Spiderman 3 Review

I've been procrastinating posting this review, in hope that I could put a positive spin on one of, (if not the,) most anticipated movies of 2007. Sadly, I could not come up with anything. I happened to be in Victoria, BC for the opening night of Spiderman 3 and caught the 10:45 show at the Odeon Theatre with my girlfriend. (Word to all: for a killer slice of pizza-pie, and a beer, check out their neighbor - The Brickyard. Was food and drink to die for.) For a picture that has a running time of over 2 hours, there sure was a lot of crap crammed in there, and not in any good way. Things start off with a great Spidey feel, but soon start to slide down a slippery slope. With the prospect of 3, count'em 3 villains in one flick, you'd think the action would be non-stop. Sure, the action sequences we do see are spectacular, but don't seem to make up for some of the weak plot points and twists that tie this movie into the previous Spidey flicks. Now a lot of people were slagging Topher Grace for being cast the role of Eddie Brock, who becomes Venom. Aside from his physical build for the role, I think he pulled off the character brilliantly. Cocky, conniving, he sets the stage for his own humiliation which soon after leads him to seek a twisted sort of redemption in a church..........(I hate giving away movies, so I'll stop there.) All in all, it's one of those movies that in my mind, is comparable to Return of the King - when it comes to closure and ending a movie. I wished Mr. Raimi would of shaved down the last 20 mins to about 7, it just seemed to drag it's heels not wanting to end. For all the Spiderman fans out there, who have high hopes going into the theatre for this 3rd installment of our beloved web-slinging super hero, leave them checked at the door or you will leave sorely disappointed if you expect much more that just stunning special effects and action sequences. The substance of story just ain't there folks.