Is It Bad?: Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Is Raimi's final Spider-Man Film the worst one ever?

Spider-Man 3 is a contentious Film to many people, myself included.

After nearly 20 years, I gave this one another shot.

Pro: We get to see Peter and Mary Jane happy.  They were kept apart in various ways for the last 2 Films.

They are doing well on their own and they are happy.

Enjoy it while you can!

Pro: Harry Osborn's Arc comes to a head, which is a great use of the Film Trilogy format.  He becomes like this Father and tries to kill Peter.

Con: The Plot Point of him getting amnesia is not great for a single Film. 
Like other parts of the Film, having him set up for Spider-Man 4 would have helped.

Pro: The arc of him being Peter's friend is still good though.

Pro: Sandman is a good villain.  I'm glad that technology caught up enough to make him work on screen.

His Arc as a guy who had 'bad luck' and did bad things is good.

Con: Having his Origin tied to a retcon about Uncle Ben's death was a big miss.
There were other ways to make Peter hate him.

Pro: Tobey (as Peter) really commits to the slow, subtle changes to his personality because of the Symbiote.

Pro: Finally introducing Gwen and Captain Stacy is great.
Con: The Film does almost nothing with them, especially Captain Stacy.

If there's a Spider-Man 4 (as there should be for this Plot), they could do more with him.

Pro: I don't hate Emo Peter acting cool.
Con: Every Lead in the Film clearly was auditioning for Musical Theater Roles in this Film.
Dunst sings in the Play and dances with Franco.  Maguire does...jumping?

Con: James Franco.
Do I need to explain this?

Pro: He's honestly decent in this, especially when you're supposed to hate him.  It just feels...natural.

Pro: Venom looks cool and I do like the Arc setting up Eddie Brock as Venom.

Con: This is a great set-up...for Spider-Man 4.

Seriously, set up a villainous Franco and Grace for that Film.  Use another villain- like Mysterio- if you want too.

Just this Arc being rushed is too much.

Pro: The chaotic Final Battle- rushed as the Character Arcs are- is cool.

Con: The aftermath is paced oddly, with a prolonged bit with Sandman and then one with Franco.
It's not quite full Return of the King.

Con: The Film doesn't end with him proposing.  Weird to drop that, no?

What is Good?

The Acting is really good.  Every returning Actor nails their parts here.
J. Jonah even gets some great moments of comeuppance that Simmons plays well.

The Visual Effects are really good here, mostly.  They attempted to blend the Live-Action and CGI Models together.  They *mostly* hold up in HD.

The Character Designs and overall Production Values are great.  Even the new Score is good.

*

What is Bad?

Too much Plot for one Film.  It's the obvious answer.

Pick Sandman and keep the Franco opening bit and return- just save the blow-off for Part 4.  Same with the Venom set-up.

The Film can also come off a bit melodramatic at times.  Raimi and Company have moments of that in other Films, but this one is especially notable.

There are not a million bad things- just a few big ones that define the Film.

So...

Is It Bad?

NO.

The Film is disappointing and certainly a victim of Studio overreach.  Raimi has made it clear that Venom was a Studio mandate.
I just wish that they could have worked things out Plot-wise, because so much of the Film is good!

Like X-Men 3: The Last Stand, enough time has passed for me to look at this with a broader, less emotional viewpoint.  It's still disappointing in the wake of just how great Spider-Man 2 is.