A good, entertaining movie, undeserving of all the negative feedback

Rating: 9/10 (3 November 2007)

I have nothing to add that wasn't already said, but I felt the movie could use a little support. Yeah, it had it's flaws, and it was far from perfect, but I think the people who feel like bashing it at every opportunity only had too-high expectations, especially concerning Venom.
I know next to nothing of the comic books. If you think, because my only link to Spider-man is the movies, my opinion isn't worth anything, then I'm sorry, and don't bother reading. I will say what I thought was good, what I thought was bad, and what I would I done.
I enjoyed all three movies on their own, and I think Spider-man 3 was a very good sequel to the also very good Spider-man 1 and 2.
It had it's corny and cheesy parts, but it wouldn't have been Spider-man without this, would it? It is know for it's cheesy speeches, after all. And it wasn't close to being as cheesy as the first one, in my opinion. The acting is kind of over-the-top in some scenes, but frankly, I didn't mind at all. It's the type of movie that actually makes it work. The only thing I felt unnecessary was the American flag thing; I'm not American, and it made me uncomfortable, as if it meant the movie was made only for the American audience to 'connect' with.
Emo!Peter was great, and his dancing so funny! Peter Parker has been a 'dork' from day one; a lovable, nice-looking, heroic dork, but a dork nonetheless. I was amazed the writer(s?) managed to keep this dorky side of him even though he turned 'bad'; I think, if he had suddenly become all bad-ass, cool and darkly mysterious, this part wouldn't have been half as great as it was. It would practically been a waste of time, like introducing a new, useless character just to please shallow audiences. I liked watching the dark-side take over; it shows that Spider-man isn't perfect; like everyone, he can be selfish once in a while, and he has his bad days, too.
The butler part should have been different; I think Peter could have told Harry about his father one last time before running off; then, Harry could have finally thought about it and what it meant. The Butler then could have encouraged him; Harry need that, I think, to hear that at least one person loved him. Then he could have gone to fight on Peter's side. Other than that, Harry was perfect. I really, really enjoyed watching his development during the series. I'm sad that his story has come to an end, but it was needed. It would have been wasted if it had dragged on too long, or worse, have no conclusion at all. I actually cheered for him at the end, and his collaboration with Spider-man was one of the best parts of the movie for me.
I think they could have elaborated more on the other two villains. If they had planned from the beginning to make a Spider-man 4, they shouldn't have ended Eddie/Venom's story; it should have gone a bit slower, with Eddie's hate for Peter having more time to grow, and his last part (or one of his last parts, at least) in the movie should have been his 'infection' by the symbiote. Venom shouldn't have appeared; he should have been kept for the next movie. The way he was shown in the movie was more to give form to Peter's dark side. It was good that way, but still, it's a lot of potential... not wasted, but not used as well as it could have been.
As for Sandman, a more complex story would have been great, too. I haven't read the comics, as I said earlier, but I'm sure there was more to him than what was shown in the movie. He had really good potential, but most of it was ruined because he lacked some aspects that Harry and Eddie had, and thus wasn't as interesting as they were. He didn't have the subtlety that make a good villain.
Mary-Jane was great in this one; she seemed so natural, so human. I liked how her appearance, while nice (she's Mary-Jane, after all!), wasn't always picture-perfect. Her emotions, while sometimes selfish, were understandable and human. Gwen was fine too. I enjoyed her! We didn't see her much, but she wasn't near as bad as she could have been. I have nothing too add about Aunt May; saying corny speech is her role, but I personally thinks she kicks ass despite what she is supposed to be. She's a wonderful, beautiful woman. I only hope I can be half of what he is when I grow old. And, as usual, Jameson was side-splitting funny! I really like the part with the desk in the beginning.
While I don't claim this movie was perfect, it wasn't as bad as most people say. And everyone who, like me, enjoyed this movie (or people who haven't seen it yet) shouldn't get discouraged by the negative critics. There are as many, if not more, people who actually liked it; they just aren't as loud as the 'bashers'.
Over-all, I give a solid 8 1/2 on 10 for this one. For the entertainment it provided with its awesome action and fights scenes, I'll make it a 9. Good job!