Review of Spider-Man 3 (2007) by Andrew A — 13 Oct 2015

2 1/2 stars. The real problem with Spider-Man 3 is that it begins in a nearly perfect way, and then loses its focus after about the 1 hour mark. As soon as the black goo (which looks pretty cool, by the way) hooks onto the Spider-Man suit, things become depressingly silly. It's a real shame, because the film thinks that making Spider-Man and Peter Parker into jerks is darkening the film, when in actuality everything gets more goofy from that point on. And that is probably because Sam Raimi really wanted to keep the films comic-booky like he did in the first two, which are two of the greatest comic book films of all time. In fact, Sam Raimi actually only wanted one villian, the Sandman. However, the studio told him that he needed more, and more, and more. Which is what we get here; more, and more, and more, which slowly makes the film less, and less, and less.

Sam Raimi is an incredible and highly focused director. Any film fanatic can tell you this. But what happened here is he was forced to do more than he wanted. However, he gets a screenwriting credit, no doubt because he didn't want the Sandman being ruined. And he isn't. The Sandman is a relatable villian with a surprisingly human side and a cheesy but shockingly effective backstory. The other villians, however, are not as well done. Venom is destroyed in translation here, mainly because he doesn't get near as much screentime as he deserves; however, his backstory is given plenty of time. Also, the new green goblin is pretty cool, and offers probably the movie's best action scene (about 20 minutes into the film). Although the tension has been building up the whole trilogy, a sudden decision to change about 15 minutes in with no explanation seems a bit forced.

Anyways, it must be said that after the 1 hour mark there is plenty of memorable imagery (mainly involving the black suit) and some hysterical comic relief. However, the film begins in a near perfect way. It is a little bit more focused than the rest of the film, and features relatable storylines, such as Peter's ego and Mary Jane's singing career and Gwen Stacy causing a riff between them. Also, the Sandman backstory is told fantastically well. But what really sets this first act apart from the other two is the action sequences. The first hour has not one, not two, but three of the most entertaining action scenes in recent movie history. Each one is exciting, suspenseful, and offers great special effects. After that there is an entertaining enough fight in the subway, which serves more as a plot device anyways, and the climax, which is just AWFUL. It is so lame and doesn't do near justice to anything that came before.

Ultimately, this is a highly entertaining film, with the first act being the best act in the entire Spider-Man trilogy. However, with a lack of focus, Michael Bay-esque overcrowding, and the studio's reluctance to accept Raimi's ideas for a tighter and more focused film, Spider-Man 3 becomes a mess.