Yes, you will love it - lots for all to enjoy (including plenty of Venom - get OFF it, geeks!)

Rating: 9/10 (4 May 2007)

This 3rd (and probably not-yet-final) installment of the Comic-Book-Hero movie series has all of the familiar trappings to live up to that all successful franchises have to cope with: 'Must be the biggest, the longest, most-complex, action-packed, story-arc-crazy, satisfy-the-extreme-fans, pull-in-the-new-audience film of the year/decade/quarter century/history of film since pre-talkies!!!!! All that being said, I was simply looking for another fun film with Sam Raimi directing a continuing story about a superhero trying to exist in the 'real' world, all the while defending the 'good' against the 'bad.' No real reason to quote plot or cast here - that would be insulting to all of us who can read or use the internet to research things we have an interest in. Furthermore, those of you who've seen the 1st two films already know roughly 75% of the story as well as all the principal characters. For this movie, you also get two more villains who, just like the 1st two villains from the previous films, are really tragic heroes trying to do 'good' or do 'right.' There really is something for everyone to enjoy here. Peter Parker is never more 'human' then he is in this film. MJ is the same, as well as Peter's friend Harry. The story arcs are aplenty, some involving all three films. The action sequences and special effects all do reflect the money that was spent making them.
So what is so different this time, you ask? Well, watch your opening credits real closely, and you'll see your answers (note: I'm referring here to the actual names and their roles in creating the film, instead of the exposition montage of the 1st two films). Two or three key changes which probably explain most of the bickering:
1) Your writers this time are no other than Sam and Ivan Raimi, the director and one of his brothers. Anyone who is familiar with (Sam) Raimi's earlier works involving two other 'heroes' (Ash from the Evil Dead Trilogy, and Peyton Westlake aka 'Darkman' (1990 - see it tonight!)) will certainly understand, respect, and ultimately enjoy all of the nuances, subtractions, and additions that have been made to this 3rd installment. Raimi has always injected his films with wild stunts, incredible camera work (remember, this guy was a man amongst boys LONG before computer graphics or digital anything), humor (everything from jet-black dark humor ("A Farewell To Arms") to slapstick to corny one-liners), and pathos.
2) "Music composed by Christopher Young." Yes, you hear the familiar Spidey music, including the opening credits stuff, the Mary Jane theme, and the thrill-button fanfare cue every time Spidey saves the day or swings by an American flag or swings by policemen and/or firemen. The one character in this movie that really doesn't get their part right is the musical score. Early on in the planning stages of Spidey 3, composer Danny Elfman and Raimi had a falling out, meaning no Elfman soundtrack. The 1st music credit actually reads "Spider Man themes by Danny Elfman" - one can assume that Elfman got a nice check in the mail for permission to continue to use his themes. On the other hand, Christopher Young has been composing for film longer than Elfman. His music for this film is good, but it's simply not Elfman's musical touch. Furthermore, the way it is used brings back memories of Raiders of the Lost Ark, where every time Indiana Jones cracks his whip, we get his theme. Same thing here.
Will you like this movie? There's only one true way to find out: buy your ticket & go see it. People who try to tell you that 'the movie was bad' almost always really mean 'the movie was bad because it's not what I thought it should be!' or 'The movie sucked because it didn't have enough (fill in blank)' or It had too much (fill in blank). Well here's a news flash - Sam Raimi and Columbia Pictures made this movie for us to enjoy. It's a comic book for the big screen, made by a guy who grew up loving comic books & probably still does today. You want pristine, crackling dialogue? Tarantino movies await you. You want more Venom? Watch 'Spawn' and pretend it's Venom (or better yet, read Venom graphic novels & comic books). You don't want emotions in a movie? Then don't go see superhero movies - stick with videogames instead.
Lastly, this is not a movie for little kids. Don't bring them along and torture them with nightmares for weeks just because ya gotta get your Spidey fix & can't find a babysitter.
9 out of 10 -- One star penalty for the soundtrack and sound editing of it.