Good movie but does not match the caliber of the first two films

Rating: 7/10 (17 June 2007)

I do not want to call this film the worst of the spider-man films because I say the same thing when I say Batman and Robin was the worst of the Batman Films. And this film is in no way comparable with Batman and Robin. Spider-man 3 is a good film but does not match the caliber of the first two films.
Tobey Maguire (Peter Parker) and Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane) return in the two big roles with OK performances. James Franco returns in his best performance of the three films. He portrays an angry, distressed, and loyalty-torn character. It is truly a solid Harry Osborne character and I give compliments to Mr. Franco for doing so well in this third installment. Thomas Haden Church did an awesome job as Sandman. I was very happy with the Sandman character and the way he was created in the story. I loved watching him fight and the visual effects done on Sandman were outstanding. Some of his powers seem to be exaggerated but his character is great. Topher Grace as Eddie Brock and the new big villain, Venom! I would say Grace does a good job with the Venom character created for him. I still disagree with the Venom/Eddie Brock characters they created in this film. He is too cocky, too arrogant, and too much of a "wimp". Although looking at this as just a film, he does a pretty good job. OH, and Bryce Dallas Howard is in this film as Gwen Stacey. Although her role is of no importance, it simply enhances two factors in the film. That is all her character does, she plays no critical/event changing role.
Although I would say this is the darkest and grimmest Spider-man film (which I liked, this film had almost a different feel for it than the other two), it is also the funniest. J.K. Simmons (J. Jonah Jameson) returns in his hilarious performance as usual and Bruce Campbell delivers yet another hilarious cameo. Even Topher Grace is funny at times (in a sick sort of way). So although the film is dark and grim, there is still some good comedy in it.
This film tries to fit a lot into a movie. They overflow the film with a lot of new characters who need introduced. Overall, they do an OK job but it could have been handled better. So it should be fairly enjoyable as a film with entertainment and a good/solid/overrun story. You will notice the tag-line for this film, "The Battle Within." I do not want to give away anything so just think about that line. Peter is obviously going to be torn apart by perhaps someone or something(?). The story revolving around "The Battle Within" is fairly good for a movie goer not judging the movie on its comic book characteristics. I think some of the effects are too "video-gamish" in this film. They are almost completely recognizable as fake. The best fight sequences are in this film which should be obvious since he is battling three villains.
Spidey, you have completed an excellent trilogy up to this point. This third installment is a good film. Maybe not the best way they could have gone out, but it was certainly good enough. A must see for anyone who enjoyed either of the first two Spider-man films.