Well, the news is in that Spiderman 3 is breaking all sorts of box office records. Not only did it nab the biggest opening day box office records in the USA, as well as in many other countries, but it looks like it will make $150 million over the weekend, thrashing Pirates of the Caribbean 2.

From the outset, Spidey 3 looked like it could be the best. People were expecting the trilogy to complete the tale of Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, and Harry Osborn. But what wowed us all in the trailers was the image of a Dark Spiderman, that somehow Spiderman turns evil, and has to battle himself as well as enemies new and old. The result, however, is immensely disappointing.

Picking up from the last film, Peter and Mary have reunited. Peter is settling into his duel role as superhero and super-nerd photographer, and Mary has her first major role in a Broadway show. But not all is well in this make-believe New York. Mary is slated by the critics (boo to us!, and Peter is too busy to provide emotional support. Not only that, but Harry Osborn, discovering Spidey’s identity, has vowed revenge and coaxes Mary towards him. Peter himself is feeling the pressure from an upstart photographer who is fighting Peter for a full-time job, as well as discovering that Peter’s ridiculously benign uncle was murdered not by Spidey’s first victim, but by James Franco, a thief with a rather sandy complexion. Plus, a mysterious substance has attached itself to his suit giving him immense strength but also immense moodiness.

I have to confess I’ve enjoyed the Spiderman films. The films explored issues such as Duty Versus Power/ Poverty versus Responsibility, etc. Unlike Superman, Peter Parker is a person we can root for. Plus, Sam Raimi’s direction ensured entertaining action and plots that didn’t take themselves too seriously. Admittedly, Spiderman 2 was too long, but I had high hopes for this film.

The main problem I have with the film is the sheer arrogance of its makers. They are so big-headed with the astronomical success of the first two films, that they feel they can do whatever they want with the third installment. Which is why the film is so long (2 hours, 20 minutes), and unnecessarily so. Much of the character development is drawn out in incredibly dull scenes. There’s a whole sub-plot where Harry loses his memory, becoming Peter’s friend again, only to remember his hatred and return to his bitter ways, which is utterly futile considering its full-circle outcome. Later in the film, Peter tries to show off in front of Mary Jane with a song and dance in a jazz club. Again, we’re subjected to five or six minutes of distraction, and you’ll feel youself desperate to get back to the plot.

Even the comic moments lose their power yet carelessly march on. When Peter starts becoming arrogant, he struts down the street, firing off Saturday Night Fever pointing gestures at passing ladies. Within a second we get that the women are still disgusted by him, but the scene continues, galvanising the idea so much that the joke has sufficated itself and just becomes irritating.

As for the cast, Tobey MacGuire tries to broaden his abilities a little more by crying a lot. It’s only a pity he cries in the exact same manner throughout, making his performance almost robotic. And Kirsten Dunst manages to make Mary Jane Watson a whining little cow with no sense of social duty, and remains almost entirely passive throughout, acting only as Spidey’s damsel in distress for the film’s climax. But it’s the script that is more to blame than Dunst. And Thomas Haden Church is utterly wasted as the Sandman.

With three enemies in the film, Spiderman 3 is completely overwhelmed with characters. Not only does Peter have to deal with his ex-best-buddy, but the film attempts to delve into the Sandman’s background. This is by far the most half-baked story in the three Spiderman films, with his transformation into a sandman left unexplained, and his relationship with his ailing daughter barely touched upon. Sandman could have been a great character but ends up as an excuse for some action and spectacle. The time spent with this nasty should have been used to explore the Dark Spiderman/Venom storyline more, for that itself feels rushed.

There’s plenty of rumours that the Spiderman franchaise will return in 2009, which is quite likely considering the financial success of Spiderman 3 so far. And hopefully Sam Raimi will not be directing, for as much as I respect his imagination, he has become too comfortable and hermetically sealed into his own self-congratulatory world of “Sam Raimi’s Spiderman”, that he lost touch with what Spiderman should be: pure entertainment.