"This could be a tragic day for the people of New York... it could be the end of Spider-Man."

Rating: 6/10 (19 March 2008)

As I sit here writing this, there are 1,783 user comments for Spider-Man 3 on IMDb. So what can I possibly have to say that would be new or different? Well, probably nothing. But reading some of the posted comments, I have to laugh to myself. Why is it that people seem to feel the need to rate everything either a 1/10 or a 10/10? I don't get it. Is Spider-Man 3 worthy of a 1/10 rating? Is it really one of the worst movies ever made? Is it as wretched as some of the truly notorious stinkers like Manos: Hands of Fate or Hobgoblins? No. If you sincerely consider Spider-Man 3 one of the worst movies ever made, then you haven't seen enough movies. Likewise, is Spider-Man 3 worthy of a 10/10 rating? Is it really one of the best movies ever made? Again, the answer is no. And once again, if you sincerely consider Spider-Man 3 one of the best movies ever made, then you haven't seen enough movies. Like I said, I just don't get it. Why the need for such extremes? What's wrong with thinking something is merely average?
(Okay, I'll get off the soapbox for the rest of this.)
For me, while I found Spider-Man 3 an entertaining enough time-waster, it's got far too many problems for me to call it great. I found the action sequences and special effects very well done. Watching Spidey take a pounding from the Sandman near the end of the movie was brutal. Also, I've never been wrapped up in the whole Spiderman comic book scene, so I didn't have a problem with Venom the way some others do. Thomas Hayden Church and Topher Grace were excellent in their baddie roles. Finally, Bruce Campbell's cameo as the French maître d' was a scream. I loved it. But what didn't work so well for me was the plot. There's just too much going on in the movie and Sam Raimi tires too hard to wrap it all up in for a 2 hour movie. For example, with three bad guys to fight, did we really need the dull as dishwater subplot about Peter and MJ's on-again-off-again relationship? But I suppose they had to include it to give Kirsten Dunst something to do. Finally, Tobey Maguire is really bad. There's no way he could have ever pulled off playing the tough guy.
In the end, Spider-Man 3 is neither the worst movie I've seen nor is it the best. While I was generally entertained, the movie has too many problems for me to call it much more than slightly better than average. A 6/10 seems about right.