Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man? More like Can't Keep His Freakin Eyes Dry-der Man! Count it...

But seriously folks, this was one of the weirdest movie watching experiences I've ever been a part of. Let me start from the top. First of all, there really is nothing better than seeing a big, anticipated action/sci-fi film on open night with a full crowd (unless its at the Bridge theater in Philadelphia). I was fortunate enough to see the film in Manhattan's best theater, the Loewe's on Broadway near Lincoln Center. The theater was packed with exciting fans, cheering along happily as we watched previews for every big franchise blockbuster coming out this summer (we got Shrek 3, Pirates 3, Bourne Ultimatum & HP 5, which was definitely the best trailer of the bunch.)

The movie begins with a bang, delivering one of the best action sequences of the whole 139 minutes. And it all goes a little crazy from there. This film has more tone shifts than any movie of recent memory. One minute, we have a cool fight scene in the alleys of New York, the next minute Tobey Maguire is weeping like a little girl, and a minute later, he's doing a jazz dance number in a club. That's right. A jazz dance number. Huh?

This movie is filled to the brim with contrived emotional moments. You know you're in trouble when your lead actor appears on-screen crying and the entire audience erupts in fits of laughter. This happened several times throughout the movie. Every single main character cries at least once, many of them more than once. Spidey cries, MJ cries, the villains cry, Aunt Mae cries-- it's like a Lifetime Movie of the Week. And the audience just kept laughing and laughing.

Yes, the film is still a Spider-Man movie and thus, it is still awesome in spite of its many shortcomings. The action is great, the effects are pretty good, the comedy (when purposeful, such as the great "Evil Spidey" sequence) is genuine, and the tone shifts, while totally strange, do keep the moving from getting boring and keep the film imbued with an air of unpredictability. Also, Topher Grace is great as Eric Brock and the special effects when he becomes Venom are very well executed and make his villainous character very frightening.

The only elements of the film that truly fail miserably are the dramatic/emotional parts. They are horribly forced, horribly acted and just don't work. I dare you to see this movie and not laugh your ass off at these ridiculous scenes. That being said, you should still see this movie. Even with it's ludicrous attempts at drama, the movie is action-packed and a lot of fun for any viewer. Definitely worth the price of admission.

For featuring my favorite superhero, taking tonal risks and having dramatic scenes so contrived that one cannot help but guffaw, I give this film a generous B