A satisfying, if not spectacular conclusion.

Rating: 6/10 (5 May 2007)

The original Spiderman film set the standard, with the sequel taking the superhero film to new extraordinary heights. What a shame then, that this would be the series zenith as the third film draws it to only a satisfying conclusion.
The key reason for this would have to be the muddled plot which makes the film feel crowded and confusing. The main theme this time being that through the bonding with a mysterious alien symbiote, Spiderman unleashes his evil side, which threatens to push away everyone he loves. To comic book fans this was expected to be the progression of the series, and has huge potential in a film, down to it revealing the other side of Peter, adding freshness to what was becoming a stale character. For this to work of course, the film has to have as much focus on Peter's dark side as it did on him normally in the first two. With a film trying to contain this and so much more, it ultimately leads to a shallow story which is never developed enough to really engage with the viewers.
Up until this point, director Sam Raimi had insisted on only featuring one villain per film, with a story arc being developed around them. This was a masterstroke idea, with villains Green Goblin and Doc Ock appearing as fully fleshed out 3 dimensional characters, who had believable ambitions which made them integral to the plot. This time around, there are not one, not two, but three villains in the piece. Acceptable perhaps if they just came and went, but with Raimi determined to give all his villains an arc, it leads to a muddled script that appears as a mess. An arc that had been developed over the previous two films had been that of Harry Osborn, son of the original Green Goblin. It makes perfect sense to have his desire for vengeance leading to him becoming a new incarnation of the Goblin. The same cannot be said for new villain, Sandman.
Revealed as the real killer of Peter's Uncle Ben, he is the one that sends Peter over the edge midway through the film. With a back-story given to him, he attracts genuine sympathy from the viewer, even though his irrelevance is all too apparent. Having his story connected back to first film can be seen as an unnecessary complication which did not need to be included in the film. Raimi must have realised this, but felt compelled to include his favourite villain at the expense of the story. The other villain that appears does not have the same affection from the director. Raimi had already stated he disliked Venom and did not wish to include him in the trilogy. With the symbiote theme in the film though, it made perfect sense to include Venom as the final enemy of Spiderman. Raimi selfishly decides to neglect the fan-adored villain though, as Eddie Brock is given limited screen time, leading to an unconvincing transformation that dissatisfies the viewer. The baddie Venom himself is given even less screen time, making small appearances in the climatic confrontation at the end of the film. We don't even see five minutes of Spiderman's greatest foe, his name not even being mentioned. This disgraceful cameo immediately will make any fan bitter and unforgiving over what Raimi has done to the Villain. In the end, the only reason for his inclusion seems to be because Raimi felt he had to down to the symbiote being in the story.
That aside, problems lie also in the nature of Pete's dark side. The film captures it completely wrong, Parker now turning into a swaggering arrogant teenager with an emo fringe, rather than a rude and ruthless anti-hero. Whilst his inner rage is compelling during the subway fight with Sandman, the rest of the time it borders on the point of ridiculous; one scene in particular almost collapsing in on itself when Peter does a Saturday Night Fever routine at a club to make MJ jealous. This ultimately can be seen as the most distressing aspect of Spiderman 3, as it is the central theme of the movie, and it is seriously flawed.
Now for some positives. The casting is as always spot on. Thomas Hayden Church is perfect as Sandman, carrying real weight with the role and inducing true sympathy from the viewer. Topher Grace as Eddie Brock and Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy are also good choices. The film does not let down in the action department either, with a number of big budget fights occurring throughout the movie, with a CGI Sandman being the most impressive. Again though, no fight manages to match the fantastic train fight between Spidey and Doc Ock in SM2. Unlike other superhero films like Superman Returns, Spiderman at least does not try and take itself too seriously, with light hearted comedic moments littered throughout which contrast well against the darkness of the story. A prime example would be the role of J. Jonah Jameson, who manages to thoroughly entertain the audience despite limited screen time.
To conclude, Spiderman 3 is a disappointing conclusion to the series, even though this was in some ways impossible not to be after its sublime predecessors. What will most annoy fans and viewers alike is the films desire to inject as much as they can in to only 140 minutes of celluloid. The action sequences as well as the villains are both examples that it is quality not quantity that matters. With the desire to finish off his trilogy convincingly, Raimi seems to have desperately tried to cram in everything he wanted from the series, at the expense of the film having any real focus. In no ways is this a terrible movie, just a poor one in comparison to the films before it.