A disappointing third entry.

Rating: 5/10 (28 September 2014)

Massively disappointing.
It's so disappointing that it hurts. Spider-Man 3 to me, I like to compare it to an ex-girlfriend of sorts, there are some things that I liked about it, but a lot more things hate about it.
This film tries too hard and tries too much. As some of you may know Raimi envisioned a different film for Spider-Man 3. I can't help but ponder how that would have turned out.
The plot here isn't the real the problem, I was able to follow the story without any confusion. I understood where the story was going, so the basic plot points is not the film's biggest problem. It's the characters and their actions. The first two films have logic and plausibility to every character's actions, in this one there isn't. There's a lot of miscommunications in this film. For instance why doesn't Mary Jane tell Peter she got fried from the play? Why doesn't she just talk to him about it? Why doesn't Harry's butler tell Harry from the first place that his father died by his own hands? Why does Flint Marko(Sandman) willingly join Eddie Brock(Venom) to kill Spider-Man, after he claimed he's not a bad person?
All this was just very hard to follow, and you question why they would make these choices? It was very frustrating to watch. If it weren't for some of the story elements and the cool action sequences, there wouldn't be anything pleasing to watch at all.
Firstly I did somewhat enjoy Maguire's performance this time around. The very first time he puts on the black suit, he was pretty intimidating, taking out Sandman with no mercy, whom he thought he killed. I liked the contrast of personalities within him here and there, beating up Harry and having no problem throwing the pumpkin bomb right at his face, or the scene where he humiliates Eddie Brock for exposing his flaws in front of the whole Daily Bugle staff. But it all went down hill when he had his, not one, but two moments where he can show off his extremely lame dancing moves.
Kirsten Dunst is so hate-able in this film, you'll wonder why anyone bothers to save her, let alone imagine what Peter sees in her in the first place. I guess in a way I have to give credit to Dunst performance because she did a great job at portraying a bitchy and whiny Mary Jane. Rosemary Harris is alright this time around, and J.K. Simmons is always great as J. Jonah Jameson. As for Gwen Stacy, portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard, well she was just a throw away character, didn't care for her at all and that's not Howard's fault.
Now lets talk about the villains, I for one enjoyed James Franco as Harry. I liked the completed Osborn arc we got in this film. I liked the fact he got amnesia and we got to see the Harry prior to his father's death. Granted it's not exactly the way it was in the comics, but I thought it brought something new to the table and was an acceptable change. I firmly enjoyed Thomas Haden Church as Sandman, but I feel as though Raimi tried to rehash what he did with Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus. It has a been there and done that feel. As for Topher Grace who plays Eddie Brock/Venom, well it's a massive disservice to one of Spider-Man's most popular foe. I didn't mind Grace in the role of Brock, I like the contrast between him and Peter, but it was the way they handled Venom. Just not enough screen time to really do him justice, shouldn't have been in the film at all. Although I must complement his overall physical appearance, he looked great.
Spider-Man 2 was too good, and Spider-Man 3 tries too hard to be as good as Spider-Man 2. All Spider-Man 3 had to be was just good, a decent follow-up to the second film. And from the early stages it looked that way. I also stated that the the first film in the series has a bit of a cheesy factor, well in this one it's over the top. There are too many civilians applauding, cheering, and mourning for Spider-Man, out of place cut-scenes of the kids commenting on the final battle at the end, and too many musical numbers. I have the concept art book for this film, and there were so many scenes left on the cutting room floor. Very similar to the Spider-Man 3 video game, it involves Sandman's daughter Penny, Venom kidnapped her, blackmailing Sandman to help him defeat Spider-Man.
I personally thought this was a better way to execute the film cause again, Sandman in the beginning claimed he's not a bad person, and in the theatrical cut of this film he just agrees to help Venom. There were also extended scenes of Eddie Brock heading over to the church and a scene where he sees Gwen after he gets fired, but finds out that she's going out with Peter. A tender scene with Sandman and his daughter where he transforms as a sandcastle with his wife present.
I feel as though Raimi made a mistake cutting these scenes and changing up the climax. What he could have done was cut out all those dancing sequences and put those scenes in.
I don't personally blame all of it on Raimi, but also the studio and the producers who forced Venom and Gwen Stacy down his throat. He does the best he can do and tries to please everyone, but in the end it's a disjointed entry compared to the two superior installments.
5.7/10