...is instead one solid, enjoyable, yet uneven and overambitious effort.

"Spider-Man 3" is in no way a bad film. At its best, it is every bit as good as its predecessor in this series. Yet in his desire to cram many characters and subplots into the movie, Raimi is lacking what made the second installment in the franchise one of the best of this genre, and made the first as good as it was (poor scripting aside) - consistent joyousness.

I maintain this easily could have been fleshed out over two films - the new characters (Sandman, Venom, Gwen) all had so much potential I don't feel was totally realized. This is particularly the case for Venom, who was superbly played by Grace.

Nonetheless, I'm pleased for Maguire and Raimi. This is a fine, if somewhat disappointing, effort and this series has brought them enormous dividends - which are very well earned for both of them.

Stay tuned for a special off-season "Tech Support" on the film's sound.