Spiderman 3 - With a awesome mean streak

I want to say I was sucked in by the advertising, but really I just wanted to go prove my point that the Spiderman franchise was a big mistake after the first one. However, I was wrong. This is a great action movie that redeemed all the faults of #2. There are awesome action sequences that, for a change, don't go on for 10 minutes without dialogue or humor. There's terrific CGI that is probably incredibly cutting edge, but is done so appropriately and creatively that you don't think about CGI or special effects, you just think "I wish I'd been there to see that" - in a break with it's predecessors it doesn't feel like you're watching a comic book. And best of all, the movie doesn't take itself too seriously - which is good for a plot dependent on a creature that lands from outer space and a villain created by "demolecularization". There are half a dozen moments that you're not sure should be funny, but they are anyway. Toby Maguire doing his evil dance is probably supposed to be just a moment showing the change in his personality, but it's pretty hysterical, and very well choreographed - very much invoking Jim Carrey in The Mask. And so as not to spoil the end, but since it's a pretty terrific ending sequence (again peppered with funny dialogue and humor, rather than 30 minutes of CGI and Spidey swinging around), let's just say that you'll be satisfied with who dies and who lives. It's a huge improvement over the last one, and a good movie in it's own right.