When Spider-Man 3 first came out, fans generally agreed that it was terrible…a film with too many bad guys and too little plot, clearly an inferior sequel to the previous entry. Now, while the movie clearly pales in comparison to Spider-Man 2 (which is still in the running for best superhero film ever made), I’m here to drop a truth harder than Peter Parker’s dance moves: compared to the modern MCU, Spider-Man 3 is practically a masterpiece.
And if you don’t believe me, it’s time to give this movie from Hollywood legend Sam Raimi a second chance on Netflix.
Spider-Man 3 Has A Lot Going On
If you’ve canceled your subscription to the Daily Bugle (I know J. Jonah Jameson can be a little annoying), you may need a recap of what Spider-Man 3 is all about. Our titular hero is dealing with many issues, ranging from wanting to marry Mary Janes to dealing with a hungry new photographer who wants to steal his job.
But the combined threat of a new villain, an old friend turned enemy, and a freaky alien from outer space means that his relationship and his job might be the last things that beleaguered everyman Peter Parker can afford to worry about.
The Returning Cast
One reason Spider-Man 3 deserves a second chance is its excellent cast. All of our returning players do an excellent job, including Kirsten Dunst as the girl-next-door turned love of Peter’s life and James Franco as a former best friend who takes on his father’s dark mantle. And, of course, J.K. Simmons continues to steal every scene as J. Jonah Jameson, the shallow editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle who is at once comical and, in these strange times, weirdly realistic as orders constant clickbait-style headlines regarding our hero.
New Friends, Enemies, And Frenemies
Spider-Man 3 also brings in some fresh faces that make this warm cinematic universe feel more lived-in. Thomas Haden Church imbues the one-note comic book villain Sandman with more layers of pathos than there is sand on the beach, and Topher Grace does an admirably sleazy job as Eddie Brock, someone trying to bite Peter Parker’s style so hard he ends up becoming something of a web-head himself.
Meanwhile, an impossibly young Bryce Dallas Howard plays Gwen Stacy, and unless you’ve got webbing in your eyes, it’s easy to see how this cute new girl on the block could be a threat to literal supermodel Mary Jane Watson.
The Real Spider-Man
Holding it all together is Tobey Maguire, and with respect to his excellent performances in films like Wonder Boys, he was absolutely born to play our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Another actor would have just repeated his performance from earlier films, but Maguire always finds new depths to his character that make him feel fresh and relatable. Sorry, Tom Holland, but this is the Peter Parker of the comics brought perfectly to life.
Better Than The Current MCU
Speaking of Maguire, fanboys give Spider-Man 3 crap for goofy sequences like when a symbiote-infected Peter does a silly dance number. But after enduring recent MCU fare like Quantumania and The Marvels, I think you’ll find these scenes both charming and refreshing: not only does Maguire get to show off his range, but director Sam Raimi injects these scenes with the fun camp missing from most modern superhero films.
In fact, while this is definitely Raimi’s lesser Spider-Man movie, you’ll find more genuine visual style in even the worst scenes than you’ll find in the best of Marvel’s modern cookie-cutter films (more like “Avengers, assembly-line!”).
At One Time The Most Expensive Film Ever Made
Costing somewhere between $258–350 million to make, Spider-Man 3 was notably the most expensive film ever made when it was released. Fortunately for Sony, that investment paid off, and the movie earned $895 million worldwide. Despite all the fanboy hate, it even impressed critics, earning a 63 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes (which means, like Peter’s dance moves, the film is considered “fresh”).
