Movie Review: Spider-Man 3

4 Nations (Out of a possible 8).

Well, at least it wasn't as disappointing as Superman Returns. Thank God for that.

Oh Sam, what happened with this one? Maybe it's the bar being set so high due to Spidey 1 and 2 (and since I LOVE me some side notes, here's another one: If the Spidey movies were made in the ErwiNation, the first one would have been called "Spider-Man", the second one "The Amazing Spider Man", and the third one "The Spectacular Spider Man" - just like the comic book titles). But I digress.

Spider-Man 1 and 2 were classics, and maybe number 3 suffers in comparison because of this. But to quote my boy Rah-mawn whom I saw it with: "I wasn't feeling that one."

Yes, there was good stuff, don't get me wrong. You know what, I'm just going to take Sean's review and copy and paste his stuff because I agree with most of it (in invisotext of course, as I try to keep my reviews spoiler free. So highlight below to read them, and any comments afterwards in parentheses will be from me).

What Sean Liked:

Tobey Maguire still has Peter Parker down

This was the first Spidey movie that I liked James Franco in (To be fair though, this was the first time he was given the ball to really run with in any of the movies).

Thomas Hadyen Chuch was great as Sandman (Agreed! Captured the moral complexity of the character too. And the sand effects were great - not the cheap The Mummy FX leftovers that was my first impression when I saw the teaser trailer months ago)

Venom looked more like Todd McFarlane's version that I expected (Yeah, I could do without the drooling tongue version myself).

The action sequences were great as always. Raimi knows how to kick Spidey's ass and make it look good.

J.K. Simmons owns J. Johan Jameson (That goes without saying. Ever since #1)

Bruce Campbell's best cameo role yet

Topher Grace, pre-Venom , was probably the best person in the movie

The scenes with Dark Peter were pretty funny until it went over the top (Seriously! They made him goofy as Dark Peter. Dancing in the jazz club? What the hell? And also, who won the Awkward White Man Dancing Award - Tobey for his moves in the street or James Franco doing the twist?)

I won't deny that I smiled at the Green Goblin/Spider-Man team-up at the end.

What Sean Didn't Like:

Explain to me why Bryce Dallas Howard wasn't cast as Mary Jane and Kirsten "Snaggletooth" Dunst was? (Was it just me or did Kirsten look weathered as well?)

So the movie is chugging along and I'm wondering why everyone is whining about this movie and then it happens... the movie suddenly comes to a grinding halt. From the moment MJ and Harry kiss (the crowd actually booed) til Peter rips off the suit, except for a couple of moments (Peter vs. Harry in his apartment and the aforementioned funny dark Peter), the movie essentially stands still.

I'm getting tired of Aunt May's speeches. (Oh leave the old lady alone. It's her role in life)

Who told Kirsten Dunst she should sing multiple times in the movie?

The constant crowd NYC shots with random kid ad libs get more and more annoying with each one. At this point, they are poorly staged.

Venom and Sandman weren't developed enough. Venom particularly seemed sort of tacked on.

Spider-Man lets a criminal get away at the end.

The 15 minute cryfest at the end. I thought I was watching the end of The Return of the King.

Now this part is completely from the mind of Erwin's, not Sean's: Where the f was the Spidey Sense? Yes, Venom is able to disable it, but no way in hell the Goblin should have been able to sneak up on Peter while he was on the scooter. Or a meteorite crashes not too far from him and.. nothing. Or Mary Jane calls him under duress from Harry and... nothing. Or, Harry is watching Peter and Mary Jane on the bridge and... nothing. I think the only time it showed up was when Harry threw the pumpkin bomb at him in the mansion.

All in all, it could have been better. But I guess it could have been worse too. Like I said, it could have been Superman Returns.

Another side note before I end (and more invisotext): That scene when Peter is in class, and the kid behind lets off a spark for some reason - what the hell was that? I am tempted to say Electro hint, but I am guessing there's a simpler explanation.