We need Spiderman 4!

Rating: 9/10 (24 April 2007)

I just saw the sneak peek of "Spider-Man 3" and I think that they just keep getting better. What I love about this franchise is that it deals with the concepts of "good" and "evil," but it doesn't insult us by making us believe they are mutually exclusive. In this installment, Peter Parker gets "taken over," for lack of a better word, by a symbiotic organism from outer space that heightens a person's aggression and power. As you can imagine, this new found power "feels good," as he says, but it comes at a price. Joining this outing are Sandman and Venom, both brilliantly played by Thomas Hayden Church and Topher Grace (one of my all-time favorite actors). The special effects are pretty good and the fight sequences are exhilarating. Sam Raimi is having fun with this one, and takes a few moments to cut loose. Especially funny is the cameo by Bruce Campbell as a French maitre de, and the sequence when Peter Parker is grooving along the street is priceless. (An homage to Saturday Night Fever, maybe?) Hilarious. Stan Lee also gets his brief on-screen time. With the word that this is the final installment, I can't help but feel a bit saddened. We need more! Great work!