A fantastic film that surpasses its two originals.

Rating: 7/10 (18 August 2008)

Where do I begin? It's not easy to write a comment after seeing a movie that (due to the special effects almost literally) blew you away. But I gladly do it anyway. First of all, it has to be said that the current IMDb average of 6.5 doesn't give this movie the credit it deserves. It deserves a lot more than that. In no aspect is Spider-Man 3 a disappointment or just a bad movie, not by a long shot. It's a film that will be remembered as one of the greatest superhero movies of all time.
Obviously, the 250 million dollar budget served the movie extremely well. The special effects are simply amazing and go beyond anything we have seen before. But the fact that the film is great isn't only due to those effects. If there's one thing that's indisputable, it's the high quality of the acting. Tobey Maguire again proves his talent and his capability of performing as well as possible in every role he accepts. Knowing that some scenes involve blue screen, it can't always be easy to act like it's the real thing. Nevertheless, he did absolutely great. Like in the previous two movies, Kirsten Dunst is just about perfect as the beautiful M.J. and gave another great performance, just like James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Bryse Dallas Howard and Topher Grace.
Unlike the critics, I disagree that the film would have too many story lines to tell. During the entire film I had absolutely no difficulties with following the story, I even thought the stories came together just fine. Personally I really like the concept of Spider-Man having a battle within himself and also realizing that he is not above the bad people he tries to stop. That's why this is such a good sequel to Spider-Man 2, because in the second movie Peter realizes that he can't walk away from his destiny and that it's the right thing to believe in yourself and in what you are doing, whereas in this film, he knows that his destiny is to be a hero, but he struggles to learn what means he should use to do so. So Sam Raimi isn't only a good director, but also a fine screenwriter.
I'd give this movie an 8.5, but since that's not an option, I gave it an 8. The reason why I haven't given it a 9, is because there are a few (very few) things that I disliked, or I rather had seen them differently. It would have been better if it was explained where the meteor and the symbiote could have come from, although it's clear it's not of this earth, but still. And although I was watching with full enthusiasm when Harry chose to team up with Peter to fight the Sandman and Venom, I thought it was such a shame that Harry had to die. On the one hand the fact that Harry, after wanting to kill Peter for a long time, sacrificed himself for his friend is a very strong concept, but on the other hand it's just a shame that that character had to die. It would have been very interesting, Spider-Man having an ally, and maybe a very small cliffhanger for a possible fourth film. But then again, if Harry hadn't died, maybe the ending wouldn't have been as good as it was now, which was still pretty strong, I think. Peter and M.J. can still find hope and are willing to have faith in each other once again, after everything that has happened. Now that's what you can call a strong ending.
I enjoyed this film very much, and whether or not there is coming a fourth movie, I wouldn't mind if there isn't, because this film was a fantastic conclusion.