Spider-Man 3

Director Sam Raimi pulled out all the stops for the third installment of the mega-popular Marvel Comics franchise: Spider-Man 3 is an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink adventure that lacks the emotional resonance of the previous two entries but supplies all the action expected by series fans. This time around Spidey faces not one, not two, but three villains with completely different agendas. There's Flint “Sandman” Marko (Thomas Haden Church), Eddie “Venom” Brock (Topher Grace), and the returning Harry “Goblin” Osborn (James Franco). Oh, and while not exactly classifiable as a villain, there's also a malevolent force from outer space—never explained—which takes the form of an inky goop that attaches itself to a human host and brings out his or her worst qualities. Raimi, who co-wrote the script with brother Ivan, deserves credit for blending these disparate elements into a palatable stew, although he bungles the introduction of Peter's secondary romantic foil, Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard), an important figure in the comic-book saga who deserved better. Series regulars Rosemary Harris and J.K. Simmons make their usual effective contributions as Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson respectively, and Kirsten Dunst reprises her role of perennially endangered Mary Jane Watson, the webbed one's true love. The quick-cut action scenes are every bit as thrilling (and barely comprehensible) as in the first two films, although it would have been nice to see more actual stuntwork from humans and less CGI fisticuffs. While it doesn't spin quite as magical a web as its predecessors, Spider-Man 3 is still great fun. Recommended. [Note: Available in either single or two-disc versions, DVD extras on this two-disc set include two audio commentaries (one with director Sam Raimi, and costars Tobey Maguire, Thomas Haden Church, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Topher Grace, and Bryce Dallas Howard; the other with editor Bob Murawski, and producers Avi Arad, Grant Curtis, and Laura Ziskin, and visual effects supervisor Scott Stokdyk), “Fighting, Flying & Driving: The Stunts” featurette (19 min.), “The Science of Sound” (16 min.), “Covered in Black: Creating Venom” (16 min.), “Grains of Sand: Building Sandman” (14 min.), “On Location: New York—From Rooftops to Backstreets” (13 min.), “Re-imagining the Goblin” (11 min.), “Hanging On: Gwen Stacy and the Collapsing Floor” featurette (10 min.), “Tangled Web: The Love Triangles” (9 min.), “On Location: Cleveland—The Chase on Euclid Avenue” (7 min.), “Inside the Editing Room” (4 min.), “Wall of Water” scene segment (7 min.), seven minutes of bloopers, the music video “Signal Fire” performed by Snow Patrol, photo galleries, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a decent if not spectacular three-quel.] (E. Hulse)