Great But Flawed

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2007)

If you're a fan of the comics, and know the back story behind the events of the film, then it is a rather great and enjoyable film. Be warned though that this is not a good film to hold the attention span of most very young Spider-Man loving viewers unlike the first two films of the series. Most of the film is character development bookended with action, and its in that middle part where the young children of the audience I was in started to get bored, and I must admit even I was getting a little anxious for some action. Also, it seemed that most of the audience got a little lost during the part where the black suit begins to alter Peter's personality, and the transition back to his true self wasn't as handled in great detail as the transition to "Bad Peter". After viewing the movie there seems to be a few plot holes in character development, as we are shown unimportant tidbits and the tidbits we need for the plot are left out. If anything I'd say the way the film was edited left more to be desired and some things could have been left out. Another item that hampers the feel of the movie is the fact that it also mirrors the Spider-Mania that has occurred due to the film, and made Spider-Man from the semi-loved Maryl hated by the masses superhero into a full blown celebrity, something that was Maryl avoided in the comics for a very long time. To the extent of what was in Spider-Man 2 was great, like the scene on the train, but in this film it takes public love for Spider-Man overboard, and even dwindles the amount of time we see Peter at the Bugle or see the negative views about Spider-Man, which has been an integral part of the character's mystique in most representations. Although they do use Spider-Man's celebrity status in contrast to Mary Jane's pitfalls, there really was little character development on Mary Jane's part for most of the film.
The special effects were spectacular, and the fights were very well executed. More Spidey VS Sand Man throughout the film could have helped keep the pace going, but unfortunately the middle of the film seemed to be quite villain-less other than a dark Peter Parker.
So, if you're a fan of the comics, know the back story, and understand what's going on with the black suit, it can be a very enjoyable movie to watch, but in the end it could withstand a better editing job. When they come out with a Director's Cut DVD (hopefully) it may be done a little more justice in cutting down the slower paced parts and adding whatever deleted high paced scenes that may have been cut. I wouldn't recommend taking the small kids out to see it, because they will lose interest after the first hour, and won't regain that interest until the last half hour of the film.
I give it a 7 because of the reasons above, and it really was a better than average movie, but it wasn't the blowout 10 I semi-expected. After X-Men 3 came out I had lowered my expectations a bit, and where if X3 had more it could've been better if Spider-Man 3 would've had less...or had the right stuff in the time it had its flaws, it could have definitely been better. The pacing and humor were off, and the feel of the film didn't match the feel of the previous films in tone or spirit.
Sincerely, Exchronos