An enjoyable film, but not without flaws

Rating: 6/10 (10 May 2007)

What made the first two Spider-Man movies so enjoyable was the extent to which they stuck to the overall feeling of the comic books--the schmaltz, the fun action, and the somewhat cheesy dialogue. And while Spider-Man 3 is enjoyable as well, where it ultimately fails is in trying too hard to capture that essence--and in trying to do too much.
The beginning of the film finds Peter in a rather good place. The city loves him, things are going great with Mary Jane, and he's doing well in his physics class. But things go south rather quickly when Mary Jane starts to feel under-accomplished next to him; Harry decides to go on a murderous revenge streak; there's a new photographer at the Bugle named Eddie Brock; and, to top it all off, the guy he killed in the first movie didn't actually kill his uncle. Have I lost you yet?
That's not to say, however, that Spider-Man 3 feels cluttered. It just feels underdeveloped. In the previous two movies we had villains who had interesting backgrounds with lots of exposition. Here, the villains are kind of left to the wayside. All that matters is that they exist. Which is a shame, considering how well-cast both parts were.
Continuing the tradition of the previous two Spidey flicks, this movie is beautifully cast. In the first film, we had Willem Dafoe playing essentially two parts. In the second movie. Alfred Molina captured the quiet genius and complex menace of Doc Ock. In this movie, we have Topher Grace, who does surprisingly well as the brash, arrogant Eddie Brock. And Thomas Haden Church takes what little exposition is given him and creates a truly multi-layered villain. Then there's Bryce Dallas Howard, who--while a bit underused--is a perfect Gwen Stacy.
Enough cannot be said about the effects in this movie. It is easy to see where the money went. It is virtually impossible to tell when Spidey is CGI vs. real (ignoring, of course, the impossibility of some shots). Some of the camera-work is incredible; it is rare to see a director who can make some scenes that are disorienting yet still easy to follow.
But where Spider-Man 3 ultimately falls short is in its trying to do too much. There's too much of the comic book cheese; too much story; even too much action, perhaps. But the film is still extremely enjoyable despite its flaws, and it is head and shoulders above some of the travesties put out by Marvel in recent years (Fantastic Four, Daredevil, The Hulk). Do yourself a favor and see this movie for what it is--an enjoyable conclusion to a well-done trilogy.