Another poster said it first,but it's too true

Rating: 7/10 (1 December 2007)

Someone else wrote about this movie that it was(and I'm paraphrasing BIG time here,but bear with me)adequate,entertaining enough but far from the best of the Spidey films. I wish I could add something better,but I feel like that sums this up.
Now popular and practically the alpha-male,king of the city,Spidey sails about the city practically posing for photos,signing autographs and (last but not least)saving people and thwarting crimes. Peter PArker(Tobey Maguire,still trippy,bug-eyed and youthey. Ahh,some things never change!)can't complain,either:he's the star photog for the newspaper and his love life with longtime flame Mary Jane Watson(Kirsten Dunst,as creamy-skinned and sweet as before)couldn't be better. That's all about to change as a mysterious glob of protoplasm invades his life,turns him into a darker,edgier character with stronger,meaner urges and instincts,virtually alienating everyone he knows and making him a much less personable and friendly neighborhood hero. As this is all happening,an escaped con(Thomas HAden Church)somehow ends up being transformed into a nearly impervious super-villain called SAndman,and his connection to Peter will eventually have him coming to a dangerous head. All this,while a weaselly,ambitious rival photog(Topher Grace,probably doing the most dynamic acting here)finds himself at the point of trying to destroy Parker by any means possible.
Director Sam RAimi has this on auto-pilot,and the result is something that has the visual and overall quality of the film to pretty much match the previous two offerings,but overlong,over-loaded with villains and plot contrivances(a possible romantic device involving Bryce Dallas Howard as the bubbly, vivacious police CAptain's daughter seemed a bit much,and James Franco's return as Harry seemed to be somehow squeezed out in the plot,which is wrong),this movie pretty much unhinges the energy and campy fun of the previous two movies.
At this point,I'm not sure how(if at all)the Spiderman franchise is going to carry on. I have no doubt it will,but it will be interesting to see if the principal players(THe RAimis--Sam and co-writer Ivan--,Maguire,Dunst,Rosemary Harris as durable Aunt MAy,the awesome J.K. Simmons as JAmeson,Bruce Campbell,etc.)will want to continue this series,and how it will look. For now,anyway,I guess one has to enjoy this movie as a part of the totality of the trilogy,and resign themselves to this movie being somewhat of a letdown. A sometimes breathtaking,energetic and visually stimulating letdown,to be sure,but a letdown all the same.