Too many cooks don't quite spoil the broth

Rating: 3/10 (5 May 2007)

The word that springs to mind after seeing Spider-Man 3 is 'inconsequential.' The film is packed to the rafters with cult characters beloved by fanboys, played by big names, yet despite the understandably mouth watering encounter of Spider-Man v Sandman/The New Goblin/Venom, it's a case of too many cooks, although the broth isn't entirely spoilt. For Spider-Man 3 has its moments, unfortunately the best of them, the aerial duel between Peter and Harry Osbourne in New Goblin guise, and that isn't a patch on the memorable train ride from Spider-Man 2. The hype surrounding this film of course, has been over the black symbiote that blends with Peter's Spider-Man suit, bringing out his dark side. Unfortunately, the scriptwriters have got this quite terribly wrong. There are glimpses of Peter's dark side as things do indeed go awry, but it brings out more comedy from Maguire's ludicrous, albeit well choreographed style. It may well be intended to be funny, and is indeed funny, but it's not the inner darkness one expects. The climax seems to be a case of dejá vu as once again Mary Jane is in need of her hero after being taken hostage. The perpetrator-in-chief of this, Topher Grace's Eddie Brock, is heavily disappointing. It's difficult to describe the feel of euphoria greeted by Spidey fans when it was announced that Venom, a huge favourite of the rogue's gallery, would be appearing in this film. However we don't see enough of him, only in the final third, and even then you feel cheated come the finale. Basically, it seems there are conflicting ideas that mould into one for Spider-Man 3. Sony no doubt, wanted to throw the kitchen sink at this one given the lump sums of dinero that have been garnered over the first two movies. Raimi and Maguire were the driving forces behind the inclusion of Sandman, Sony clearly forced the inclusion of Venom, with higher box office stakes plausible. The film is certainly bloated and overblown with big acting names that are needless, and what ensues is not a total mess, but, like Pirates of The Caribbean's boorish sequel Dead Man's Chest, the sequel is disappointing, seeking quantity over quality. On the bright side it is by no means a disaster, thanks to Maguire, giving his best turn as the web slinger, revelling in the semi-schizo moments and bringing great harmony to the character of Peter Parker. His and Dunst's emotionally driven performance once again give a Spider-Man film plenty of heart, but with Spider-Man 4 almost certainly likely to go ahead, let's just stick with one villain, almost certainly Dr Connors, aka The Lizard.