Let's face it ? when it comes to this part of winter, the offer isn't really that great. The Christmas specials are over (thank God!) and whether they're new and high-tech or the same you see each year, they've left room for?well, not much really. This is the time of year when the movie companies release all sorts of class B movies (mostly horrors or flimsy comedies), lacking other immediate options.



It happens every year. This spring, however, Spiderman 3 seems to be one of the most awaited blockbusters. The third and final part of the trilogy by Sam Raimi, it closes the series with an inner battle. The movie's tagline is

?Next Summer the Greatest Battle Lies Within? ? accurately descriptive of he character's situation. Peter Parker is taken over by a strange entity from beyond our own world. It causes him more trouble than villains and mischief by interfering with his everyday life. And above everything, he has to fight more evil doers, resist temptation and take his revenge. Spider-Man 3 brings a slightly darker face of things to life, making the Peter Parker story more complex.

Sam Raimi is a prolific producer, actor, director and writer. Spider-Man 3 is said to be his masterpiece. However, his attraction for the movie industry started out when he was little. Big fan of The Three Stooges, as a teenager he used to make movies with an 8mm camera and the influences of The Stooges? movies were obvious. Later on, he directed a series of comic horrors and comic book based movies. They had moderate success throughout the 80's, but definitely increased his filming abilities and skills.

After some favorable critic reviews, he finally made it big in 2002 with the first part of the Spiderman series. Ever since, his fame soared. If in the 80's he had to take his unsuccessful flicks to Europe when they were rejected in the U.S., he has now gained the respect of Americans critics and fans once and for all.

Spiderman 3 already finds lead actors Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst as extremely renowned actors. Not among their first movies, but definitely destined to reach a wider public than others, the first Spiderman film opened up the gates of Hollywood for the two. Thus, their freshly-gained popularity made way for other projects, at least as interesting as this one.

In any case, things weren't always like this. Before Spider-Man 3, with its famous actors, director, and millions of related items sold worldwide, there was a young cartoonist. In 1962, Stan Lee brought a new comic book superhero to life. The business had been dominated up to that point by fully-grown, muscle-bound tough guys. The contrast was more than obvious ? Peter Parker was nothing but a frustrated teenager who wanted to make things better for himself and for the ones around him, and who, for the first time, actually could do it. It obviously hit a soft spot with millions of teenagers facing the same problems, tired of unrealistic, complex-generating comic book heroes. They wanted someone they could relate to, and Peter Parker was just that; more than 40 years later, Spiderman 3 is a legend.