Perfect example of trying to fit TOO much into a movie

Rating: 2/10 (1 May 2007)

OK, I'm a HUGE fan of Spiderman...Liked the first movie, LOVED the second flick and was dying to see the third one. And since I live in Korea, I was able to see the movie tonight (SM3 opened in Asia 3 days before it opens in North America). I'm sad to say, I was let down by the third film.
The biggest issue by far is the fact that there are FAR too many story lines going on at once. The movie feels very bogged down and not nearly enough time is given for proper character development.
In this movie, there is Spiderman, Mary Jane, Gwen Stacey, "New" Goblin Venom and Sandman. Each character is given the bare amount of time for development.
I'm assuming that since most of the cast is non-committal to returning for a fourth movie, the filmmakers decided to throw as many stories into this movie in case it was the end. It really takes away from the movie as a whole.
The other big issue I have is the very forced sense of humor the movie tries to take. From a very lame riff on John Travolta's walk from "Saturday night fever" to watching Peter Parker dance to jazz music, a lot of the humor feels like it's was written for a SNL sketch.
There is a very poor ending involving Spiderman and Sandman that defies logic.
I sincerely hope this is NOT the last Spiderman film, because if it is, it's certainly not the best way for the series to end. None of the magic and originality of the second film are here. I hope that a decision is made to do a fourth film and I hope if a fourth film is made, the filmmakers decide to go back to what made the second film so special.
** out of *****