great addition to the franchise...

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2007)

I know there are a lot of people writing negative reviews of this movie but I noticed in those that many of the authors compared this film to its two previous ones. That's really not an option with this one and, that aside, this movie is good in its own right.
To begin with, the film picks up well from the second one and life seems great for Peter Parker. What the movie does a great job with is showing that every person has their inner struggles and battles. Some we win and some we lose. The story is predictable. That could be a good thing though because the special effects were good in the early action scenes and the evolution of Tobey Maguire's character is visible.
The film's ending left me with something to be desired in that it brought many things to a close but left more questions than answers, especially when it comes to where Peter and Mary Jane's relationship goes. Some other comments have stated this is the last film for this franchise but until there's an official announcement by Sam Raimi I seriously doubt it. There's just too much money to be made off this kind of film.
Beyond the money aspect of it though, with all the bad guys in the Marvel Universe that could go after Spidey, the likelihood for a fourth movie looks good and that's something any true comic fan would smile at.
My last comment on this film is simple...don't expect the grand intro the first film had nor the same love story/character development of the second one. It's a great story of a hero fighting through his own inner battles to find himself and that point is the big sticking point for it.