What a Marvel!

Rating: 8/10 (21 May 2007)

Again the power of the characters and stories of Marvel Comics return to the silver screen to dazzle all who dare to behold! Tobey Maguire return as the Peter Parker, and give another touching performance as the human, torn between the woman he loves, the hero, and real life. This time, however, it seems to be working out. He's ready to propose to the love of his life, Mary Jane (great performance by Kirsten Dunst, btw), when the movie starts.
Then a storm of different problems come into his life - getting attacked by his former best friend, and new information on the murder of his uncle (enter Sandman) just to mention a few - which causes him to loose sight of what really matters. The performance by all actors range between good and great, but one really steal the picture: Thomas Haden Church as Sandman, a small time crook turned robber to get money for his little daughters operation (socialized medicine, anyone?), busts out of jail to get the money for the operation.
And again we see Sam Raimi follow in the footstep of some of the greatest of Marvels writers: Creating truly complex and believable characters - heroes aren't always perfect, villain aren't always evil. And not only that: The story allow the actors to show off their acting prowess. So a big thumbs up to the writers and director.
Only disappointment in Spiderman 3 is the addition of Venom. I never liked him - in the comic it felt like he was being added to sell more comics ("omg Venom rox") than to create a believable villain or move the story forward. Unfortunately, he'll probably be featured in Spiderman 4. Having said that, Sam Raimi actually manage to make Venom much more interesting than in the comic books.
All in all, this is a worthy addition to the Spiderman-saga. On some points it's the best, as it moved on from the "Peter Parker torn between love and Spiderman", and showed a Peter Parker older and more at peace with himself. It's definitely the darkest of the three, and that's not in everybodies taste. But I loved it! Hope you will to ...