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The Amazing Spider-Man 3 is a 2017 American supehero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The film was directed by Marc Webb with a screenplay by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent, and Steve Kloves from a story by Vanderbilt, Webb, and Kurt Wimmer. It was produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, and is the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). The film stars Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, alongside Eddie Redmayne, Shailene Woodley, J.K. Simmons, Danny Glover, Zooey Deschanel, Cary Elwes, Jack Quaid, Tom Hardy, and Sally Field. In the film, Peter Parker has become introverted since the death of Gwen Stacy, but must learn to confront his inner demons while bonded to an alien symbiote that unleashes his darker side and going up against Mysterio, a costumed figure who has framed Spider-Man for numerous crimes. The film was released on July 7, 2017 by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Entertainment.
Plot[]
Three years since the death of his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker has become reclusive and rarely leaves his apartment, only doing so to buy essentials at the store, visit his Aunt May, attend class at Empire State University, go to work at the Daily Bugle, or to fight crime as Spider-Man. Peter also often turns down invitations to social events by his classmate, Mary Jane Watson, with whom he shares a mutual attraction. Things are turned upside down when Peter sees a news report about Spider-Man robbing the American Museum of Natural History. Following the robbery, a costumed figure with magical powers calling himself “Mysterio” arrives and announces his intention to defeat Spider-Man. Unbeknownst to the public, Mysterio is a fraud and uses illusion technology to parade himself as a hero.
Elsewhere, astronaut John Jameson crash lands his spaceship on the George Washington Bridge after returning from space and goes into a coma. Peter arrives as Spider-Man and saves John and his co-pilot from the wreckage. While aboard the spaceship, Peter fails to notice an alien symbiote attach itself to his costume as he escapes. Eddie Brock, a photographer for the Daily Bugle and Peter’s rival, takes pictures of Spider-Man and uses them to depict him as a criminal. Peter, angry and frustrated with the framing, goes to bed and the symbiote covers him as he sleeps. When Peter awakens hanging from a building, he is wearing a new black suit and discovers that it enhances his powers.
John’s father and Peter’s boss at the Daily Bugle who hates Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson, puts out a bounty of $1 million for Spider-Man’s capture, though his secretary Betty Brant and editor Joseph “Robbie” Robertson protest Spider-Man’s innocence. Meanwhile, Peter has been showing signs of aggressive behavior, as both himself and Spider-Man, while bonded to the symbiote. He brutally fights Mysterio as Spider-Man and causes property damage, which scares the public and begins lashing out at everyone else as Peter Parker. While Peter is walking with Mary Jane one evening, the two are attacked by muggers, and Peter dons his symbiotic suit and violently fights them off. Mary Jane realizes Peter’s identity and calms him down before the two share a kiss, unaware that Mysterio is watching via a drone and now also knows Spider-Man’s identity and weaknesses.
Mysterio begins to hurt Peter through his loved ones, as he first terrorizes May with his illusions, resulting in her hospitalization, then gets Mary Jane arrested after submitting falsified evidence of her murdering Gwen Stacy. After having the symbiote analyzed by his science teacher, Miles Warren, Peter is told by Mysterio to meet him on top of the Brooklyn Bridge. There, Mysterio reveals himself to Peter as Quentin Beck, a former movie special effects technician who was arrested after Spider-Man exposed him for causing an illegal explosion while filming a movie on the bridge. Mysterio tells Peter that if he truly cares about his loved ones, then Spider-Man must unmask himself and turn himself in. If Peter fails to do so in 24 hours, then his loved ones will all die.
After bailing Mary Jane out of jail, Peter reveals to her that intends to comply with Mysterio’s demands. When Mary Jane tries to talk him out of it, Peter snaps at her and regretfully leaves her saddened on the doorstep. Around that time, John wakes up from his coma and tells his father that Spider-Man saved him, and Jameson fires Brock for lying. Mysterio attempts to kill Brock, but Spider-Man saves Brock and fights Mysterio. Due to his enhanced powers, Spider-Man gains the upper hand and almost kills Mysterio, but Mary Jane arrives just in time for Peter to see her horrified reaction and now fully realize that the symbiote is corrupting him. Mysterio breaks free and escapes with Mary Jane as his hostage when the police arrive. Peter goes to a nearby church and uses the ringing sound of the bell to severely weaken and remove the symbiote.
Donning his original suit, Spider-Man tracks Beck to an abandoned movie studio and frees Mary Jane, right before he fights Mysterio. As the pair fight, Mary Jane is able film Mysterio confessing to his crimes and broadcasts it across New York, exposing him and clearing Spider-Man’s name. As the studio begins to explode and go up in flames, Beck tries to escape before the police arrive to arrest him. However, an explosion causes Beck to fall over a ledge and hang by a piece of rebar. Peter tries to save him, but an explosion and falling debris causes Peter to accidentally let go of Beck, who falls to his apparent death.
In the aftermath of everything, all charges against Mary Jane are dropped, Peter opens up to everyone for the first time since Gwen’s death, John makes a full recovery and a space probe is launched in his honor, May wakes up in the hospital, and the people of New York revere Spider-Man as a hero once again. Peter and Mary Jane also officially begin a relationship, while Peter continues his daily activities as Spider-Man, this time with a newfound sense of optimism.
In a mid-credits scene, Eddie Brock is walking by the church that Peter went to, where the symbiote climbs outside and attaches itself to Brock. In a post-credits scene, May returns home from the hospital, but desires to go back when she sees all the damage that needs to be cleaned up.
Cast[]
- Andrew Garfield - Peter Parker/Spider-Man
- Eddie Redmayne - Quentin Beck/Mysterio
- Shailene Woodley - Mary Jane Watson
- J. K. Simmons - J. Jonah Jameson
- Danny Glover - Joseph "Robbie" Robertson
- Zooey Deschanel - Betty Brant
- Cary Elwes - Miles Warren
- Jack Quaid - John Jameson
- Tom Hardy - Eddie Brock
- Sally Field - May Parker
Trivia[]
- Originally scheduled for a release date of June 10, 2016, Sony decided to delay the film for a full year following the critical and commercial disappointment of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), so the producers could have more time to make the sequel as good as possible.
- The original script had the Sinister Six as the villains of the film, but it was trimmed down to one after criticisms of the previous film having “too many villains.”
- Zachary Quinto was the first choice for Mysterio and was even offered the role, but he turned it down.
- Peter Parker’s science teacher was originally supposed to be Otto Octavius, while foreshadowing his transformation into the villain, Doctor Octopus. However, as the studio had other plans for that character, the teacher was changed to Miles Warren, who in the comics would become the villain, Jackal.
- This was the final film role of Michael Massee before his death in 2016. The film was dedicated to his memory.
- J.K. Simmons previously played J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. Although that franchise had ended, Simmons had expressed great interest in returning to the role and the producers were happy to oblige.
- Many fans and critics regarded this as the best film in The Amazing Spider-Man trilogy, a stark contrast to the previous Spider-Man trilogy, where the third film, Spider-Man 3 (2007), was considered the worst.
- The film’s cast includes three Oscar winners (Sally Field, Eddie Redmayne, and J.K. Simmons) and two Oscar nominees (Andrew Garfield and Tom Hardy).
- In the Blu-Ray commentary, screenwriter Alvin Sargent said the subplot from the previous two movies about Peter’s parents was left out of this film intentionally and would be continued in the proposed Sinister Six movie.
- Zooey Deschanel, who plays Betty Brant, had previously worked with director Marc Webb on 500 Days of Summer (2009). Coincidentally, her good friend and co-star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, was in the running to play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012).
- Tom Hardy and Cary Elwes both appeared in Batman related media before appearing in this film. Hardy portrayed Bane in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Elwes voiced Paxton Powers in the Batman Beyond (1999) episode, “Ascension.”
- After having her scenes cut from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) and working on the Divergent series at the same time, Shailene Woodley was unsure about returning as Mary Jane Watson. When the film was delayed though and upon learning she would play a major role in the story this time around, Woodley has more than happy to return.
Spoilers[]
- Nicholas Hammond, who played Spider-Man in the coincidentally titled The Amazing Spider-Man (1977-79) TV series, makes a cameo in a deleted scene. The scene takes place immediately after Peter Parker has removed the symbiote at the church and is about to leave in his underwear. Before he does, a priest (Hammond) catches Parker and provides him with some winter clothes, so he won’t freeze to death outside.
- When the news report is playing at the end, it is mentioned that the police never found Quentin Beck’s body. This might imply that Mysterio is still alive, and his alleged death was just another illusion.
- After Eddie Brock is fired for lying about Spider-Man, Betty Brant tells him, “If you were any more toxic, you’d be considered venomous.” This is a not-so-subtle reference to the fact that Eddie Brock becomes Venom later on.
- During their first kiss, Peter was originally supposed to grab Mary Jane’s bottom, clearly an influence from the symbiote. However, Marc Webb hated this as he felt it killed the mood of the scene and cut it entirely.
- One scene that was written and storyboarded, but never filmed, was Mysterio murdering Miles Warren after the latter analyzes the symbiote and its effects. The reason this was cut was because the studio wanted to keep Warren alive, so he could potentially become the Jackal in the future.
- Sally Field was so dissatisfied with the first two movies that she actually requested her character be killed off in this film. Though this never happened, May Parker does slip into a coma more than halfway through the film, before waking up at the end.
- While Mysterio’s confession is being broadcast across New York, one of the police officers watching mentions that he arrested Quentin Beck before. If you look closely at the officer’s name tag, it reads “J. Davis.” He is likely Jefferson Davis, the father of Miles Morales, who becomes the second Spider-Man in the comics.
- In the flashback where Spider-Man exposes Quentin Beck for the illegal explosion, Marc Webb makes a cameo as the director of the movie being filmed on the Brooklyn Bridge.
- Robbie Robertson and Betty Brant never interact with anyone outside of Daily Bugle staff. The only people they ever are seen talking to other than each other are J. Jonah Jameson, Peter Parker, and Eddie Brock.
- After Mysterio learns Peter’s identity, Mary Jane is arrested for being (falsely) involved with Gwen Stacy’s murder. Coincidentally, less than a year before this movie’s release, Shailene Woodley was arrested for criminal trespassing while protesting against the Dakota Access Pipeline in Saint Anthony, North Dakota.