Awesome action scenes can't make up for sloppy script

Rating: 5/10 (16 May 2007)

Since I wasn't really wowed by Spider-Man 2, I had low expectations for Spider-Man 3, so I can't say I was disappointed. But the overall consensus is correct: this movie was too ambitious for its own good. There's simply too much going on, and as a result every subplot is underdeveloped, especially Venom's story. Of course the action is excellent, I wouldn't expect less from a Spider-Man movie.
*Major Spoilers* First, let me get this out of the way: Venom. Venom is one of the top three Spider-Man villains, and he's reduced to a ten minute role. He should have gotten his own movie. Period. I suspect Avi Arad and Sony pushed Raimi to include him, since nobody is sure if Maguire or Dunst will return.
The movie opens with Peter Parker actually having some good luck for a change. He's happy with his love life and his job, and he finally decides to propose to Mary Jane. Unfortunately Mary Jane gets fired, and Spider-Man really acts out of character when he kisses Gwen Stacy in public. Of course this puts a strain on their relationship, but compared to the first two movies, their problems feel forced, almost artificial. I'm getting the impression Kirsten Dunst wanted a more dramatic role this time around. (Harry later exploits the tension which leads to a very poorly acted scene on a bridge).
Things begin to look more bleak when the Alien symbiote crashes in an asteroid and latches itself onto Peter. Unfortunately, the movie seems to assume the audience knows what the symbiote is already. Not every audience member is going to have comic book knowledge, Mr. Raimi! The symbiote turns Peter Parker into this weird Emo kid, which just makes a mockery of the symbiote's effect IMO. In an embarrassing sequence, he starts dancing down the street like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.
Harry takes on the Green Goblin mantle from his father. While this story wasn't as bad as the treatment of the symbiote or Venom, it was underdeveloped and lazily told, and it is the biggest disappointment for me. Harry conveniently gets amnesia after hitting his head in a battle scene, so the movie can pretty much ignore his plot to kill Spider-Man for half of the movie. Harry just wanders around in the background again like in Spider-Man 2. Harry's story should have focused more on overcoming his father's influence and reconciling with Peter. Instead, Harry only decides to help Peter fight Sandman and Venom after his butler tells him that Norman Osborne was killed by his jet-glider. Not only does the butler have no way of knowing how he was impaled by the jet-glider, but you would think he wouldn't have waited two years to tell him! He would have saved Harry a lot of emotional trauma! Still, the conclusion of Harry's plot is a tear-jerker, and Franco gives a good performance.
The second villain in this movie is Flint Marko, who becomes a corny sand monster that you would expect to see in a Godzilla movie. Raimi tries to make him sympathetic by portraying him as a man who made a few mistakes, but who is now willing to do anything to save his seriously ill daughter. Church gives a touching performance with a contrived character. We find out he actually killed Uncle Ben, but I find it hard to believe the police would keep this information from the Parkers for two years. His scenes are scattered throughout the movie and he just doesn't make a strong impression. He teams up with Venom to take MJ hostage in order to draw Spider-Man out. When the battle is over, he does a complete 180 and acts all apologetic. I'm sorry, but when you agree to help murder people I can't buy your apology!
This movie obviously needed some reworking, but it's not all bad. Its greatest strengths are good action scenes, and some good acting from JK Simmons (always hysterical as JJ). Despite the embarrassing symbiote scenes I described earlier, the scenes where black suit Spidey became angry (especially with Sandman) were excellent.
Unfortunately I think this is the end of the Spider-Man series. MJ and Peter's relationship has progressed as far as it can, just short of marriage. There are few villains left in the archives that can compare to the grand spectacle of Spider-Man 3's villains. Oh well, Spider-Man 3 carries the tradition of third entries in comic book franchises that can't compare to the first two.