Venom Rears His Ugly Head

Here's the latest on Spider-Man 3, and as usual, this contains a fair amount of spoilers. Confirmed spoilers, at that, coming from one source near the production and verified with at least two more. Just about the entire film has been discussed here at film ick at some time or another, so by clicking on Spider-man in the tags at the bottom of this post you should be able to find an answer for just about any Spider-Man 3 question you have.

Here, though, are a few more interesting bits and pieces, including some shocking Venom business and even a little tiny bit about Carnage. Enjoy.

What role does Dr. Connors have this time?

It's in his class that Peter and Gwen Stacey (Bryce Dallas Howard, soon to reteam with Shyamalan) are first brought together. Later, he takes a look at Peter's black costume and this is when we see lots of his lizardy research material around the lab - not so much a set-up for part 4 as an injoke for the fans.

Who gets the job at the Bugle that Peter and Eddie Brock are competing for?

Peter proves that Eddie has been doctoring photos of Spider-Man and as a result, Eddie gets fired. This is during Peter's black-suit phase.

Does Peter dump a load of water on the Sandman to beat him in the final battle?

No - Sandman gets washed away in a much earlier fight, shortly after the symbiote has attached itself to Peter. Sandman actually stands down in the final battle.

Who lives, who dies?

Well, there's a lot of misinformation about this, even close to the production, but I can now confirm that Sandman, Aunt May, Mary Jane and Gwen all live, while Eddie Brock and Harry die. The symbiote survives too, an alien parasite all alone, left looking for a new host. Surely this leaves the Spider-Man team cornered? Surely this means Carnage must appear in a future film?

When does Venom first rear his ugly head?

The symbiote is hanging around Central Park, but as for Venom, the recognisbale alien face with all the scary, jagged teeth? Believe it or not, Venom first rears his ugly head when Peter and his Russian landlord get into an argument about rent. That poor Russian guy.

Why does Harry have a change of heart?

Well, at first, he certainly doesn't have a change of heart. Very early on, he has a big fight with Peter - much detailed previously on film ick - and Peter takes a few good knocks before putting Harry down. When Harry comes around, he doesn't have much memory of what has been going on, or of his bitter history with Peter. It all starts coming back to him later, however, when Mary Jane and Peter have a black suit-fuelled tiff and she comes running to Harry for comfort. Harry now hits upon the idea of exploiting his Green Goblin alter ego to approach Mary Jane and manipulate her.

It's Spider-Man's actions in the final battle, risking his life to save Gwen and Mary Jane, that seem to bring Harry round. He gets in the way of one of Venom's attacks to save Peter, and this ends up being the ultimate sacrifice.

So what's the deal with The Sandman?

He's got a criminal history, and yes, it's true, he's the one who killed Ben Parker. He has a wife and a daughter, and the young girl is very ill. Much of the motivation behind the Sandman's actions, right from his very first appearance - and particularly his attempted Armored Truck heist - stem from his daughter's illness and the need to pay for medical treatment. I could get very political about this, but I won't.

Thomas Haden Church is truly superb in the role.

Any criticisms?

There are a few neat coincidences, but most of them aren't too off-putting. The two most notable, I suppose are Gwen Stacey being Peter's study partner and the daughter of police head honcho Captain George Stacey - this makes for some convenient plotting - and Peter's arrival at the Church just when he wishes to get rid of the symbiote, the Church being the very place that this will be possible. Of course, Brock is there too, so that whole sequence might come off as far too convenient. Deus ex machina, sure, but perhaps it's part and parcel of the Spider-Man style.

On the other hand, the film has a lot of depth, takes itself just seriously enough and delivers on the slam-bang action everybody has been hoping for.