New spin on Spider-Man

You know that it's almost summer because the ubiquitous presence of a blockbuster in the form of "Spider-Man 3" — much like the bad guys he pursues — cannot be escaped. The media and marketing blitz ensnares you in its own proverbial web. But even with all the hype, you won't be bothered by spending more than two hours watching him in the theater if your expectations are set at the proper level.

What hasn't changed? Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is the same likable nerd who lives in the same crummy apartment with a door that sticks, still loves aspiring actress Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), listens dutifully to his Aunt May (Rosemary Harris), and tries to convince his friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco), that he didn't kill Harry's father, a previous nemesis named the Green Goblin.

But Peter's desire to propose to Mary Jane will have to wait due to the untimely arrival of new distractions. The good one is Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard), an attractive part-time model who coincidentally is Peter's lab partner at school.

The bad two are Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), a small-time criminal who becomes the evil Sandman through a bizarre particle physics accident, and Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), a rival of Peter's for both a photography job at the Daily Bugle newspaper where they work, and Gwen's affections. Eddie's thirst for vengeance, aided by a strange black "symbiote" parasite, turns him into Venom, who also wants to destroy Spider-Man.

This symbiote first takes hold of Peter, changing Spider-Man's famous red suit to black, while simultaneously altering his behavior. He gains new confidence in his demeanor, but it also brings out some unattractive personality traits that alienate Peter from those close to him. He has an awful lot of problems to resolve, but superheroes are not given that title for no reason.

The positives: acting, art direction, production design and music. Maguire makes his character work. The scene where he struts his stuff in a new, hip, designer outfit is played perfectly for laughs. Church as a villain brings compassion to a complicated person, rightfully explaining, "I'm not a bad man. I've just had bad luck." The New York streets have the right look in both daytime and nighttime, backed up by majestic music to underscore the action.

The negatives: a weak script that loses its sense of purpose in a few places, suddenly but ineffectively trying to tie up loose ends.

The film also dragged and could have been better cut to pick up the pace and shorten its running time. I won't give away any ending, but it had the distinctive feeling of "sequel," glaring with the hope of future franchise revenue.

The inevitable message, voiced by Aunt May, is that "It's the choices that make us who we are."

Making the choice of whether or not you'll see this movie isn't crucial, but her words are a nice reminder.

PHILLIP HAIN is a Glendale resident whose super powers have yet to reveal themselves to him or anyone else.