We love you, Sam Raimi

Rating: 8/10 (3 May 2007)

Viewers have their own ideas about how the plot should twist and a story end. I didn't expect this ending but, in retrospect, it was the most satisfying ending and befitting spiderman's character.
Are there clichés in the movie? Yes, there are and in spite of them, this is a wonderfully entertaining production.
The magic of the previous movies is still there in the third feature. No matter what whining reviews you may have read, characters are well developed - in fact, any more development and we could have watched Hamlet instead.
The two new villains are completely different in terms of personality and motive. Sandman succeeds in moving the audience on more than one occasion whereas Venom inspires mostly contempt. Watch the scene when sandman quietly emerges for the first time. The gentle movements, the music and the pathos are brilliant and it is a scene I would want to watch over and over again.
This is also a story of revenge and the liberation of forgiveness. Without it, it wouldn't be a great movie - it would be an ordinary one about evil and retribution. Spiderman 3 continues to rise and to deliver its messages about the paradox of being both good and bad, about being small and magnanimous, cruel and merciful - and human.