hile Spider-Man 2 has been hailed as the most "adult" of comic-book action movies, placing more time and focus on Peter Parker’s relationships than with Spider-type action, Spider-Man 3, by comparison, has become too cumbersome to deliver much depth. This third installment has Peter (Tobey Maguire) - still sufficiently flakey - starting to enjoy himself, as he no longer has to hide his secret identity from Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), and is basically flying high in every sense.

New York has finally come to welcome his webbed, crime-fighting alter ego, much to the dismay of the Daily Bugle’s J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons). Spidey has become the darling of New York, and is given the key to the city by the cutest girl in his chemistry class (Bryce Dallas Howard). His romance with MJ is fine. Her acting career has taken off. Everyone's happy.

But stick around, as sub-plots are abound. About an hour into the story, some mysterious black goo from a mini-meteorite attaches itself to Parker’s motorbike, turning him over to sort of a dark side. Instead of his red-torsoed spider suit, Parker soon sports a slick black one, and basically turning him into an obnoxious jerk; in one primitive sequence, for example, Parker struts down the avenue in Saturday Night Fever regalia, snapping his fingers and slicking his hair in pure emo-hipster mode. Peter's phenomenally inflating ego is so unrestrained, that he’s paying precious little attention to his MJ and doesn't even notice that she’s been dumped from her show after bad reviews.

Of course there's more. Peter is in line for a staff photographer position at the Daily Bugle, but he's got competition: Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), a cocky kid who correctly sees Peter as the hurdle standing between him and a job. He gets to do some real damage when some black goo from Spidey’s black costume falls upon him, giving him super powers. Eddie will soon morph into Venom, a scary monster whose powers are eerily similar to Spider-Man's.