Spiderman 3 (2007)

A third installment in the franchise, Spiderman continues to attract considerable adoration from the inhabitants of New York. He is an icon, a role model, and a hero. Peter Parker, on the other hand, is facing an easier road unlike before, now that he can do well in his studies.

Just like the second movie, the opening credits show us the brief clips of events that took place previously; only this time it recollects events in the first and second installments. In addition to that, they are accompanied by images of sand and ink, a little giveaway to the audience that there are some new villains to watch out for. If any movie were to incorporate footage of previous events, then anyone watching a sequel would be kept up to date.

So now Mary-Jane Watson knows that Spiderman is Peter Parker, and she can understand him better. This movie now decides to give her a story, so that we can engage with her as she experiences the hurdles of her own. Anyway, she has moved on to a show as a singer, and she believes her dreams have come true after her last debut in the second movie. But her dreams do not last much longer as a result of a review; one review in scores of newspapers, and she is laid off from the show. She feels let down and dejected, and we can see her relegated back to square one from the first movie.

Of all the three movies, this one incorporates three villains: New Goblin, Sandman, Venom. If you have studied closely, you will realize that the media does not even bother to name Venom or New Goblin but the Sandman. So you would only know their names if you have studied the source materials.

Harry Osborne is New Goblin; he is still driven to avenge his father even though he was strongly opposed to hunting down Peter (whom he knows as Spiderman). So his motivation is something to debate on. Perhaps since his company has gone bankrupt, he has nothing else to focus on than to avenge his father's death.

Flint Marko is a convict that has broken out of prison. He was implicated of the homicide of Peter Parker's uncle, Ben. Before I dwell on this character I must be frank that this goes against everything we know: the man who robbed the gate-man at the wrestling center is the only suspect to have committed the crime. But this movie decides to change that so that the robber was just an accomplice who wanted nothing more than to drive away with the loot, and that Marko is the one who killed Ben Parker. Even the animated series of the 1990s was more faithful and did not include Flint

Marko/Sandman. (Then this must explain why his accomplice was screaming "Just gimme a chance! Just gimme a chance!!") So what does Marko do when he turns into the Sandman? He just wants to steal money for his sick daughter, even if his wife stands against his escapade. This drives him to do "good" for his little girl, while trying to ward Spiderman off! If this is the case, why don't they just talk? A man with no true motivation for villainy should not even be considered.

There are some plot holes in this story that I cannot miss. The first is where after the security van topples Flint flees the crime scene instead of waiting for Spiderman to leave before absconding with his loot. That was an easy opportunity that he squanders to save his daughter, and for the writers to spare some dough. The second is where Bernard reveals the truth about Norman Osborne's death, even though we the viewers are already aware of the events of the first film where he was not present at the time Norman/The Green Goblin tried to kill Peter/Spiderman. The third is where Eddie Brock/Venom knows about Marko's daughter even though there is no scene explaining this. This scene was deleted because it must be considered a subplot. These plot holes are costly, and the budget could have been smaller if not for convoluted writing.

Something should be noted: Eddie Brock was a worthier candidate for the symbiot unlike Peter Parker because of the predicament he created himself. We have already learned how revenge drives one into villainy, and the symbiot taps into one's negative aura and thrives on one. The symbiot enhances various abilities, but it feeds on hatred and malice, hence the name Venom.

This movie is not all that bad. Its action scenes are to die for, and it gives a female character more screen time and a story of her own. It still suffers from too many villains and excess writing and thus a convoluted plot. Despite these shortfalls, this movie still grossed the most money of the trilogy. My rating: 7.2/10