Just your friendly neighborhood Spiderman...

I have only just returned from a sold out showing of "Spiderman 3"...

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This movie could also have been called "Peter Parker Goes Emo"... or "Spiderman: Forgiveness Day." But that is alright because it was wonderful, beautiful and a perfect ending to the Spiderman Trilogy, which I cannot wait to buy on DVD. It balanced camp and romance, humor and tragedy, anger and forgiveness, love and loss so perfectly that I cannot see it being done any better. Bravo to Sam Raimi! He is a master of his craft. (Bruce Campbell and Ted Raimi make appearances as always and are spectacular scene stealers, as does the immortal Stan Lee. We love them lots.)

But yes, Peter Parker goes totally emo! You will probably want to hit him, but remind yourself, it is not totally his fault and it is all for a very good reason. And Harry Osborn turns into a metrosexual, which he does with total hotness, and then he turns into a total bitch, which is still pretty hot. It's updated and dated at the same time. And I think they pulled it off rather well.

*I* think Kirstin Dunst can sing and continues to be wonderful as Mary Jane Watson, but I've adored her since she played Claudia in Interview and Amy in Little Women in the same year... I've always thought she can do no wrong and am totally biased in her favor.

Topher Grace is awesome! Really psychotic for ever second he's on screen and incredibly scary, but awesome all the same.

Love James Franco as Harry Osborn to death... no really... I know the comic-book geeks are going to hate it, but I don't care. His story arc was lovely. It's very comic-book-y.

And then there's Tobey Maguire as Spidey... I never liked Spidey much and I never liked Tobey much before I saw him in this roll all those years ago when the Trilogy was started, but I really like both of them now. Tobey's grown as an actor I think, and the personal growth that is displayed by Peter/Spiderman over the course of the Trilogy I also think is amazing. I have to say... I don't think I've seen anything quite like it happen with any other superhero... It seems to me that most of the time, they are fundamentally the same at the end as they are at the beginning (a notable exception might be Wolverine, but as we all know, Wolverine is in a class by himself and is very special, so...), but Peter/Spiderman grew by leaps and bounds in a way that feels fundamentally real for his character, despite the fact that it's very much a comic-book trilogy start to finish.

There is a lot to cover in the 140 minutes and I am extremely impressed by the ambition of the project. I'm even more impressed that they actually pulled it off. There are no less than *four* complete villains. There are also several love triangles. Not to mention, the past comes back to haunt several characters in several different ways. It is nothing less than amazing that Sam Raimi pulled all this off and so obviously had a blast doing it.

Spiderman 3 is completely fabulous. I loved every second of it and want to see it again desperately! Say what you will, comic-book purists (because I can already hear you screaming), but I think that the Spiderman Trilogy is one of the best comic movie series of all time... quite possibly the best, including the X-Men Trilogy (because as we all know Brett Ratner couldn't direct his way out of a paper bag, wouldn't know continuity if it dropped on him like a ton of bricks thrown off the Empire State building, and wouldn't be able to find a story if you gave him a map, compass and a flashlight... as we all saw with "X-Men: The Last Stand," which would have been so much better to a degree that is incomprehensible if Bryan Singer had directed it. -- I know, I know... I should say what I really feel, right? And the scary thing is that this isn't even me bitter...)

If you have not seen the first two Spiderman movies, it is an absolute *must* that you do so before seeing this one or you'll think this is stupid. An understanding that the Spiderman comic books are at once incredibly cliche/campy, tragic, romantic, dramatic and funny will also go a long way to getting you through what would otherwise make for some pretty pathetic, trite moments. You have to say to yourself, "It's a comic book and that's why it's lovely." And it is... it really, really is... Run, don't walk, people! Run, don't walk!