There's a scene in ""Spider-Man 3"" near the end when the evil Spider-Man doppelganger named Venom writes a message in a web, ""Charlotte's Web""-style, to our hero telling Spidey to come and get him. This probably doesn't belong in the film and probably wouldn't be seen in the comic, either. It's something straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon. Maybe that's what keeps ""Spider-Man 3,"" the newest installment of the web-slinger's story, from being another masterpiece: It's high on action sequences and amazing visuals but a little short on the emotional depth that kept the first films grounded in reality, even in a comic book world.
""Spider-Man 3"" continues the story of Peter Parker, played again by Tobey Maguire. Peter has finally learned to balance his civilian life and his alter ego, and New York has embraced him. But when Spider-Man finds a symbiotic alien that masquerades as a black costume, it brings out his aggressive, dark side, throwing Peter's life out of whack.
Gunning for Spidey this time are Harry Osborn, who believes Spidey murdered his father, Sandman and Venom, a team of Peter's discarded symbiote and rival photographer at the Daily Bugle.
Maguire is solid, but the most memorable performances are the supporting ones: James Franco as Osborn, J.K. Simmons as Bugle Editor J. Jonah Jameson and Bruce Campbell, star of Sam Raimi's ""Evil Dead,"" who cameos as a French waiter.
Thomas Hayden Church's Sandman might also have been in this category if he were given more time in the film. Though he has a great back story, there just seems to be no time to explore his character further, so Church spends most of his screen time morphing his body into weapons and running from cops.
The action sequences are stunning and the special effects have never been better in any comic book film. ""SM3"" will satisfy any viewer's desire for epic fight sequences and daring rescues.
In reality, ""Spider-Man 3"" could probably be made into two great movies given the amount of content. There are three villains to be fought and numerous storylines to tie up.
""Spider-Man 3"" is a movie where everything is bigger than its predecessors, but rather than create another timeless masterpiece of the genre, co-writer/director Raimi has made a very good blockbuster to start the summer season. Not that there's anything wrong with that; we've just seen that he can do more.
""SM3"" may be the last film with Raimi, Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, and clearly this was meant to be the no-holds-barred finale of the trilogy. But the heart that kept the series strong in past installments seems to have been put second to special effects and some silly digressions, and a lot of the emotional reality of the past films gets lost when things start exploding.
Even in the wall-crawler's comic book past, the core of the story was Peter, who was a real person with real problems, not merely figuring how to beat the bad guys as Spider-Man. Raimi seemed to know that in ""Spider-Man 2,"" but ""Spider-Man 3"" seems more about action.
In defense of Raimi, the film's story is so dense that to have given each character the emotional truth and depth of the past films would've made ""Spider-Man 3"" hours longer than it is. But ""Spider-Man 3"" could have been better than ""SM2,"" not merely bigger.
At its best, ""Spider-Man"" is astounding, incredible to watch and exciting to be a part of. Overall, it's a fun film to see and deserving of the hype. But it never quite takes the extra step to make it special. Hopefully, if everyone comes back for ""Spider-Man 4,"" Sam Raimi will remember Spidey's heart and brains as well as his brawn.
