Movie Rant: Spider-man -- where's the balance?

Other countries must be seething in jealousy.

The Philippines' celebration of Labor Day coincided with the showing of Spider-man 3. In cinemas nationwide, there were long lines literally snaking throughout the floor were the cinemas are located.

The movie both delivered and disappointed.

It delivered the nitty-gritty action and suspense, drama and comedy that we love in the first two Spider-man movies. It further reaffirms the action hero's iconic status over other superheroes.

It disappointed in a sense that the movie focused too much attention to one stage of Peter Parker's personality and his tendency to be too self-absorbed in his importance as a hero. In this aspect, the movie fails to give equal emphasis on the villains. There was little screen time to Venom. The movie could have provided a different level of excitement had Venom been given more screen time like Sandman (because in the cartoons/comics that I had watched/read, Venom is probably the most difficult villain that Spider-man faced, but in the movie, it was rather abridged). This is probably the dilemma with movies faced with two antagonists. Had there been only one, it could have provided more 'soul' to the movie like Spider-man 2 (which I believed is so much better because it focused only on a single antagonist).

But this minor flaw was circumvented towards the climax of the movie. Spider-man again returned to his element. And heck, it was one hell of a movie ride.....

And definitely, this is not the end of the franchise, based on how it ends.

Overview courtesy of the Spider-man Official site:
Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers, it transforms Peter as well, bringing out the dark, vengeful side of his personality that he is struggling to control. Under the influence of the suit, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care about him most. Forced to choose between the seductive power of the new suit and the compassionate hero he used to be, Peter must overcome his personal demons as two of the most-feared villains yet, Sandman and Venom, gather unparalleled power and a thirst for retribution to threaten Peter and everyone he loves.

For casts and credits, click here.