Flawed in some regards, but great nonetheless

Rating: 8/10 (7 April 2014)

*spoilers ahead*
When I first saw Spider-Man 3, I had a very a good feeling about it. It definitely had some parts that didn't quite work for me, but they never seemed that much of a deal because the good parts outweigh them by a good portion. I was well entertained. At that time I would've never guessed that the movie would get so much of a mixed reception that it, in the end, obviously got.
In hindsight: Yes, evil Parker was annoying and portrayed wrong. Yes, the dancing scene was cringe-worthy and Venom didn't get a proper movie-transition. Even the origin of the symbiont seemed stupid and out of place to me - it literally dropped from the sky and that's all you get to know about it in this movie. The scenes with aunt May boarded on kitsch, didn't have as much heart or relevance as they did in the previous installments and how Harry got to know about the truth of his fathers death made little to no sense.
With all that said, I still think people emphasis these things too much as they are just bits of the movie and didn't have that much of an impact on the whole experience it brought me. Where the it shines the most for me is Sand-man. To me he is the heart of this movie. He isn't portrayed as the stereo-type generic super-villain as his intentions are good, but very misguided and misunderstood. From his first scene to the end, I absolutely loved this character because his "human" side was portrayed well and I, to a certain degree, could relate to him. The actor Thomas Haden Church did a terrific job with the role. Also notable: the scene after his transformation where he realizes what he has become, was superbly done.
One other thing I love about this movie is, naturally, the action. These days, and even back then when I first saw Spider-Man 3, I barely get excited with the action of most superhero movies. But this movie is somewhat of an exception. The fights are much fun to watch, mainly because of the many ideas that are in them. It also helps a lot that you can tell what's going on. They are well thought-out and polished. The mix between CGI and the real thing is pulled off great. Sand-man brings a lot to it, even though others are fun too like the first fight with Green Goblin Jr. The hype the movie builds up towards the grand-finale when I was watching it for the first time, was something special to me and I rarely come across that in any kind of movie.
And the ending... I really loved the ending of Spider-Man 3. It's probably my favorite ending of any movie in this genre. It felt just right, was satisfying and ultimately a well-worthy conclusion to the Sam Raimi trilogy. It got a little bit emotional and bittersweet and I absolutely would've loved to see where things would go from there... but we all know what became of that...
While the movie seemed to be overburdened with characters and had too much going on - in the end I think it worked out well for such an huge undertaking. Granted, there undoubtedly are some lose ends and some characters such as Venom or Gwen Stacy didn't by far get the attention or development they deserve, but nonetheless the movie tells an entertaining story from start to finish and the main core of it is still intact and comprehensive. It still has it's underlying messages about life like in the previous Spider-Man movies, even though to a quite lesser degree, but it's still nice. One could only imagine how great this movie could've been if Raimi had freedom with it and wasn't forced by the studio to use this or that, but in my opinion he did the best he could do and that he managed to balance it all out the way he did, is impressive.
In conclusion: what it all boils down to is how much tolerance you have for the flaws mentioned above, because they sure are there. But the movie has also plenty of good things going on and it still retains the same charm as the previous ones. To me it was very much the best Spidey movie when I first saw it and still kinda is (because I see them all more as one big movie) and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.