So-so prequel - don't expect a masterpiece!

Rating: 6/10 (5 May 2007)

Upon seeing the film being released world-wide last night, I was quite excited to believe that this was going to be the best Spider-Man film yet. The hype, trailers and build-up had this destined to be the #1 film of the summer (and it probably will be to be honest). A sign of Toby Maguire putting on a few pounds probably means he's had enough of the Spider-Man series, and there probably won't be anymore.
However...
The film starts with Peter Parker loving his "claim-to-fame" as Spidey - he swallows his pride and forgets that Mary Jane is also part of his life. A fantastic battle scene within the opening shows the quality of the special effects put into this 3rd film. They really have outdone themselves in this Spidey, but the lack of story and depth to characters showed.
It seemed as though they decided to fill in comic moments to tie up loose ends in the film, which weren't really that funny anyway. I guess this was to make-up for the ridiculous sub-plots and storyline. There are three baddies in this one, and in my opinion, it just slaughtered the films structure, and weighing in at 2 and a half hours, it seemed to drag on abit. I do have a soft spot for Jameson though, his attitude and timing are perfect. Really great moments with him! Venom should of been the baddest, coolest, evilest S.O.B. that Spidey had to face, but the feeble attempt from Topher Grace as Venom (and I mean feeble in the highest degree), just made me cringe. His acting was absolutely shocking, and he just did not suit the Venom role what-so-ever. This brings me on to the "cheese" factor of the film. You could actually of had crackers with this film. The cheesy dialogue, acting and stupid Jazz Bar scene was ludicrously stupid and had no meaning what so ever. (Watch it and see what I mean).
Sandman (played by Thomas Haden Church), did a poor job of portraying a man-on-the-run - his dull tone put me off and made me want to fall asleep. Only when he became the actual Sandman (which the effects were amazing I have to say - they really did capture the villain as Sandman perfectly!) he felt comfortable and gave a good performance.
The effects really did save this film, and for the money they spent on it, really does show. The story isn't anything to be desired, and the crap acting from most of the cast sparked off some of the cheesiest moments in cinema history.
I walked away from this movie thinking how much I wanted to love it, but I just couldn't. It was a big let down. Spider-Man 2 completely washed this film away. Save it for a DVD watching, or if you have to see it, go watch this with an open-mind. Its not as good as the second Spidey, but the action sequences are stunning. Period. Don't get your hopes up.