Spider-Man 3

May 4 2007 By The Journal

The parting words of Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) to her beau Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) - "Go get 'em tiger!" - at the conclusion of Spider-Man 2 set the scene nicely for this next chapter, in which the geeky photographer prepares to propose to his sweetheart.

Relations with best friend Harry Osborn, however, are as strained as ever.

"I need to explain things," pleads Peter, after the one-time pals meet outside the theatre where Mary Jane is making her Broadway debut.

"Tell my father! Raise him from the dead!" seethes Harry, referring to his scientist dad (Willem Dafoe), aka The Green Goblin, who perished in the first picture.

Meanwhile, escaped convict Flint Markov wanders into a particle physics test site, is morphed into the Sandman and begins to terrorise New York.

Adding to Peter's woes, a black substance from a crashed meteorite fuses with his Spider-Man suit, turning the spandex black and unleashing the dark, vengeful side of his personality.

When Peter tries to escape from the black goo's intoxicating power, he unwittingly infects rival Daily Bugle photographer Eddie Brock and snarling adversary Venom is born.

The verdict: "The greatest battle lies within..." proudly declares the tag-line for the third film in the series.

The greatest battle for Spider-Man 3 lies within Alvin Sargent's screenplay, based on a story by Raimi and brother Ivan, which faces the seemingly impossible task of tying together all the loose threads from the first two films.

Not only that, the third instalment introduces two new villains while keeping the emphasis firmly on the emotional journeys of the characters rather than a blitzkrieg of action set pieces. And all within 139 minutes - the longest adventure of the trilogy.

Sargent's script isn't quite up to the gargantuan task. Bold ambition exceeds the film's considerable grasp and the villain Venom is so peripheral that he could have been cut entirely.

But, while this is the weakest instalment, it still boasts a number of entertaining set pieces, including a spectacular aerial sequence involving Spider-Man and Goblin.