Film seemed over-hyped, and with SOME good reason...

Rating: 7/10 (4 May 2007)

I saw the movie, and I'm split between it.
On one side, the visuals and CGI were quite amazing. Editing was top-notch, and exactly what you'd expect from a Marvel film. Venom looked exactly as he did in the cartoons/comics, and they did an amazing job with keeping his viciousness. Sandman, too, was fairly interesting, and it was cool to see how he mastered his powers almost naturally, from the second he got them.
The sequence when the Sandman gets his power seems almost too fictional and impossible (runs away from cops, and falls into a sand-dune in a scientific facility, only by climbing over ONE barbed-wire fence?), but yet, it looks amazing. Even when he rises up, it was almost comical to see him quickly learn that he has become a "sandman", as his own body collapses into sand. The sequence when the symbiote detaches from Parker and onto "Eric Foreman" (his personality almost matches that of which he plays in "That 70's show") is almost exactly as it was in the comics/T.V. show; amazing!
However, there were some pretty annoying parts, that left me wondering if I had gotten into the wrong movie (perhaps a musical?). The realism of the film (if you can call it that, with mutant superheroes and all) completely goes downhill when Parker walks with one of the most embarrassing struts I've ever seen, down the streets of Manhattan. You probably won't even see female models on a catwalk/runway overemphasize a walk so badly. And when symbiote-Parker starts dancing and shaking his hips, instead of laughing, the crowd was actually starting to boo. The lengthy and numerous dance-scenes were almost completely inappropriate for the plot, and some people even dared to call this a CHICK FLICK.
Mary-Jane. All she did was cry the entire movie. And then, when you thought it was over, she cried a little more. There were probably only two scenes where she DIDN'T cry (one at the very beginning, and one when she was dancing with Harry in the kitchen...). Overall, a fairly disappointing performance; ironically so because in the storyline she got fired from her job on broad way for having such terrible acting reviews..
This movie had amazing action sequences, for about 10% of the total film. When Hob-Goblin is chasing Parker, and even when Parker saves Gwen, it actually had me wondering if Spider-man would wipe out because of the amazing visuals, and action/debris filled sequences.
Unfortunately, I'd have to call this a chick-flick. 1. Too much crying 2. Too much singing/dancing 3. Way too much crying. I'm pretty sure every single character (except Mr. Jamison?) broke into tears by the end of the movie.
And another thing; get these characters some braces! Both Kirsten Dunce and "Eric Foreman" had terrible teeth, and it was such a turnoff during closeups. Please, in Spider-man 4, please have these characters get some kind of teeth-repair surgery.
And another thing; Poor venom was in the movie for about 15 minutes? And after getting knocked around by the original (red/blue) spiderman, was quickly mastered using the high-frequency sound waves, and torn off of Grace's character. Hopefully, in Spiderman 4, he should make a return (only logical character that would make a return), alongside a Carnage, or even "The Shocker" or Rhino.
The one thing I can say they did right was the comedy. Just when it was getting too tense, or even boring, one of the character does something really stupid and fruity (on purpose) that would make the crowd (myself included) burst into laughter. Great, well-timed comedy, just like you'd expect from a Marvel film.
All in all, I'm sure the DVD version will be better once they cutout the terrible dance-sequences, but still over-hyped.