Spiderman 3

*1/2 Stars

Well, it could have been worse...


Right?


Sadly, what was expected to be the strongest chapter in one of the most successful comic book adaptations in history fails to be The Return of the King and ends up more like The Matrix Revolutions.

Now don't worry, it isn't as bad as The third Matrix film, but it certainly does not live up to its hype. Spiderman 2 was the greatest comic book film of all time, so it obviously would have been hard to top number 2, but that's no excuse for this outcome.

The film starts out strong. The very beginning we see him at a play starring M.J, so it is clear that Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. From there, Harry Osbourne, son of the late Norman Osbourne, strikes Peter for killing his father. After this, things start to fall flat.

Parker begins to discover that a mysterious black substance has turned his suit black, and has brought forth a darker side of Parker and Spidey nobody has seen before. Peter begins to give into this new dark personality and starts to abandon the ones he loves the most. Quickly Parker begins a new romance with his lab partner, the beautiful Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard).

A new villain appears. Flint Marko (an inspired Thomas Haden Church), a criminal fleeing prison, is caught in an accident that displaces molecules and is transformed into the Sandman, a new super villain who is able to change his body into any shape of sand he sees fit. When Peter learns of a connection between The Sandman and the murder of his Uncle Ben, he will stop at nothing as Spider-Man to capture him. Spiderman's suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers. It transforms Peter as well, bringing out the dark, vengeful side of his personality that he is struggling to control. Under the influence of the suit, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care for him most. Another photographer, Eddie Brock begins to overshadow Parker at the Daily Bugle. With this dark suit, Parker feels threatened and is unable to control the suit's hatred powers. Forced to choose between the seductive power of the new suit and the compassionate hero he used to be, Peter must overcome his personal demons with the love of his life and two new villains, Sandman and Venom (Eddie Brock).

Watching this, I saw Spiderman 3 and 4. This is a bloated, full of cliche action picture. You will not be bored with this film, but you will leave the theater with a sense of disappointment. If there were less villains and less trying to be funny moments, (along with Parker dancing for what feels like 2 hours with another girl to make M.J jealous), this could have been the Spiderman we were yearning for.