Spider-Man 3

After a seven-year gap, I re-watched the third Spider-Man movie, and I must admit it's even worse than I remembered. It's incredibly cliché, and the screenplay is sometimes even dumb. Important storylines here are resolved simply or with an easy twist that's not even believable. The potential of new characters, especially Venom, is completely wasted. It's not a total disaster, but at times, it's not even particularly enjoyable. That’s too bad. Hopefully, The Amazing Spider-Man will maintain a good standard with its future installments. (04/05/2014)

The garishness of the coarsest, er... grain. The longer the film goes on, the worse it gets, and the soap opera-like romantic plot is definitely one of the worst things poor Spider-Man has ever had to contend with. In the scenes where he's supposed to be evil and obsessive, Tobey Maguire shows that he's more good at overacting than acting, and Mary Jane's jealous exit is an ordeal. Yet Sandman would have been a decent villain if he had been given more space, as his birth scene is one of the best ever seen in a comic book movie. Seriously, no irony. Most of all, Spider-Man 3 looks like an attempt to make "something like Tim Burton's Batman Returns" that didn't work. (05/11/2015)

The first two episodes boasted that unique Raimi’s signature that makes me appreciate them as modest little-big movies created out of pure love for the original comics. Compared to them, the third one is fake, pompous and seemingly hungry not for the support of the fans but for a big chunk of money... A blockbuster that is noisier, more megalomaniacal and more sprawling than its two predecessors, mocking itself in a figuratively and emotionally overblown finale that juxtaposes a heartfelt life confession and a tearful J.K. Simmons haggling with a little girl over how much she wants for her camera. Raimi’s direction is still better than good, the action sequences have the proper charge and the illegibility of the main character saves everything, but this is no longer the original Spiderman, it lacks personality and a surprising motif, just like all current comic book adaptations. 65% (07/21/2012)

Sam Raimi has completed the series of his dreams, and even if the whole world berated him for the ending not turning out well, there will always be one comic book fan who will be forever grateful for such a packed finale. In such a complicatedly developed story, nothing had to turn out well at all, and that's why I am even more shocked that, for the first time in his career, this director is perfect for me. The successful and happy Peter swaps roles with his dissatisfied love, and once again, the problems are not merely confined to the superhero realm. Most of us, however, were expecting action, and once again, it takes our breath away. The typical Spiderman villain Sandman, the Hamlet-like Harry, and my favorite, Venom, finally have their moment of glory, and during the grand resolution, all of my nerves and senses remained tense until the very last moment. Spidey's best part and the most amazing farewell to the series that could have happened to the group around Tobey Maguire. (05/09/2007)

My favorite part of the trilogy and apart from Kirsten Dunst, Bryce Dallas Howard is also a nice addition. I have no idea where the mistake was made, but keep the same satisfied audience for five years if they have enough of it. In retrospect, I appreciate many things, including the compactness of the series, the light humor, and the use of a generous number of characters. And I certainly don't feel that there is too much pathos. They’ve taken some of it away compared to the second one, which is much more extreme. And MJ at the theater? A total fairy tale. (02/13/2011)