My wife and I took in Spiderman 3 last week and here is my brief review of this latest popular blockbuster.
On the Aesthetic Level
On the aesthetic level, the story had a little more complexity than your average super hero movie, with Spiderman taking on his own internal moral struggles incarnated into the film in clever visual imagery.
I am trying to think if there was a woman acting in the film that was not dragging around some serious cleavage for the benefit of the teenage boys in the audience. Granted, it may not have been as bad as a National Geographic film on Borneo in the 1930s, but maybe we will get there some day.
For the record, when it comes to nudity in film, I understand how somebody can pretend to rob a bank in a film, but I still cannot comprehend how an actor can pretend to be nude.
But still, does an aesthetic fopah ruin a movie? It might for some but not for others. Some will be stumbled by food offered to idols and should stay clean away from it (1 Cor. 8:7-13). Ask yourself this question. Are there some godly men and women who can enjoy a shopping experience at the mall or a swim at the beach without stumbling at every infraction of the 3rd commandment (taking God's name in vain), and the 7th commandment? I think so. At some point, do the violations so hamper the experience, that any godly man would be pressed to leave? I think so. A nude beach comes to mind.
Simplistic minds can draw conclusions on aesthetics far too quickly (whether it be on music or movies), and in the end they replace God's law with their own ultimatized applications. So they have become a law to themselves and deny liberty for others.
On the Worldview Level
Spiderman is a better super hero than Superman and Batman, because we get a better glimpse into the metaphysical beyond the physical. Morality takes on more of an absolute character. The conflicts taking place within Spidey are not merely over whether he gets his girl. But issues like pride, bitterness, lust, revenge, and power are real moral issues over which he really struggles. There is also a scene that takes place in a church, where the moral battle plays out and the good guy mortifies the flesh while the bad guy embraces it.
Nevertheless, what makes the super hero movies so popular is man discovering salvation within himself. Salvation is still rooted in the creation itself. Man does not look outside of himself for salvation. Spidey is encouraged to look within himself for the light and the goodness by which he will make the right choice.
Those Christians who say the choices a man makes become the ultimate first cause in his salvation, and bask in the glory of saving themselves, will appreciate this message in Spiderman 3.
For a full review of Spiderman 3, listen to Mondays Generations program now.
Questions to ask yourself as you choose the summer movie fare for your family:
1. Is this helping your family fear God and love God more?
2. Is it edifying? Does it build your family up in its love for each other?
3. What effect are these sorts fo movies having on your child?
4. Can you pick out the worldview? The ethical perspective?
5. Does the movie have any depth to it or is just another visual fireworks show with an insignificant, stupid message behind it?
6. Does it blur the antithesis between good and evil?
7. If the hero is flawed, are the flaws presented as virtues?
one of the best spiderman movies. the new goblin's design was awesome, and i like the portrayal of eddie brock as a ass-kissing know it all. Sandman was an intresting charater, although it was a suprise when they revealed him to be uncle bens murderer. the cg effects were amazing, especially the symbiote moving like a hand or a spider. and that scene in the church? my favorite.