Peter Parker has finally managed to piece together the once-broken parts of his life, maintaining a balance between his relationship with Mary-Jane and his responsibility as Spider-Man. But more challenges arise for our young hero. Peter's old friend Harry Obsourne has set out for revenge against Peter; taking up the mantle of his late father's persona as The New Goblin, and Peter must also capture Uncle Ben's real killer, Flint Marko, who has been transformed into his toughest foe yet, the Sandman. All hope seems lost when suddenly Peter's suit turns jet-black and greatly amplifies his powers. But it also begins to greatly amplify the much darker qualities of Peter's personality that he begins to lose himself to. Peter has to reach deep inside himself to free the compassionate hero he used to be if he is to ever conquer the darkness within and face not only his greatest enemies, but also...himself.
Definitely better with a second viewing. I think why this movie "failed" in a lot of peoples eyes were due to the ridiculous expectations set before it. Sure it used one of the most popular comic book characters of all-time, Venom and that's a lot to live up to. For some it's like the Silver Surfer during THE FANTASTIC FOUR. I'm still not the biggest fan of the Sandman and thought they could have easily left it at Venom and the New Goblin. In addition, if they do make a SPIDER-MAN 4 I really can't see this franchise going on without Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi (although unfortunately it might). This is definitely the best comic book franchise ever in terms of the films. Each of these films is great whereas Batman and Superman had some bumps in the road, nothing has slowed down Spider-Man. Hopefully if they do need to recast and continue with another trilogy it'll be just as good as the original!
