Review: Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man 3 is the perfect blockbuster for the YouTube era. Its highlights are brief, light set pieces that could almost stand alone. Then we're back to the main story, too serious for a comic book and lumbering on toward a too-late ending. The special effects are excellent, but more so than the earlier installments, Spider-Man 3 lacks the effect it needs to captivate us: a strong performance by Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. His boyish quality served him well in 2002's Spider-Man, but his character has outgrown him. Maguire has no chemistry with Kirsten Dunst, who plays girlfriend Mary Jane. The filmmakers shove easily made points down our throats and Parker learns the usual hoary Lessons. What works are lighter scenes, such as Mary Jane and James Franco's Harry Osborn cooking to the oldies and publisher J. Jonah Jameson (the hilarious J.K. Simmons) struggling with stress management. They almost make this well-meaning movie well.