Definitely has some entertainment value, but overall, a bit of a bland third installment

Rating: 6/10 (7 January 2008)

Unlike the previous two Spider-Man films, I did not see this one on the big screen. In fact, I didn't see any movies in theatres last year, other than "The Simpsons Movie". I finally just got around to renting "Spider-Man 3" after New Year's. Looking here on IMDb before watching it, it seemed to be polarizing, not as highly praised as the previous two installments, so I watched it with mixed expectations. Since it turned out to be sort of a mixed blessing, I guess I'm glad I had those expectations.
At the moment, Peter is very happy. His life as Spider-Man is no longer interfering with his life as Peter Parker. However, one problem still unsolved is Harry still believes that Spider-Man killed his father, and now knows that Peter is Spider-Man! Peter's former best friend gets new powers, a lot like the ones that possessed his father, and becomes the New Goblin! In a battle between Peter and Harry, Harry falls and has to be hospitalized. While suffering from short-term memory loss, he remembers Peter as his friend again, but will his recent memories come back? Meanwhile, Flint Marko, who unbeknownst to Peter is Uncle Ben's real assassin, has escaped from prison! While running from the police, Flint becomes the Sandman, a new enemy for Spidey! Sadly, Peter's problems don't end there, as one night, he is possessed by a symbiote, one which makes him more powerful, but also makes him lose self control and become more aggressive!
Watching "Spider-Man 3" once, I noticed more flaws in it than I ever have in its two predecessors, and I have seen both of them several times. First off, Harry's attack on Peter begins a bit too suddenly. Peter is riding his motorcycle, and Harry (as the New Goblin) just suddenly appears and immediately grabs him. It probably should have shown Harry coming first. Right now, it sounds like I'm making way too big a deal out of a minor problem, but there are more. One ridiculous part is where Peter kisses Gwen Stacy while in his suit at a ceremony in Spider-Man's honour. This is while he is thinking about proposing to Mary-Jane! Why wouldn't he realize that this wasn't going to help their relationship? When Peter becomes possessed by the symbiote, he can't help but become a total jerk, but sometimes, it gets pretty silly, especially the part where Mary-Jane is trying to perform, and Peter interrupts by doing dance moves, apparently trying impress her, even though he's with another date.
Fortunately, this third "Spider-Man" movie does have some redeeming qualities, including some good action and excitement (as one would hope for), though there could have been more, and I would say the climax is quite good. In the humour department, there is one major highlight, which is the scene where J. Jonah Jameson is at his desk, and the loud buzzer keeps going off, shaking the desk and knocking stuff around. This part is probably funnier than anything in the first two films. There are some other funny scenes (not as funny as the one I mentioned, mind you), though the movie sometimes gets so cheesy that it may succumb to unintentional humour, which reminds me of "Power Rangers". In my book, the redeeming qualities of "Spider-Man 3" earn it a 6/10, but the downsides earn it nothing higher than that. Apparently, "Spider-Man 4" has been confirmed. Hopefully, it will be better than this one, but there's a good chance it won't be (you know how sequels go).