Spider-Man 3 (2007) -vs- Superman III (1983)

From Movie Smackdown! -- Two Films, One Review, No Holds Barred

The Smackdown. Since more ink is being spilled on "Spider-Man 3" than the Bible these days, we thought we'd reach back for our Smackdown, almost a quarter-of-a-century to 1983 for "Superman III." Here we have two successful comic book sequels to sequels where the main character's essential goodness is put into graphic relief by creating an anti-hero version from the dark side. Kind of like a "Superego -vs- Id" Smackdown. Oh, and in each installment, they also get to fool around with potential new girlfriends.

"Dude, you are gonna be so in trouble when pink really does become the new black."

In This Corner. ("Spiderman 3") Let's see... I'm betting that even if you haven't seen this film you feel like you've seen it. The trailers have been getting hyped and multiplying for the better part of a year, I've got Venom wallpaper on my iMac, Tobey Maguire's just wrapped up a world tour with the triumphal interview on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." Let's try to do it in a single sentence. Spider-Man gets A) cocky, B) a new spider-suit from space, C) flirts with a new girl-friend possibility, and D) fights the new Goblin, plus the Sandman played by that guy we haven't seen since "Sideways" and Venom (who gets to wear the suit) by the kid from "That 70s Show." This film is all about more, more and more. There are some groaners in the film -- notably Peter Parker's "Saturday Night Fever" walk and his dance number in a jazz bar -- but the action is superb (and it ought to be, given the film's price tag).

"Great. Spidey gets a cool new Venom-look. I don't get to shave and have to wear this dirty costume."

In That Corner. ("Superman III") This third time out for the original "Superman" franchise basically re-tooled the series into a middle-of-the-road comedy. The story involved the usual plot to control the Earth. Lex Luthor was replaced with a warmed-over "Man From U.N.C.L.E." Robert Vaughn as a villain with a name you'd have to look up in the credits to remember along with Richard Pryor who came aboard as a computer nerd. Even Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) got reduced in favor of a new super-babe Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole). Satellites were being used to screw with the weather (pre-global warming), Lois was on vacation, Clark went back to Smallville for a high-school reunion, and a new kind of Kryptonite got let out of the box creating a new Superman with a bad attitude.

The Scorecard. In 1978, the first "Superman" movie really did shake things up in the film world as much as the first "Spider-Man" did when it was released in 2002. Both franchises were generally acknowledged to have improved in their sequels ("2" and "II"), and to have dived just a bit in their three-quels ("3" and "III"). How do they stack up against each other? On the subject of tone, "Spider-Man 3" keeps the winning formular from its predecessors going, even if it is a little too cluttered for its own good. "Superman III," however, veered off in an unsettling direction for most fans. On the subject of villains, "Spider-Man 3" probably has too many, yes, but at least they are really, really cool and they fight back in a challenging way. Adding new female interests didn't bother me in either film and, from all accounts, it was necessary in "Superman II" because Margot Kidder was imploding in real life. And Peter Parker still ends up with Mary Jane (although, to me, I'd go with Bryce Dallas Howard and not just because we share a first name).

And the winner is...

The Decision. It's no surprise here. "Superman III" was a colossal mis-fire. It stopped the franchise dead in its tracks, threw away its power and charm and became a major disappointment. "Spider-Man 3" still works. If anything, it is not guilty of doing too little, but of trying too hard. But here's the bottom line: Don't ever, ever bother to see "Superman III" because there is only so much time in your life and you need not to waste it, but do get out and see "Spider-Man 3" in the theaters because this film is all about the spectacle.

Comments

[Douglas]

I just saw Spider-man 3 last night. I have to say I wasn't blown away by it as much as I was by previous movie. The comparison with Superman III turns out to be very fair. One thing I thought they got right in Superman III was the dark Superman, enough so that I would watch the movie again. The greasy haired, street strutting, dark suit wearing, Travolta wannabe Peter Parker didn't quite come close to the peanut flicking Superman getting wasted in a bar. The middle portion of III was actually alright it was let down by its ending. Conversely the end of 3 was good (could have done with out the stay puft marshmellow man though) it just felt terribly clunky in the middle. There is some hope, Superman III didn't kill the franchise, that was Superman IV's job. Hopefully a Spider-man 4 could rescue the franchise, just as long as they learn from this mistake, and that of Superman IV and Batman and Robin.