The same can be said for both the New Goblin and Venom.  Goblin has his own deep-seated reasons for his hatred of Spider-Man—I won’t give it away in case you don’t already know—yet it plays out sheepishly like an afternoon soap-opera.  Even the resolution of the conflict is so predictable that it lacks any suspense.  Venom, likewise, is given the rush treatment.  He is merely a minor player in the drama that is the life of Spider-Man. 

In retrospect, each villain could have carried a flick of their own.  It seems as if the franchise, in fear of the prospect of the major players not wanting to reprise their roles, jam-packed everything into one—and the audience is the one that is short-changed.

Granted, it’s supposed to be a comic book so maybe one should not take it so seriously.  There was just so much potential for a kick-em-down and drag-em-out superhero flick mixed with a real human drama that one can’t help but be a little disappointed.  One thing for sure—it won’t affect how it does at the box office.

The under-lying theme of all the Spider-Man films has been the inner struggle of Peter Parker to reconcile his powerful gifts versus the responsibility of not only how to use them but how to maintain the relationships of those close to him.  Parker’s sinful nature (magnified a hundred-fold by the presence of the symbiote) desires to manifest itself and, fueled by pride, nearly leads to a total fall from grace.  “It feels good,” Parker says as he admires his black duds.  Of course it does—sin always does. 


“A man has to put his wife before himself." - Aunt May

Even the wisdom of Aunt May cannot persuade Parker to change his path.  When contemplating marriage to MJ, May tells him “a man has to put his wife before himself.  Can you do that Peter?”  His half-hearted answer proves that even he is not convinced.  She also tells him, “Revenge is like a poison.  It turns us into something ugly.”  Such gems can quickly be dismissed as Hallmark-card material, yet they resonate with such eternal truth that they cannot be denied. 

Spider-Man is brought to a point where the only hope that remains is looking upward to a church cross silhouetted against a stormy, gray sky.  It is within the walls of this sanctuary where he “puts off” his black suit and is, once-again, clothed in the familiar red and blue suit of the hero. To top it off, the scene quickly cuts to Parker being “washed clean”—and we know that the cleansing is more than physical.  The symbolism here is striking.  Earlier in the film, Parker said, “You want forgiveness?  Get religion.”  Well, Parker, seems like in Spider-Man 3, you finally found it.  Perhaps the audience will see the light too.  If their heads aren’t spinning (no pun intended) from all the action, that is

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