Knowing that Raimi had little interest in the Venom character, it's easy to see the fourth act of Spider-Man 3 as a silent protest against the character's inclusion. Exposition fills in all the cracks to bring the action together (be it from newscasters, reporters, or Bernard the Butler), the action is lazily thrown together, highlighted by a bemused performance by Franco on his snowboard glider, and the final resolution not only destroys Venom as a potential foil, but also devalues the Spider-Man origin story. It's an unmitigated mess from a guy who delivered two superior films with much of the same cast, which leads me to believe that he simply didn't care, and possibly decided to just hand over the film's climax to the studio and their notes.

And I see that now. There is good in this movie, but much of it is undone by its flaws. As much as Sam Raimi deserves the benefit of the doubt for what he previously accomplished, he still deserves significant demerits for what he turned out with this effort. Sure he could have made a better movie if permitted to do things his way, but he still should have made a better movie than the one he produced.

Directed by: Sam Raimi

Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, James Cromwell, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons