Marvel Cinematic Universe fans have been doing the unthinkable recently by channeling Thanos in the wake of the underwhelming Multiverse Saga to cast their eyes back over the comic book company’s back catalogue to say that maybe they were judged too harshly, and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 was always destined to be near the top of the list.
While we haven’t quite entered a world where Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four is being held up and reappraised as an underrated gem – something that hopefully never happens because it would be a strong signifier that the end is nigh – it’s nonetheless fascinating to see how Tobey Maguire’s third solo blockbuster continues to be reappraised through the passage of time.
The most expensive production in the history of cinema at the time of its release, Spider-Man 3 was ultimately crushed under both the weight of its own ambition, as well as Sony’s desire to shoehorn Venom into the story at any and all costs. Raimi wasn’t a fan of the iconic antihero, and it shows, with Topher Grace still being trashed for his performance more than 15 years on.
It’s too big, too loud, too convoluted, and creaks heavily as it over-stuffs the final act to the gunnels, but there’s still plenty to like about the end result. In the aftermath of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Eternals, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania scoring some of the MCU’s worst critical and audience reactions ever, Redditors have started to come around to Spider-Man 3 being better than its reputation suggests.
It’s not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s definitely not the flaming dumpster fire it was brandished as at the time.
