If it makes you happy...

Rating: 6/10 (2 May 2007)

"Spider-Man 3" has more or less the same strengths and weaknesses as the first two entries in the franchise. The CGI is quite good (although not perfect), the action sequences move at a breakneck speed and the villains are charismatic. At the same time there are unbearable lengths with sappy dialog (and no, this movie didn't have to be over two hours long!) and some really crappy acting.
As much as Tobey Maguire seemed like an interesting pick for Spidey/Peter Parker at first, his performance in this one really makes you wish someone else had gotten the part in the first place. When he plays bad-boy Parker at some point in "Spider-Man 3" it's totally unbelievable and annoying. It's not solely his fault, though. That whole scene is completely exaggerated.
The character developpment is a mess at times. Characters swith from good to evil to sick to good again without any logic, just so at the end the right characters can be killed or die a heroic death that also rids them of any guilt they had brought upon themselves earlier on.
Among the whole big name-cast, the special effects and the spectacular action sequences, the hidden highlight is once again Bruce Campbell, who has a "Fawlty Towers"-esquire little cameo here.
The main flaw for fans is probably that Venom, the one villain they waited for the most, doesn't get enough screen time and yes, it's true that the main villain, Sandman, just isn't very interesting. It would have been a good idea not to cram so many different story lines into this sequel, but to concentrate on one of them and flesh it out carefully.
As it is "Spider-Man 3" is certainly no improvement over its predecessors but it's still quite entertaining. It would be a good idea if Raimi ended it right here on a relatively high note.