Despite being entertaining, this is a disappointment

Rating: 6/10 (17 February 2008)

Sam Raimi's third Spider-Man film had awesome potential. After two strong films, the trailer for "Spider-Man 3" looked spectacular with the distinct possibility that the interesting character work which had been started in the opening films would be taken to a whole new level. Unfortunately, whilst the third film in the trilogy is entertaining and a great spectacle, it is a disappointment as the film is lost without a proper plot and caught in a mêlée of villains and plot lines.
The film starts off well. We begin with Parker, as opposed to Spidey, dealing with his everyday life and then being confronted by the New Goblin, his friend Harry Osborn. There is no problem with this. We have a plot and we know where we're going. We're heading towards a satisfying end to the trilogy's storyline. But then, that plot line is put into limbo for an hour, as is the action and we go off establishing the rest of the villains and their backstories. Every plot line and every villain is introduced and then abandoned for a long period of time. The plot is easy to follow, but it is shallow.
However, the beacon of light was the inner struggle that Spidey must face. Alas, the really dark moments have little or no effect on the character and he only realises that he is turning into a thoroughly evil dude when he hits someone in a rash of anger, an event where no-one gets hurt. So, what was going to be the big climax of the central theme of the series (duality and the conflict between good and evil) turns out to be a real disappointment and without any great depth.
Having said that, whilst this film lacks the brains that would have made it fantastic and any kind of proper plot it does have spectacle and entertainment in abundance. Whilst the visual effects are a bit lacking at times, all of the set pieces are done well. However, the final climax is almost ruined by the bizarre use of a news broadcast which is condescending and, frankly, unintentionally comical. Which emphasises another failing here. This isn't anywhere near as funny as the previous films or indeed as it should be.
But there are the great cameos from J.K. Simmons and Bruce Campbell which bring some humour, but there are also very solid performances. Maguire has a lot of fun here. He becomes Travolta-esquire in a sequence that has Parker strut down the street. Whilst the idea of this is jarring, the performance is a joy to watch. James Franco has improved and Kirsten Dunst is solid.
But there is nothing too much to ride home about here. It isn't as clever as it needs to be. It's bloated with too many characters and plots. It may well be satisfying, but it fails to live up to the high hopes. All in all, this can only be described as a disappointing end to what was shaping up to be a really interesting, subversive and magnificent super-hero trilogy. There will be a "Spider-Man 4" but, frankly, this series has said all that it has to say. It must stop, now.