Spider-Man 3 ***1/2
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, James Cromwell
Director: Sam Raimi
Running Length: 2:20
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Things are great for Peter Parker (Maguire). Everybody loves Spider-Man and Mary Jane (Dunst) is starring in a Broadway musical. The only negative is Harry (Franco), who is still angry over the death of his father, and holds Peter responsible. He has found his father’s hidden supply of weapons and is ready to make Peter’s life hell. Meanwhile, Flint Marko (Church) has escaped prison, and while fleeing gets caught in an experiment that turns him into the Sandman. Finally, a parasitic creature from space has infected Spider-Man’s suit, giving him stronger powers and making him more aggressive. Spider-Man must fight enemies both external and internal to save New York and his beloved Mary Jane.

While better than the original “Spider-Man”, “3” is falls short of the greatness of “2”. That was somewhat expected, I think, as “2” did everything right and would be almost impossible to top. “3” has two main problems. The first is length. It is too long, but ironically with all the story crammed in there it almost feels rushed at times. Given what happens in the film, I don’t know what could have been trimmed. This rushed storytelling results in the poor development of Venom. Even unrushed, there are a number of coincidences that have to be accepted to allow for his development, but rushed they really feel forced and unnatural at times. The good news is that the action and resolution of continuing storylines makes the film quite enjoyable. The actors know their characters inside and out, and it is hard to imagine anyone else in these roles after all these years.

“3” isn’t the best of the lot, but it does allow the series to go out on a high note. Or at least it lets these actors go out well. There will certainly be more movies, regardless of Sam Raimi and the cast’s involvement, that is sure. “Spider-Man 3” is a great summer action film, and highly enjoyable despite its flaws. I recommend seeing this film.