The first two films garnered critical acclaim, and box office winnings to match. With Toby Maguire returning as the web slinger, and Kirsten Dunst as the love of his life Mary Jane Watson, does the film live up to its expectations? For some, yes, for others, no.

The film opens with Spider-Man swinging through New York City, recounting how things are finally starting to go well in his life. He has finally found a balance between having a normal life and saving the citizens of New York.

However, things are not going so well for Mary Jane. She receives consistently bad reviews and her acting career seems to be at a low point. Add this to the fact that Harry Osborne (played by James Franco), Peter's once best friend has inherited his father's, the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), insanity and sets out to get revenge on Peter by becoming the New Goblin.

Just as things seem like they couldn't get any worse, Peter discovers the enraging truth that someone else was responsible for the death of his uncle Ben, and not himself. And upon the discovery of the black suit, which amplifies his already super abilities, Peter finds his personality changing for the worst.

Peter sets out to find his uncle's real killer (Thomas Hayden Church) who has gained super powers himself to become the Sandman. Throw in a professional rival (Topher Grace) who wants Peter's job at the bugle, and you've got more problems than you can shake a web at.

Now, the first two Spider-Man films established guilt as a major motivator for Peter's actions, but the decision to make Sandman Uncle Ben's real killer seems to diminish that part of the story. However, this decision also leaves room to make forgiveness replace the theme of guilt. Another main problem is simply that there are too many villains and too much going on, and that makes the story a lot to chew on in one bite.

The movie also seems to have more action that story, but if you examine all three movies then Spider-Man 3 can be considered a climax of sorts. This movie, while not the best in the series, is still a very strong film worth checking out.

Spider-Man 3 is now available on DVD and is being shown on pay-per-view on DirecTV.