A cluttered mess of poorly written subplots

Rating: 5/10 (21 August 2007)

There were too many stories packed into this nauseating wanna-be morality tale, and not enough time was spent developing most of the new characters. Spider-Man 3 probably would have been easier to tolerate if the stories were at least engaging and written well, but because everything plays out with the intellectual depth of a soap opera, I was barely able to tolerate it. There is even a character who, conveniently, gets amnesia just so some of the other story lines can have room to move forward. I kid you not.
The Sandman is one of the few developed characters in the film. Its too bad the Raimi brothers had to make him into what is, undoubtedly, one of the sappiest villains in movie history. What happened to villains who were evil because they were evil? Why must they also have nice sides? I can understand the need to add depth to the characters, but it seems like the Raimis are afraid to create genuinely villainous villains. The guy either goes crazy or has to help someone.
Because Raimi lacks talent as a director, Thomas Haden Church was forced to give this embarrassing and forced 'angry mouth / sad eyes' expression through out the entire film to constantly remind us Marko is angry, but... he also has a soft side. Awwww. I want to give him a hug now.
Venom is the only character who truly lacks humanity, but his story is barely explored. From what I read, Raimi didn't even want Venom in the film because of his "lack of humanity." Gwen Stacy is another character who just shows up out of no where and does nothing to move the main story forward. And May Parker, Peter's aunt, has become increasingly annoying with her long, drawn out, Yoda sermons on life.
In summary: Spider-Man 3 is garbage. Don't waste your money on this pile. If you want a serious comic book film, get Batman Begins.