Disappointing end of the trilogy as it shows

Rating: 5/10 (17 July 2017)

Having watched Spider-Man 3 for the first time since years after its release, one forgot a lot about this film. Many consider this film to be the worst of the Raimi Spider-Man franchise and the failure of Spider-Man 3 to be why they rebooted the series 5 years later.
The film did have its typical action and the special effects were great but after a heavy rewatch, it is clear this film did have many flaws. As many critics and fans have mentioned, the main problem is that the film tries cramming in a little too much into the film, which makes the main focal point hard and difficult. Also there are a few cheesy moments which were used for comic relief but it didn't work in my opinion. Specially when Peter Parker gets infected with the black Spider-Man suit and becomes "evil/bad", we see a moment of him dancing to jazz music walking down the street, then the scene involving him showcasing his talents in the Jazz club in front of M.J and Gwen Stacy. The entire time involving his slight personality change of being "evil" within the black suit that also altered his hair slightly was just cringe acting from Tobey MaGuire. Did not like it as it felt forced for comic purposes.
First you have the main storyline of Peter/M.J relationship bumping along, add to that the Peter/Harry story line still playing out, plus we have the addition of the Sandman story from the start and coming in in the final half hour is the addition of Venom. Then little subplots with Gwen Stacy and the competition of Peter and Brock working at the Daily Bugle. It's a little too much for the movie to handle, the result of which it all feels half baked. Very few of the characters get the proper amount of time to develop with the worst offender is Eddie Brock and Venom who get zero and so seem to belong in another movie. Two villains (Sandman and Venom) may not seem much as people have mentioned but it slightly was. Some may add that Green Goblin was another villain but that was merely for a few scenes in the beginning and Harry was never truly a villain. We see him more as a friend to Peter, even though he did want to kill Peter for killing his father. The way the villains became villains (Sandman and Venom) are all too coincidental. Sandman escaping Prison than falling into a large hole/ditch of sand, while Brock just so happens to be in the same place (a church) where Peter is having problems with the black suit then it falling onto Brock.
What we did enjoy is the effects of the black suit Spider-Man and the look of venom. The look of Peter in the black suit was really well as were his scenes, it was just when he changed as Peter becoming evil wearing the black suit underneath that was the problem. The graphics made this film much more satisfying but overall with the flaws, one can see why this film is considered the worst of the franchise and the reason for the reboot.
Briefly comparing Tobey MaGuire's Spider-Man to Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man, you can see the clear differences in personalities and attitudes. In this film, especially the first half, Peter is much more upright, happy, is always smiling, and his overall character is more of a pushover and nerd than the Peter Parker/Spider-Man of Garfield's. Another negative about Spider-Man 3 is the amount of sad and depressing crying or lonesome scenes we see. At times, it felt like a sappy romance film as it didn't work. Kirsten Dunst's portrayal of Mary Jane came off much more unlikable here than the previous two films as she was more whiny and seemed less appreciative throughout. The obvious jealously with Gwen Stacy was clear as it showed, Bryce Dallas Howard did a good job and was a highlight. Also the ending battle was okay but it gets the questions as to why exactly did Sandman want to kill Spider-Man in the first place. The entire character was off switching as they try making the character appear to be a good person in the end. His entire motive leading up was to kill Spider-Man but it was never really mentioned why. This reminded very much of the Amazing Spider- Man 2 villain of Electro, another weak villain but didn't have much motive in wanting to kill Spider-Man, only because he was the "bad guy". Both weak and not interesting villains.
Although Spider-Man 3 has these flaws, it is still quite entertaining from an aspect as we do enjoy the character and some things in the film. Being difficult in rating this film but from a standpoint from the other two films, it is the worst in the series and a rewatch really confirms it. Though, Spider-Man 3 is still a better film and overall more satisfying than the Amazing Spider-Man 2.