'M 10 Monday, May 7,2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com SYED From page 9 rechargeable batteries, that ty easy path to superhero-dc Of course, as I grew up ized that becoming a bi with entire sectors of Wa to burn on the latest in Ke Teflon is about as realistic a an alien father named Jor-E my common man instinct in, I could no longer ident a presidential luncheon-d corporate suit as my superh matter his heart of gold. Even so, Spidey was a to to buy into. I wandered,1 that's about when the first of Sam in a museum of rare insects and get Raimi's "Spider-man" films was stung by a bionic spider that then released. gives me super powers? Raimi's Spider-man was so simple With this disarming everyman 's a pret- that it was impossible not to smile. charm that ensnares even the most am. Tobey Maguire's almost serene far-fetched of fantasies, it should be , I real- naivet6 in that role was infectious. no surprise that Spider-man was the llionaire Cracking voice, thick glasses, greasy one who brought back the superhero ll Street hair, and he could still manage a movie. Since Sam Raimi's "Spider- Mar and monologue worth every letter of its man" opened in 2002, the Spider- s having thousands of repetitions inAIM and man, Batman, Superman and X-Men .l. And as Facebook profiles. franchises have netted over $1.6 bil- s kicked Suddenly there was another hero lion at the domesticbox office. ify with that I could meld into. Wimpy with Throw in the respectable totals of eclining glasses, a select few friends and "Ghost Rider," "Daredevil," "Hulk," ero - no grand fantasies? Did they want this "Hellboy" and "Fantastic Four" and tobe about me? I mean, in our world we're talking a haul that no other ugh guy of gene-splicing, nuclear fission and genre could even dream about. between sun-dried tomatoes, surely it isn't so But why care about any of these od, and far fetched that I might one day be films? Watching even a few seconds of "Fantastic Four" or "Ghost Rider" would tell you that many superhero flicks are simply the worst movies ever made. Whether it's immaturity, testosterone, nostalgia or a savior Relocation complex, the reason we like super- hero movies isn't so hard to guess. assistance from But it's still a challenge to specifi- the Alumni Association. ALUMNIASSOCIATIONlt n UNIVERSIT OF MICHIGAN SPIDEY b From page 9 a, cally articulate. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld did per- haps as good a job as anyone in a timeless bit explaining "classic male idiot superhero thinking": "When men are growing up and they're reading Batman, Spider-man, Superman - these aren't fantasies. They're options." He said it. We the people of 9-to- 5 monotony, of oil changes, dentist appointments, cubicle clips and Vita- min Water with Big Mac lunches see ourselves in these superheroes. And quite frankly, we like what we see. Perhaps this accessibility explains why the "Spider-man" films have been so much more successful com- mercially than any of the others. Without question "Batman Begins" was the best film and "Hulk" was the most artistically creative. Yet, it's Raimi's "Spider-man 3" that just obliterated the weekend box-office record, despite a lukewarm critical reception. There's just something about that Peter Parker that seems so, well, me. w through traffic, or fighting a ad guy while freefallingor using webtograb andhurl something. t just doesn't seem like there's a F 'hole lot left to do. With the film 5ee dready suffering so much dra- reco thei: natically, not even the action can ;ave it. an e That "Spider-man 3" is miles from "Pira erfection. What should've been " 'Returnof the King"is more "The oper odfather: Part III." Despite the day I act that it will break records and platE ecoup its enormous production acco osts, it has wasted something T r more valuable than money: milli toe otential. t This guy still rides his bike, speaks in nerdy convulsions and deals with charming competence when you're sure he's in way over his head. Like the best of our superheroes, Spider- man is what we'd be if everything went right, if the world didn't break our hearts. On the big screen, even with acacklingvillainbearingdown maliciously, our heroes never waver. And forthat moment, neither do we. So we shouldn't be shocked as the next couple of summers bring addi- tional chapters in the Batman and Superman series, as well as more heroes like Iron Man, Ant Man, Cap- tain America, and maybe even The Green Lantern, to the big screen. Be they good films or bad, the con- sciousness that brought about these heroes is unmistakable. Whether we need an escape, an inspiration or just a reminder that that bionic spider is still out there and may yet find us, the $6.50 you pay for two hours of virtue, van- quished foibles and a stonewalling of righteousness is worth every penny. 'SPIDER-MAN 3'SMASHES BOX-OFFICE RECORDS ollowing in the footsteps ofthe first film in the s, Sam Raimi's "Spider-man 3" broke several rds at the box office this weekend. According to racking sitehboxofficemojo.com,thefilmtgrossed stimated $148million dollars in its first weekend. eclipses the previous record of $135.6 million setby tes of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest"lastJuly. Spider-man 3" also set records for biggest ning day ($59.3 million on Friday), biggest Satur- ($51 million), quickest to reachthe $100 million au and largest IMAX opening ($4.8 million), rding to Box Office Mojo. he film has an official production budget of $258 ion, though some estimatesgauged that number well above $300 million. IMRAN SYED 4 photographer, once he's infected bythe alien suit, when told to "act like a badass," he has to resort to doing abad John Travoltaimpres- U sion that combines Danny Zuko from "Grease" and Tony Manero from "Saturday Night Fever." The CGIis top-notch as always, but it appears a creative limit has been reached in the choreogra- phy of "Spider-man" fight scenes. omplete the grid so that every row, column There are only so manytimes you very 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. can watch Spidey swinging really It w a] m sa p "I G ft r cc fa P( 5 4;7'3 6 49 2 5 2 2 9'8 5' 9 '8 3 94 4 839 1 4bs u d o k u y d ic a t o c o r THEF/ PERFECT ANN ARBOR LOCATIONS! BEAUTIFUL SETTINGS! LOTS OF AMENITIES! Sofas CarsSpacious 1& 2 Bedroom Apart- s Chairsments, with Balconies/Patios S Luggage Laps Walk-in Closets, Free Storage gRecords Stereos On-Site Laundry, Swimming Pool, Outdoor Recreation areas I Hardware I Bikes & much more! PET FRIENDLY! ' Appliances I TVs TRAVER KNOLL APTS 1984 Traver RdI N. Campus-Near Electronics U/M Hospital) SHOREVIEW APTS Collectibles "3 '420 Kellogg IN. Compus-Near U/M Building Materials Hospital) CHARLTON APTS Exercise Equipment x2047 Charlton (west Side) Flexible Leases Please call for current - - * *:prices & specials! -".734.663.8463 4