Go Get 'em Tiger: Spiderman 3 Review

Beware the law of sequelitis, the unwritten manifesto dicdating that in order to be a sequel, one must be bigger, badder, with more explosions, more cgi, and more kitchen sinks to top the previous installment! The first movie to usher in the summer movie season, Spiderman 3 is a little overstuffed with some uneven parts, but overall another entertaining spectacle that is a summer movie sequel.

Peter Parker comes full circle this movie, embracing himself as the icon that the public has made Spiderman out to be, who he could become if he didn't take control of his life, while Mary Jane Watson is a struggling actor hoping to land that gig into stardom on Broadway. Harry Osborn is back, still with that asteroid size chip on his shoulder, mad that Spiderman killed his father, or so he believes. On top of that, a little venom goes a long way.

For most of the movie, the characters are in fact well acted. Tobey Macguire has got the nerdy Parker/Spidey act down to a tee, Kirsten Dunst is the sweet love interest who stands between 2 best friends. The story plays out like pages out of a comic book. There also is an unexpected amount of comic relief, some intentional, but doesn't detract too much from the movie, in fact had the theater cracking up pretty bad.

With a runtime of 2 hour 20 minutes, the movie is indeed long, with not one but three villain/pseudo-villains each trying to take their shot at our webslinging hero. It seems a bit bloated with different plot threads that eventually collide in the obligatory climactic grand finale of a third act where all heck breaks loose and things start getting destroyed and mayhem ensues requiring the requisite intervention of our protagonist.

There is a lot of action, and it is for the most part well done and exciting as the camera swoops in every kind of angle imaginable to capture the action. CGI is used a lot of course, though some shots do seem rushed and not as real as other movies. Perhaps this is intentional with the comic action, which is forgiveable.

All in all, Brothers Raimi have crafted another decent installment of the friendly neighborhood Spiderman. Hey, it was a lot better than X-Men 3 and it's guaranteed to make oodles of money in the box office.