It wasn't half bad.....

Rating: 6/10 (12 May 2007)

Just a little under half, actually........
So everyone agrees that there were too many story lines, no adequate development for *any* of the stories, that Venom got the short end of thestick on screen time, that Peter Parker could have spent 50% less time looking like a GQ-wanna-be, and that Bryce Dallas Howard's character (what was her name again?) got no character development.
Since we all agree on that, I'm going to (gasp!) point out a few of its strong points. If these points had been given time to grow, this could havebeen the most powerful of all three. Unfortunately for all of us, they were not, but my hope is to encourage people reading this to grow as writers.
For starters, there IS something beyond the "happily ever after" ending of most love stories---there's the conflict of learning how to be together! I was thrilled to see Peter Parker and MJ dealing with the age-old "I don't want you to fix my problem, I just want you to listen and be there for me" issue. I loved the (little bit of) wisdom that aunt Mae tried to share with Peter--you have to put your wife/husband before yourself. Both MJ and Spidey were completely self-absorbed and not ready to get married. (MJ was wrapped up in her problems, Spidey in his success.) This was a beautiful gem that could have been polished more.
My husband and I nearly fell out of our seats when we saw the redemption of Harry, and the forgiveness of Flint. It's wonderful to see a movie where people are not locked into an ever-deepening pit of despair. (I still want to take a shower every time I *think* about the movie The Prestige) People do have a choice---my mistakes in life are not all my parents' fault, society's fault, or even God's fault. They're MY mistakes. I can choose to wallow in my misery, or forgive and move on. It was wonderful to see both Harry and Spiderman choose to forgive. I wish for the life of me that we had seen more of the conflict with Harry. Their opening fight scene was the best in the trilogy, and James Franco proved to be an incredibly versatile and subtle actor.
And who didn't cheer when Stan Lee showed up for a cameo? :)
So, it's worth going to see again----at the dollar theater. :)