What's all the fuss about?

Rating: 8/10 (3 June 2007)

Okay so no, I am not a huge spider man fan. I enjoyed the first two films as everyone did, but I have never read a comic or touched a toy. But seriously, what's wrong with this movie? If you've been living under a rock, the geek-turned-superhero Spider Man is back for his third adventure. This time, he's not fighting one, but two - Sandman and Venom - villains whilst keeping his relationship with Mary Jane in tact. Harry Osborne is the "new" green goblin, revenging his fathers death. I saw Spider Man 3 on opening weekend - of course - and really enjoyed it. The action, characters, everything works fine.
With the films length being the longest in the series yet, you would expect more action and more character development. When the action hits, it really hits. The technology is amazing & the sandman fights are stunning. But depending on what you prefer, the lack of action could be this films main flaw. The final 'battle' could have been longer and personally did not hit quite hit the nail on the head. The fights with Venom and Harry are, as always, well done and effective. All the special effects are just mind blowing, some of the best I have ever seen. You could sum the action and technology up in one sentence; Although it is rare in this third film, when our friend Spidey gets himself into trouble it is amazing to watch and the technology just gives it the kick it needs.
The storyline and characters I found were not as good as the second film, but far better than the first. Thomas Haden Church plays a great Flint Marko/Sandman and the backing story for him is interesting to say the least. Topher Grace's character Eddie Brock/Venom brings in more depth and I believe has much less screen time. Both characters are enjoyable and both Thomas and Topher are satisfying as their villains. The one major flaw in this film for me is simple; I did not like Peter Parker. I just didn't. I thought the dark Spider Man was great but they ruined it with the so called 'emo' Peter Parker. That did not help my opinion on Peter either, but overall I just thought Tobey made Peter into a bit of an ass. Mary Jane was not one bit different, I could not see her character develop whatsoever. I found Harry to be the most interesting, and I despised Gwen Stacy. All characters in Spider Man 3 have their flaws and most have their moments but overall I thought the characters let this film down the most. The storyline was on par, nothing too great. It is of course hard to write a superhero movie with 3 villains and maintain relationships, have a job, and defeat them all - all within 150 minutes - without letting the quality of the script slip a little and have a few dull scenes etc etc. The acting was defiantly on par, I thought everyone did a great job. I must also note that the humorous scenes were indeed that - hilarious. Being a die hard horror fan I of course have seen - and own - the Evil Dead series and I was delighted to see Raimi gave Bruce Campbell another cameo. He was fantastic, I enjoyed his performance more than the second movies cameo. Although I did not like the 'emo' Peter Parker, I did enjoy bringing out the shooters and dancing down the street, it was hilarious.
Spider Man 3 is NOT a masterpiece, but I do not understand why everyone is saying it's awful or it's boring. I enjoyed the film, yes there were flaws in it but every film has flaws - yes, even The Godfather.