“This could be the end for Spider-Man,” a stricken newsreader gravely informs us at a particularly nail-biting moment in Spider-Man 3, when all seems lost for our hero.

Unlikely, considering that the latest film in the multimillion-dollar franchise was made by Sony Pictures and was having its premiere in the Japanese capital — the first Hollywood blockbuster to do so.

In addition, the Spider-Man films have made more money on this side of the world than anywhere else.

BACKGROUND

• Spider-Man 3

• Spider-Man 3 - Tokyo premiere

• Shock revelation: why Spider-Man’s real name isn’t Peter Parkour

• Spider-Man 3 slams the accelerator down in pursuit of the Big Thrill

• Spider-Man climbs up to challenge Titanic

BACKGROUND

• Spider-Man 2

• Bad things come in threes

The quiet American

He's a superhero and drop-dead goodlooking, but Tobey Maguire is no troublemaker

Related Internet Links

• 2007 London Film Festival coverage

• Times Online Film Trailers

Staging this premiere in Tokyo was about giving a crystal clear message to Sony staff in Japan, and to the Japanese media: Sony is about $250 million (£125 million) movies as well as its beloved electronic gadgetry.

None of this, though, could spoil a film that amounts to a daft, highly polished couple of hours of fantasy fun. There is not enough of the super-villains and they are not nearly twisted enough. But then there never is and they never are.

There are digital effects galore to remind us that Sony is a high-tech company, particularly when a new super-villain, the Sandman, is transformed into a living sandstorm and pulverises bits of Manhattan.

And for reminders that Japan, the home of manga comics, is an increasingly powerful influence on Hollywood directors there is an unmistakable homage to the anime classic Akira.

Perhaps, more subtly, there are ample goodies aimed head-on at the female Japanese film-goer, the most important demographic in what has become the world’s second biggest box office. The hunk count is disproportionately high, the babe count oddly low.

At one point Tobey Maguire, who plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Thomas Haden Church, James Franco and Topher Grace square off in a four-way clash clearly designed to satisfy all tastes in hairstyle, physical build and jaw-line. The imperilled Kirsten Dunst, meanwhile, barely registers.

As well as the challenge that Spider-Man faces from the Sandman — he learns of a connection with the murder of his Uncle Ben — a mysterious black substance has turned his Spider-Man suit black. It brings forth a darker side of Parker and Spidey that nobody has seen before when he is conveniently infested with an alien parasite. Indeed, the central theme of the film is that even superheroes can have a dark side.

The problem is that even Spider-Man’s “evil” side is still hopelessly mild-mannered. We are shown a montage of his sub-Mr Hyde depravities. His hair droops over one eye; he swaggers along the street; he flirts with passers-by; his girl ditches him; and he makes an ass of himself in a nightclub. In short, he behaves like a textbook drunk on any given Saturday night.

A horrifying glimpse into the unspeakable pit of the human soul this is not.

Also disappointing is the inability of the director, Sam Raimi, to end the romp without a fleeting shot of the American flag. The Stars and Stripes just happens to be fluttering behind Spidey as he makes his triumphal return to honour, probity and good honest fist-fighting.

From the web

— The first Spider-Man film was so successful that the release date for the third was already set when Spider-Man 2 came out

— Sam Raimi, the trilogy director and a lifelong fan, made all the principal actors study original 1960s Spider-Man comics.

— Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man, has cameo roles in all three films.

Source: movie-list.com; spiderfan.org; comicbookmovie.com; imdb.com

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