Spider-Man 3 (2007) Review

With less then a week to go to Spider-Man: No Way Home, I have now finished the original trilogy and here is my review for Spider-Man 3. The premise of the film sees Peter Parker coming into contact with an alien symbiote while his life is thrown into turmoil by villains and his complicated love life. 

Main Character

Tobey Maguire is once again back as Spider-Man and unfortunately this is easily his worst performance in the role. He is fine, as he could play the role in his sleep at this point. It is just Peter is pretty unlikeable in this film and the writing for him is poor. Maguire is only doing what is asked but you can't help but think that he doesn't give as much to this film as he does the others. 

Supporting Characters

Probably the best character in the film is Flint Marko/Sandman played by Thomas Haden Church. He isn't just an average bad guy, he has interesting and has compelling motivations that if in a better film could have been explored to a greater length. JK Simmons is once again back J. Jonah Jameson and he is great in his small role here, again I kind of wish he could have been on screen more but he is always entertaining to watch. Kirsten Dunst is back as Mary Jane Watson and this is the film where I couldn't stand her, she is just really unlikeable and the plot tries to make you care but you just really won't. The film focuses way too much on her and her own story and it just doesn't work and she comes across poorly. The same could be said of James Franco as Harry Osborne, he was set up really well in the previous film but he is really wasted here and it just feels like he was an afterthought which is disappointing. Topher Grace plays Eddie Brock/Venom and he is just bad, I think the actor has even admitted he isn't good in this film, he was just horribly miscast in the role. It doesn't help that he is barely given anything to do and feels really tacked onto the story here. 

Story

The film is all over the place in terms of its storytelling. It tries to focus on so much that it ends up failing on the majority of its fronts. You have three villains that are fighting for screen time, romance and action, it has been reported for years that the studio forced Venom into the film and it really shows with this mess of a movie. 

Script

The script also isn't good. The drama isn't there, it comes across as cringe and weak. The charm worked in the previous films to a certain extent but it fails here. The humour isn't there either and really turns the characters into idiots and kind of ruins them from the previous films. 

Style 

The action scenes are pretty decent, in particular the Spider-Man vs Sandman subway fight. The Black Suit Spider-Man looks great and the CGI is pretty effective for a film that came out a long time ago. But the film is paced really badly, again as I complained about earlier, there are too many plot threads to focus on and it messes up with the pacing and tone of the film. 

Overall 

Overall, Spider-Man 3 is a poor film. It is a big let down to finish the trilogy and its one that all involved would like to forget. 

Rating - 3/10