Well-done, but flawed

Rating: 6/10 (5 May 2007)

Sam Raimi was doing a great thing with the Spiderman series. The action was high quality, and the stories stellar. The first two are perfect comic book movies. Spiderman (2002) had the best story of any superhero film, and Spiderman 2 (2004) had the best use of license and action of any superhero film. Both had consistently good acting and production qualities.
The good news is that some of the qualities of the first two carry over. There is still great direction and production qualities. The acting is still great, because the fine dialog is still in the movie.
The bad news is... everywhere. The story isn't that good. It's really the most flawed part of the movie. They try to fit so much into one film. Three villains headline the movie: New Goblin, Sandman, and Venom. At first I thought the film felt rushed with three villains, but this proved to be a bias I shouldn't have. Though it was a bit rushed, the villains and their battles flowed pretty easily. Sandman was well-developed, but Venom was entirely too rushed. The development of Venom worked well, but once Eddie Brock became Venom, he was ready to kill Spiderman. We were propelled directly into the climatic fight. It should be noted that Sandman's creation is a bit cheesy, and unrealistic. For a Spiderman movie...
A lot of comic book material was handled poorly. Eddie Brock was horribly cast. Venom shouldn't be laughable. He should be frightening and menacing. They failed to capture the true heart of the character. Sandman was well-done, minus his before-mentioned far-fetched creation. He seems to be ripped straight out of the comics. The best part of the movie was seeing the New Goblin. We've been waiting for the moment the entire trilogy, the moment two friends must fight because of ignorance. It's handled well. But since the fight between the two happens in the first ten minutes, it feels a bit rushed. You'll also feel copped-out; Harry gets amnesia and forgets his bane with Peter. It seems redeemed, though, because all of Harry's screen time is used regaining his knowledge, eventually following back in love with MJ and gaining his hatred of his past and Peter.
The action of Spiderman 2 is a hard act to follow. Part three falls short, but that doesn't mean it sucks. Sandman throws an interesting dynamic into the fight scenes. His sand powers are an advantage and disadvantage. It's up to the protagonists- yes, it's plural- to harness the sand to their advantage. Ultimately, Sandman may be more powerful than Doc Ock of Part 2, but he's not as smart, and thus the fights aren't as smart or thrilling. It's more about brute force, here. New Goblin is essentially the Green Goblin, except a more maneuverable glider, some cooler gadgets, and New Goblin is in better shape. The Venom sequence is a perfect emulation of a Stan Lee-quality comic. Venom is a menace. Even if you're not satisfied by his build-up, you will be happy with the fight. And of course, many punches are thrown in free fall. Thank you, Sam Raimi.
From previous performers, expect more of the same in acting. Both the good and the bad. Topher Grace is awful. Though the part is written well, he plays the role comically. It's just not Eddie Brock. And he's not menacing both in voice and physical features. Howard is a nice Gwen Staci. She is very girly and very in tune with the character. Cromwell is also an all right Chief-of-Police. But not stellar. I have no complaints about Church's performance as Sandman. He is surprisingly as bitter as he should have been.
There's some scenes played solely for laughs. This annoyed me, because the story should have been the darkest of the series. It's all about revenge! Oh, and there's one scene I simply wish didn't exist. Peter, entranced by the Venom symbiote, goes to a jazz club with his new girlfriend. A crazy dance scene results. The scene is there to express how the symbiote has changed him, but it simply wasn't the right way to show the symbiote had a negative affect on Peter.
Overall, I give this film a B-.