Overall, not bad... Yet, not very satisfying!

Rating: 6/10 (5 May 2007)

Got to squeeze some time yesterday to catch Spiderman 3. Well, what is my verdict? Let me put it this way. Don't expect too much. All the hype and excitement might make you expect something you might not get. Among the 3 Spiderman movies, I personally still liked Spiderman 2 the best. This third installment tries too much to squeeze so many characters and plot lines into an almost 3 hour movie. Either the Sandman story alone or the Alien Symbiote/Venom story alone should have been chosen to intermix with the love story sequences. Having all of them together felt too much, yet you also feel short-shrifted on how these stories were resolved. The action sequences are exciting, for sure. The Sandman sequences are breathtaking CG. The "hip bad-boy" Peter Parker sequences were funny, yet also very prolonged and repetitive. Overall, not bad, yet not very satisfying.
****Spoiler Alert**** I don't read the spider-man comics. So some details are unclear to me.
What really is the role of Gwen Stacy in the life of Peter and MJ? Her name comes up with fondness when comics fanboys write about Spidey, but her storyline was so wasted in this overloaded film.
Is is really possible that Harry makes a turnaround so the New Green Goblin was able to help Spiderman in that final battle? Why didn't the butler reveal to Harry what he knew earlier? It was so vital.
Was Flynt Marko really responsible for Uncle Ben's death??? Or was this only for the movie?