Better than people say, but . . .

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2008)

Still not quite there. Spiderman 3 is a good movie that holds up well against the others. You won't be blown away, but you will be entertained. Nevertheless, most fans of the movies and the comics will see that the potential for an excellent movie was wasted, which leaves the above average experience tainted with a tinge of disappointment.
But let's start with the basic plot. Spiderman is a celebrity now. Adored by legions of fans. But he has allowed this to color his relationship with his one true love, MJ (I personally never much cared for the character or Dunst in the role). And of course, Harry Osborne, his one-time best friend, still intends to kill him. The villains this time around are Venom, and the Sandman, the former is wasted, and the latter overused here.
The problem with the plot isn't the presence of three villains as many have suggested. It's the presence of too many story lines. A cohesive story could have been weaved around Harry Osborne, Eddie Brock, MJ and Parker. But the addition of Sandman just throws the whole thing apart. The Sandman just wasn't necessary here. I personally never found his character that compelling, and it doesn't improve with this incarnation. Thomas Haden Church doesn't give a bad performance by any means. He does very well. But it just doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the movie. Church gives so good of a performance that you almost forget we get very few scenes that explain his motivations. What exactly is his motivation for teaming up with Venom? I still don't understand. It would have been better to concentrate on the most entertaining spidey story, the black-suited Spiderman and the rise of Venom. Harry's story could have been given more credence without the Sandman as well. Both of those ideas are enough for one film.
There are also too many ridiculous moments. Comic books aren't exactly realistic, I know. But even they maintain realism within their own set of rules. There are just too many moments that conflict or make you cringe. The most obvious is the idea that the Sandman suddenly turns out to be Uncle Ben's real killer. His transformation at the beginning also makes little sense. Then there's the soap opera scenes between MJ and Peter. Harry's sudden amnesia is hard to swallow. The first half of the movie had a less than Spiderman feel to it. And then there's the fact that the most villainous thing Peter Parker does while under the suit's control is a bad jazz routine. Topher Grace is also wasted in a surprisingly good performance as Eddie Brock. His character's development isn't given nearly enough screen time. James Cromwell's presence in a useless role is also perplexing.
But all of these negatives sound worse than they are. The film is still very very good. Don't let those criticisms fool you, there are enough surprising twists, and epic battles to bring out the geek in all of us. It's just that there are enough of these excellent moments to make you realize there could have been so much more.