Spiderman 3 single handedly takes on the question...can you have too much of a good thing??

Rating: 8/10 (22 May 2007)

You can definitely have to have too much of a good thing. Spiderman 3 is the first film to truly be so packed it's practically bursting at the seams. I expected to see this film and disagree with all its critics but instead I found myself agreeing with everything they said. The film is busy and drama heavy, and story driven but the content of Spiderman 3 is enough for literally 3 different films so you feel like you're often watching 3 different installments of Spiderman. It's like they decided to give you Spiderman 3-7 all in one shot. If Spiderman 3 wasn't...well Spiderman 3 this could have potentially killed this series but fortunately despite heavy negatives in the film Spiderman 3 also had some MAJOR good that really balance the scales. The one definitive thing about Sam Raimi's Spiderman since day one is that it's very down to earth, they are the guys and girls next door and the stories have always been emotionally driven and packed full of action and Spiderman 3 still holds true to that formula.
Tobey Maguire returns as Peter Parker and Spiderman. There was something lacking from this performance, perhaps a bit of boredom on the part of Maguire. He seems to have milked the character all he could and it was more a job to him than something he believed in. That being said he still pulls off the hero better than anyone else could. Kirsten Dunst also returns as Mary Jane Watson. Dunst has taken all three films to really hone the character of Mary Jane to balance it between the script, the fans and her own performance and I think she's come a long way and does a terrific job. Her and Tobey have terrific chemistry and are good together. James Franco returns as, the bent on vengeance, Harry Osbourne who gets to return to his old self when he loses his memory. I think Franco is very talented and has had some truly terrific roles and Harry Osbourne/The New Goblin is one of them and the turning point for him in the end really make this a terrific character. Maguire, Dunst, and Franco have had truly great chemistry since day one and Spiderman 3 is no different. Newcomers include Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko and The Sandman. Church is a strong performer but the script here doesn't give him a lot to work with although they really do try to give him a back story. His character is the type of bad guy that deserved an entire film dedicated to him but instead he gets one fourth shared with the other villains. Most of his performance is CGI which is done brilliantly so I don't think Church is given his fair shake and I hope he gets a future Spiderman flick to make up for it. Topher Grace is the slightly slimy adversary to Peter Parker who eventually gets turned into Venom. Grace is good, there is nothing wrong with his performance but he gets ripped off because if ANYONE deserves an entire story line dedicated to him it would be comic book legend Venom and in fact it's not until the last 45 minutes of the film that he gets revealed. Grace is one of several of the new characters who gets buried beneath the multiple villains. Bryce Dallas Howard is the newest gal on the block and I think her addition was a good one. So far Dunst's Mary Jane hasn't had any competition for the leading lady and Howard does a decent job and she's sweet and complex and a good addition. Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons (who is hilarious and gets some great lines), Dylan Baker, Bruce Campbell, and Willem Dafoe all return in various degrees to reprise their roles from previous Spiderman flicks.
The action scenes are brilliant, the fights are intense and the mid-air acrobatics appropriately stunning and the CGI is probably the best it has ever been in the series. So here's the beefs. WAY TOO MANY VILLAINS!! Sandman, Venom and even New Goblin all deserved their own film instead of forcing them all into one film that got very crowded for some very cool villains. I found some glaring inconsistencies with the story like how Spiderman manages to take a colossal beating from giant sand fists and still walk away from it?? The one thing for me that really got to me and it's always been present in the Spiderman films but Spiderman always ends up with his mask off or torn to reveal his face and he's gotta be one of the worst super heroes as far as keeping his identity a secret. Every villain discovers his identity and he seems to spend a lot of time with his mask off. I think a Superhero and his alter ego need to be kept distinctly separate because there is this aura of power to each side of his identity and that line is very, very blurry in the Spiderman movies. Keep your mask on and get a better tailor so your suit doesn't rip every time you get punched. The entire story of the black suit could have been done a little differently...I think the entire segment of Peter disco dancing down Times Square was cheesy as hell and completely unnecessary. There were a little downs to this third installment BUT it is still worth seeing because of the glaring positives and incredible action and great story from this trilogy to date and Spiderman 3 has already moved into position of being the highest grossing film of all time. Go see it in the theater and just take heed that it's a little heavy on some things but they got carried away and a little excited. Hopefully this won't be the last of the web slinger and his friends. 8.5/10