There are quite a few movies that I would personally as "perfect," and Spider-Man 3 has always been one of them. It's had a reputation as the weakest of the Spider-Man trilogy, but I've considered it to be the best film in the series ever since I saw it in theaters in 2007. With excellent performances across the board, tons of well-executed action, wonderful characters, and a dark, engrossing story, Spider-Man 3 fires on all cylinders to conclude this series in spectacular fashion.
Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) has finally managed to find a balance between having a normal life and fighting crime as Spider-Man. He's happy in his relationship with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) while also receiving the praise he deserves as New York's masked crime-fighter. But then he comes into contact with a mysterious alien substance called a symbiote, which turns his Spider-Man costume black; the upgraded suit makes him stronger, but it also amplifies the darker aspects of his personality. At the same time, Peter now has to contend with three villains: his best friend-turned-foe Harry Osborn (James Franco), AKA the New Goblin, Flint Marko AKA Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), and Eddie Brock AKA Venom (Topher Grace). Other main cast members include Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy, James Cromwell as George Stacy, Rosemary Harris as May Parker, and J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson.
All of the returning actors give it their all in this movie. Maguire has always been fun to watch, but it's great to see him play the more violent and unhinged Spider-Man as well as the uninhibited Peter. I've seen complaints about his "Peter the badass" scenes being ridiculous and cringe-worthy, but....that's kind of the whole point, man. Plus, this version of Peter Parker has always been a little goofy, so it really doesn't bother me. Kirsten Dunst gives her best performance in the trilogy, as Mary Jane begins to wonder if her relationship with Peter is the best thing for her. James Franco also delivers a strong performance as the conflicted Harry, torn between revenge for the death of his father and his friendship with Peter.
Another complaint that's come up about this film is that it has too many villains. Well I don't know about you, but I think it does an amazing job of juggling all the baddies. They all get plenty of screen-time, and they're as developed as they need to be, plus they're all connected to Peter in meaningful ways. Harry has his previous film appearances to fall back on, Flint Marko turns out to have a major tie to Peter's past, and Eddie Brock is Peter's rival at the Daily Bugle who wants payback for "humiliation." And Church and Grace do a really good job with their roles. Marko is portrayed not as an outright villain, just a man who wants to do the right thing but going about it the wrong way. This movie also gets harped on for its portrayal of Eddie/Venom, but I think it was a good idea to give Peter an enemy with a more straightforward motive: wanting to be better than him.
Whatever your issues with the many plotlines, you can't deny that the set pieces are really entertaining to watch. There is some noticeable green screen, but by and large the visual effects still hold up. The Sandman effects are creative and lead to clever maneuvers, the Goblin tech is sleek and pretty to look at, and the Venom symbiote is a beast of a villain, which all those teeth and that slimy tongue. The final battle is among my favorite finales in any superhero movie; of all the original Spider-Man films, this one has the best action.
It's always interesting coming back to this trilogy after so many years in the current film climate; the year after this movie's release, Marvel Studios would release Iron Man, launching the MCU and helping kickstart the current superhero craze. In that way, this movie can be seen as the end of an era, the era before interconnected film universes. But I'm glad that we at least got this trilogy to keep watching for years to come.
