Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man 3 The plot here tries to cram a bit too much into the 2 1/2-hour running time: Peter Parker is on top of his world, about to pop the question to love-of-his-life Mary Jane, who has just scored a gig in a Broadway musical. But storm clouds loom on all horizons and roll in for a very disharmonic convergence for Spidey. The dude who whacked his uncle gets shape-shifted, his rival for a post at the paper stumbles across a very useful tool and erstwhile friend Harry still has some serious issues, and the means, to make Parker’s life suddenly more miserable. Then there’s a nasty blob from outer space that begins to amplify Parker’s dark side. What bumps the film up a notch is Raimi’s use of the alien symbiote to draw a parallel to the allure and power of substance abuse, albeit not exactly subtly. But then, that’s probably what works against the film for the target demographic: Here, Raimi isn’t afraid to add adult themes and musings to his comic-book material. Some of what he explores is either going to be missed or met with outright resentment by the folks who still live in the basement of their parents’ houses.