A *little* overdone, but still a lot of fun to be had

Rating: 7/10 (4 May 2007)

******MINOR SPOILERS****** I've greatly enjoyed the Spiderman movies thus far. Not just for the action sequences, but also for how they portray Peter Parker as a very...human...superhero. Spiderman 3, like its predecessors, presents a strong character story along with mind-boggling action sequences. It not only explores Peter's darker side (courtesy of black goop from outer space), but also his apparent shortcomings in his relationship with MJ. His spidey sense may help the City of New York time and again, but doesn't help dealing with members of the opposite sex.
Out of the three villains, Harry's Goblin Junior was the only one fully developed as a character. Venom doesn't appear in all of his evilness until the last half-hour of the movie, and Flint Marko (aka, The Sandman) is reduced from a semi-sympathetic small-time crook with a sick daughter to a...well...blowing pile of sand. Sam Raimi did a fairly decent juggling act with the three villains, but I think that *maybe* he should have held over either Sandman or Venom for the next movie. Three villains fighting for screen time *did* make the film feel slightly bloated.
With everything said, Spiderman 3 is still a crowd-pleaser and will not disappoint (except the die-hard Venom fans, who may be displeased with his lack of screen time). 7 out of 10 stars.