Review Date: April 24th, 2022

Ah, Spider-Man 3. It’s the 3rd & final installment of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man franchise. It received mixed reviews, because some people didn’t like the movie’s jam-packed story, the lack of screen time for Venom, too many romantic misunderstandings, the unreleased soundtrack, too many villains, some of the acting, too many subplots, & not meeting up to its expectations. The 3rd film takes place about a year after Spider-Man 2 (2004), where Peter Parker is about to prepare his future for Mary Jane. Suddenly, an alien symbiote with black goo bonds with him as he faces 3 villains, the enemy within himself, & gets caught up in a love triangle. But anyways, let’s get down to the review.

CAST:

Tobey Maguire - Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Kirsten Dunst - Mary Jane Watson

James Franco - Harry Osborn/New Goblin

Thomas Haden Church - Flint Marko/Sandman

Topher Grace - Eddie Brock/Venom

Bryce Dallas Howard - Gwen Stacy

James Cromwell - Captain George Stacy

Rosemary Harris - May Parker

J.K. Simmons - J. Jonah Jameson

Dylan Baker - Dr. Curt Connors (not the lizard) 🦎

Willem Dafoe - Norman Osborn (cameo)

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!

1 year after the death of Doctor Octopus, Peter Parker plans to propose Mary Jane, who has made her Broadway musical debut. But somewhere around Central Park, a meteorite lands near them, & a black alien symbiote follows Peter to his apartment, attaching to his motorbike. Harry Osborn, knowing that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, seeks to avenge his father’s death. He battles Peter Parker, while using his father’s Green Goblin technology, & performance enhancing gas to an eventual stalemate, developing partial amnesia.

Meanwhile, an escaped convict named Flint Marko is on the run from the police after he visits his wife & sick daughter. Falling into an experimental particle accelerator that fuses his body with the surrounding sand, Flint Marko gains the ability to control & reform his body with sand, becoming the Sandman.

During a festival honoring Spider-Man for saving Gwen Stacy’s life, Peter Parker kisses her to please the crowd, angering Mary Jane. Shortly after, Flint Marko robs an armored truck & escapes after defeating Spider-Man. Sometime after, the Captain of the New York City Police Department named George Stacy (Gwen’s father) informs Peter & Aunt May that Uncle Ben’s real killer is Flint Marko, & the carjacker from the 1st movie was Flint Marko’s accomplice. That seems to be a plot twist though. However, plot twists are meant to surprise the audience though.

Back at his apartment, Peter Parker is sleeping in his Spider-Man suit, while waiting for Flint Marko to come out of hiding. Then, the symbiote enters the suit. Shortly after, Peter Parker wakes up on top of a building, & discovers that the symbiote has colored his suit black & enhanced his powers. However, it also brings out the dark side of his personality as well. But in my opinion, it was very cool to see Spider-Man’s suit become black. But as time passes by, it could affect your social life, your behavior, your grades at school if you’re a student, & possibly your workplace as well.

Shortly after, Spider-Man finds & fights Flint Marko in a subway tunnel. Discovering that water is Sandman’s weakness, he opens a pipe, releasing water that reduces Marko to mud, & washes him away.

GOOD RIDDANCE!

Peter Parker’s changed behavior alienates Mary Jane, who also received negative reviews from critics. She shares a tender moment with Harry. But she regretfully leaves. Urged by a hallucination of his father, Harry recovers from his amnesia, & forces Mary Jane to break up with Peter Parker.

Meanwhile, Harry Osborn meets up with Peter Parker, & tells him that Mary Jane loves him. Under the influence of the symbiote, Peter confronts Harry, & spitefully claims that his father never loved him. As Peter leaves after a fight, Harry throws a pumpkin bomb at him. But Peter deflects it back, disfiguring Harry's face.

At the Daily Bugle, Peter exposes Eddie Brock, whose fake photos incriminate Spider-Man. But J. Jonah Jameson fires him, & promotes Peter to staff photographer.

Shortly after, Peter Parker takes Gwen Stacy to a jazz club, where Mary Jane works now. In an attempt to make her jealous, he interrupts Mary Jane’s performance, & dances with Gwen in front of her. She realizes this, apologizes to Mary Jane, & she leaves. After attacking the bouncers & accidentally hitting Mary Jane, Peter realizes that the symbiote is corrupting him, & he leaves the jazz club.

Retreating to a church's bell tower & realizing the sounds of clanging metal weaken the symbiote, Peter Parker removes the symbiote out of his body. Eddie Brock, who is at the same church as Peter, becomes the symbiote’s new host, & becoming known as…

VENOM!

As Venom, Eddie Brock locates a still-living Flint Marko, & convinces him to join forces so that they can kill Spider-Man. Shortly after, Eddie Brock abducts Mary Jane, & holds her hostage from a web at a construction site, intending to kill her as payback for Peter ruining his life, & taking Gwen Stacy away from him, while Flint Marko keeps the police at bay. After Harry refuses to help Peter, Harry's butler reveals that Norman Osborn’s death was not Spider-Man's fault, because the blade that pierced his body came from his glider. But there was no question that he died by his own hand.

While Eddie Brock & Flint Marko pin Peter Parker down, Harry arrives in the nick of time to help Peter & save Mary Jane. Eddie Brock attempts to impale Peter with Harry’s glider. But Harry Osborn jumps to rescue him, & gets impaled instead. Remembering the symbiote’s weakness, Peter Parker assembles a perimeter of metal pipes to create a sonic attack, weakening it & allowing Peter to separate Eddie Brock from the symbiote.

Then, Peter Parker activates a pumpkin bomb, & throws it at the hostless symbiote. Eddie Brock, who really likes the symbiote’s influence, attempts to save it. Peter Parker tries to stop him. But both the symbiote, & Eddie Brock are vaporized.

Shortly after, Flint Marko explains to Peter Parker that the Uncle Ben’s death was unintentional, & that it had haunted him, & that everything he did was to help his daughter. Then, Peter Parker forgives Flint Marko, allowing him to escape peacefully. As the sun rises up, Peter Parker & Harry Osborn reconcile before he dies from his injuries.

After Harry Osborn’s funeral, Peter Parker visits Mary Jane at the same jazz club from when he danced with Gwen Stacy earlier in the film. They embrace, share a dance, & they start to rekindle their relationship.

THE END (with no final swing)

Spider-Man 3 (2007) isn’t as good as the 1st 2 though. But I enjoyed it. However, it didn’t meet up to its expectations in some ways according to the director though. However, a superhero movie doesn’t have to be as accurate to the comics though. But I was able to understand its jam-packed story very well, & it was very cool to see those villains onscreen. Really good movie though.

OVERALL: 8/10

End of Review