Movie Review: 'Spider-Man 3'

"Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can". But does Spidey's third foray onto the big screen reach the same heights scaled by parts one and two?

We join our eponymous hero in triumphant times: he's got the girl, adoration from the people of NYC and assuredness in his abilities. In fact, everything is rosy in the world of Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), until an alien symbiote transforms his suit jet black, enhancing his powers and drawing out his dark side.

Alienating those closest to him with his new-found arrogance, Peter finds himself fighting not only his own demons but the three most formidable foes he has ever faced: The New Goblin, aka Harry Osborn (James Franco); The Sandman (Thomas Haden Church— Sideways ); and Venom (Topher Grace—TV's That 70's Show ).

The strongest Spidey film yet, Spider-Man 3 features more characters, comedy and drama than ever before. Bigger and better in every way, writer/director Sam Raimi has crafted a flick that not only stands on its own as an excellent event picture but also ties up all story strands from the previous films.

This lends the overall arc an almost Shakespearean quality—without wanting to give too much away, issues will be sorted once-and-for-all between the central triangle of Peter, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and Harry.

Of course, as well as the enduring issues we have new characters, including a rival love interest for M.J. to contend with in the form of beautiful-as-a-blonde Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy.

However, enough screen time is allowed for old favourites to return. Somehow Raimi manages to squeeze in three supervillains, as well as new friends and foes, and enough plot and action sequences to fill at least three movies without making it feel congested.

The head and hands of the Spidey-ship Raimi may be, but Tobey Maguire is undoubtedly the heart. Already impressive in parts one and two, Maguire is magnificent this third time around. Instilling the geeky Peter Parker with nuanced neuroses, when the time comes for the symbiote to take hold and bring out the worst in him (Spidey goes goth – check that evil eye-liner!) Maguire has a field day.

Plot and acting, bah! That's all well and good. But what about the action? For what would a Spider-Man flick be without awesome action set-pieces? And how could Raimi possibly top the tremendous train fight from the Wall-Crawler's previous adventure?

Well, how about by staging four exceptional ruck-and-rescue sequences—Spidey and Goblin chase / Spidey's rescue of Gwen Stacey 60-odd stories up / dark Spidey versus Sandman in the subway / Peter Parker versus Harry Osborn in a Bourne-style brawl—all building to the final four-way superhero smackdown, which is something else altogether.

On the negative side, sometimes the special effects are a little too ambitious, coming off a bit too CGI heavy. Especially apparent during the Spidey / Goblin chase and some Sandman scenes, it's not Mummy Returns embarrassing but jarring nonetheless. Also a little pantomime at times, some scenes may grate as many people as they please, as Raimi ups the humour ante to balance out some of the darkness.

There are so many superlatives one could use to describe Spider-Man 3 —grand, operatic, funny, magical, suspenseful, romantic, exhilarating, amazing, but the one we're looking for here is greatest. And this is what Raimi has delivered: the best webhead movie of the lot. It's an epic ending to a terrific trilogy. Will your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man be back for fourths? One can only hope.

**** (Four stars out of five)