DVDs, Books, Games, and more: May 2007

AndyO review: * *

Metacritic score: 60/100 (mixed or average reviews)

The previous Spider-Man movies set a high bar for Spider-Man 3. Unfortunately the latest Spider-Man doesn't measure up. I've been watching movies long enough to know that a drama or action-adventure film is only as good as its villain. This is precisely Spider-man's problem -- there are four villains in this film:

Sandman/Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church)
Harry Osborn/New Goblin (James Franco)
Venom/Harry Brock (Topher Grace)
Spider-man and the "Dark Side" Spider-man (Tobey Maguire)

Any one of these villains would have been good enough for one movie, but you get the sense that the producers, writer, and director thought with a $258 million budget, more is more. And I suppose, money-wise, they were right. Spider-Man has been breaking box office records that the original film set five years ago (see below for more information).

On the plus side, there are some breathtaking special effects and set pieces, especially with Sandman. And Tobey Maguire plays Spidey with an everyman quality that's always interesting to watch. But conquering four villains in one movie takes time -- exactly 2 hour and 20 minutes of time. And I for one was ready for the fun to be over by 2 hours.

Ultimately, this sequel loses the magic of its predecessors, both of which depended on character and story as much as special effects. With this entry, Spider-Man has joined the ranks of mediocre comic book films.

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If you're into records, here's a list from Box Office Mojo:

Spider-Man 3 ranking as of May 20, 2007:

Yearly 2007 - 1

Yearly Opening Weekends 2007 - 1

Yearly PG-13 Rated 2007 - 1

Worldwide Opening Weekends - 1

Worldwide Yearly 2007 - 1

Foreign Opening Weekends - 1

Opening Day Gross - 1

Theater Averages (Wide Releases) - All Time - 1

Theater Averages (Wide Releases) - All Time - 116