The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Rating: 5/10 (5 May 2007)

While this was easily the least of the Spiderman movies, it's definitely not as bad as some (who I assume were disappointed fans with very high hopes) make it out to be. At least it's no Incredible Hulk or Fantastic Four.
The Bad: While Spiderman did a better job than I expected of tying together three un-connected villains and the obligatory Mary-Jane subplot, the story still felt rushed and choppy, especially toward the middle. And yet, it still managed to drag in parts. The evil/ possessive technology, while given just enough exposition in earlier movies, was introduced sloppily in this one. The dialogue was almost as bad as the tripe in Star Wars episode III at points, and the visuals were equally corny. If they ever have Spider-man pose in front of a CGI American flag or burst out at the end with some trite moral lesson again, I'm gonna puke. Finally, and this is probably just a personal issue, but Mary-Jane was at her most obnoxious and self-centered. May all Spidey-fans forgive me, but I was cheering for Gwen and Ursula for most of the movie.
The Good: Granted, a lot of the special effects were iffy, but they could really be spectacular sometimes. Though I'm sure some found it boring, the scene introducing the Sandman's powers was actually quite beautiful. And while the serious scenes fell flat, those which were meant to be comedic were just perfect, with the exception of...
The Ugly: Tobey Maguire does not pull off Angst. Nor should he ever crotch-dance. Enough said.
In short, as long as you let go of any expectations you had of this being a serious action movie and see it for some mindless laughs, you'll be okay.