Very Flawed.... But Has Its Qualities

Rating: 7/10 (13 May 2008)

Ever since the release of Spider-Man 3, I have basically seen nothing but hate and anger over the movie. But this is not a review about how other people felt about it. It's a review about how I felt about it. Spider-Man 3 was one of the most hyped movies of all time. Everyone was so excited about the inclusion of Venom as a villain. And huge hype can often lead to a huge disappointment. But I wasn't really as disappointed as most people were. Sure I felt a little unfulfilled by the end, and it was not really what I hoped for at all, but there was still good qualities to it.
There were still some good fight scenes, which is always good. The Sandman/Dark Spidey fight in the train tunnels was truly awesome, and was one of the high points of the film. The New Goglin fights were good, and the final battle was pretty cool in my opinion as well. Not to mention the always great Bruce Campbell and Stan Lee cameos. JK Simmons was awesome as Jonah Jameson... of course. And of course the special effects are incredible. The best parts of the movie are clearly what came from the original script.
Some of the main problems were the way it was paced, and the way the symbiote was handled. I really didn't want to see Peter spend an hour being a tool. Also, Venom seemed very underused in the movie. I also felt that the characters did not receive enough growth, which was a huge issue for me. MJ's character came across as a little too annoying and Peter didn't seem to behave much like he usually does. And yes, although I like Topher Grace, he was very miscast in this film.
I get really sick of every discussion about this movie, or about the Spider-Man franchise as a whole, always comes back to the scene with Peter dancing. So he danced for 30 seconds, it's been a year, it's time to move on people, it's not worth trashing an entire franchise over, it's doesn't mean you can make dumb personal attacks on Sam Raimi, and it's certainly not worth acting as if forty years of comics was just about a little emo kid. Because that is what I'm seeing. And it has grown old. I am glad that I got to share that.
I don't understand why people say the Spider-Man series is dead. And I don't get all the hate for Sam Raimi. He made two great Spidey movies and on adequate one. I hope that he will direct the 4th with Tobey still playing Spider-Man. There is still a lot of potential for the series, and I can't wait to see the next movie.
All in all, I wouldn't say this was the disaster people are making it out to be, but it still could have been better. I think too many people have bought into the hate and it really stops you from being able to enjoy a movie. People may call me stupid for liking it, but why should I have to apologise for being able to enjoy movies other people can't? It's an awesome trait to have. People with it enjoy themselves a lot more. I like the movie and I've watched it a few times.
7/10