Despite the film grossing over 240 million holding the number one spot two weeks in a row Spider-Man 3 left many fans, particularly the men, disappointed.
With Spider-Man 2 setting the bar high many fans expected director and writer Sam Raimi to live up to this most anticipated film expectation. The entire film lasting about two and a half hours mimics a comic-book soap opera with multiple drawn out story lines, unnecessary characters, jealousy, deceit, and a love story gone wrong.
The main story line revolved around Peter Parker (Toby Maguire) and Mary Jane’s (Kirsten Dunst) love life incorporating three villains, three fighting scenes, a complex story line, and a lot of singing in the mix. During his quest to wed Mary Jane, Spider-Man battled villains Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Venom (Topher Grace), and Harry Osborne (James Franco).
While the first two films explaining how Spider-Man came to be and the struggles entailed with his newfound powers, the third explored the egocentrism revolved around his fame. Peter Parker (Toby Maguire) is faced with relationship troubles and vengeance after finding out sandman is his uncle’s true killer. Then he faces greed when he fights a rival photographer, Eddie Brock, turned Venom, and his own personal demons after a dark alien symbiotic latches on to Spider-Man. Although the film vaguely explained some of the villains and characters such as Venom and Gwen Stacy it failed to explain the transformation of Harry Osborne becoming Green Goblin Jr. leaving Harry lying on his back.
When Mary Jane was not singing and Spider-Man’s alter ego was not dancing there were incredible action scenes, special effects, and cinematography. The Computer generated characters and climactic fighting scene involving all three villains should have been spread throughout the film and not left towards the end. Considering what the Raimi brothers gave the actors to work with, the cast did well in performing their roles and picking up where Spider-Man 2 left off.
The rushed storyline focused mainly on Peter Parker, not Spider-Man’s life, it jumped back and forth between characters causing mass confusion. The action scenes within the film were too little too late leaving the audience to sit through a 2.5 hour Romantic film. Although the film mended the relationships between Peter, Mary Jane, and Harry Osborne and ties up some of the story lines it left many fans wondering what is next.