Spider-Man 3

Release date: May 4, 2007
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard

Spider-Man 3 could be one of the most highly anticipated films ever. The first two entries were both monumental successes, and the hype machine behind the third has been churning for almost a year now.

When Sam Raimi's sequel proved the first film wasn't a fluke, expectations turned stratospheric for the (potentially) last movie in the series. But expectations can be a bitch. Spider-Man 3 isn't an outright failure by any means, but it fails to balance the fantastical nature of the series with its melodramatic core.

Peter Parker (Maguire) seems to have finally caught a break. He's at the top of his class at NYU, and the citizens of New York have fully embraced Spider-Man as their friendly neighbourhood protector, posting thank-you ads and billboards all over the city. The love of his life, Mary Jane Watson (Dunst), however, is becoming increasingly frustrated with living in her superhero boyfriend's shadow. On the plus side, after a quick fight over the city's skyscrapers, Harry Osborn (Franco) seems to have lost his memory and forgotten about his vengeful persona, thus abating his urge to kill Spider-Man and avenge his fallen father.

Meanwhile, escaped convict Flint Marko (Church), who we find out may be Peter's uncle's real killer, falls into the middle of a particle matter experiment while on the run from the cops. Seeing as dangerous experiments never have detrimental effects on characters in comic books, Marko is transformed into the Sandman, quickly broadening the scale of his petty thievery with his newfound powers.

This Is Quite The Crash Pad
As all this is happening under Peter's nose, his job at the Daily Bugle becomes threatened by smarmy Eddie Brock (Grace). Eddie and Peter develop a fierce rivalry, which comes to a head when mysterious alien goo (yes, another plot device) finds its way onto Spidey's suit and gives him incredible new powers.

By the halfway point, the wall-crawler has to deal with an estranged girlfriend, an amnesiac trying to ruin his life, a giant sand golem, an alien suit that's driving him insane, and a guy trying to steal his job. If this seems like a lot to take in, that's because it is. Even at almost two and a half hours, none of the sub-plots ever feel fully fleshed out, and none of them reach the level they're leading up to during the first two acts of the film. Raimi has simply tried to do too much at once, and in the process forgot that what made the first two films so compelling was that they took their time to establish Peter and the people in his life as fully realized characters.

Maguire still gets the most screen time, and seeing him deal with his new powers make for some of the best scenes in the franchise. Most of film's problems come from the villains. Sandman seems to appear only to spur on Spider-Man's vengeful side, and then he's relegated to smashing things for the remainder of the film. Eddie, who gets Spidey's black suit and turns into Venom, gets very little screen time, mainly serving as someone to fight during the big climax. The obvious parallels between Peter and Eddie are never explored, making you wish they'd just left him out entirely.

Franco's Green Goblin seems to have the biggest arc, but when it reaches its conclusion, you feel like you've just read one of those really bad "What If?" comics, and you'd be happier not knowing the outcome. It would be easier to accept the one-dimensional characters if the movie went out of its way to deliver great action sequences, like the elevated train fight from the second film, but it tries way too hard to get all of the sub-plots out of the bag. This leads to an awkward jolt for viewers, as things instantly shift from melodramatic dialogue to campy fight scenes without any warning.

Considering its pitfalls, it's amazing that Spider-Man 3 is still more enjoyable than most comic book movies out there. To its credit, it doesn't feel as long as it is, because even with a faulty storyline, Raimi still manages to engage the audience. When it delivers the goods, Spider-Man 3 is every bit the high-powered summer blockbuster we've all been waiting for, but unfortunately, it spends more time tangled in its own web of a plot.