

Finally there’s the theme of grace. Without revealing too much, let me simply say that the theme of forgiveness plays an unexpected role in this film.

I take pleasure in movies that unintentionally display elements of a Christian view of the world. It’s unlikely that "Spiderman 3" will be nominated by the Academy for best picture. Its flaws are substantial and well documented. Nevertheless, just like flawed human beings, this film contains the unmistakable mark of One who cannot, finally, be hidden.

—Dave Greiser’s black Spiderman suit lies hidden in a box at Hesston (Kan.) College, where it makes occasional unwelcome appearances in his classes in Bible and ministry.