Spider-Man 3 (2007)
3 out of 4
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, J K Simmons, Rosemary Harris, James Cromwell
Director: Sam Raimi
Time: 140 mins
Viewed: AMC (Loews) New Brunswick, New Jersey
Third instalment of mega-successful (and mega-budgeted) comic book franchise finds our nerdy webmaster Peter Parker (Maguire) dealing with three different villains: the new Goblin (Franco), who blames Spidey for his father's death; the Sandman (Haden Church), a shape-changing behemoth who in his human form murdered Peter's Uncle Ben; and Venom, a symbiotic organism from space that inhabits the body of Eddie Brock (Grace), a press photographer who resents what Peter does to him. Meanwhile, Peter has relationship problems with his one true love, Mary Jane (Dunst). Hmmm...what's a superhero to do? High-flying adventure is filled to the brim (and perhaps overflowing) with requisite superhero action, drama and humour, though the travails between Peter and MJ seem unnecessary following the conclusion of Spider-man 2. Still, some impressive special effects, a well-paced first half and a satisfying finish to one of the trilogy's main story arcs make up for the melodrama. Not as exhilarating as the original, and a touch less emotional than the second, but in terms of entertainment value, almost as good as the first Spider-man.(c) Joe Wong (5 May 2007)
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