Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Three villains, one goo suit and a movie with no clue which one it cares about. Spider-Man 3 crams Sandman, a revenge plot for Harry and Venom into 139 minutes, and none of them get room to land. Then bad Peter happens. The black suit turns Tobey Maguire into a guy with swoopy emo bangs finger-gunning strangers on the sidewalk, and it ends in a full dance number at a jazz club. Some fans call it genius parody. It’s the moment the trilogy tripped over its own web. Too bad, because Sandman’s first scene, grains of sand trying to remember how to be a man, is gorgeous, and Thomas Haden Church plays him like a tired dad who took one wrong turn. Topher Grace barely gets to be Venom before the clock runs out. A 4.6 because the good stuff is buried under a pile of everything else, and the pile wins. $40.96 says you try the strut down a hallway this week and stop halfway, embarrassed.

What works: Sandman’s first scene is a stunner, and Thomas Haden Church gives a villain made of sand a surprisingly gentle heart.

What doesn’t: Three villains fight for 139 minutes of space, Venom barely gets a turn, and the emo strut sequence turns the whole thing into a punchline.

Who it’s for: Raimi loyalists who will defend the jazz club dance forever, and people who want to see why villain overload is a trap.