Columbia Pictures THAT'S GOTTA HURT: Spider-Man battles Sandman (portrayed by Thomas Haden Church) in a scene from "Spider-Man 3," which opens Friday.

By Barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The third time is not the charm, but "Spider-Man 3" has its tender and thrilling moments, thanks to dear Aunt May, a villain shaped out of shifting sand and a turn to the dark side for Spidey.

Columbia Pictures Tobey Maguire is back as the famed web slinger in "Spider-Man 3." Click photo for larger image. 'Spider-Man 3' Starring: Tobey Maguire (above), Kirsten Dunst. Director: Sam Raimi. Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence. Web site: sonypictures.com/movies/spiderman3 Reviews of Spider-Man I and II 2004, Spider-Man II: 'Spider-Man 2' scales new heights 2002, Spider-Man: The 'Spider-Man' movie is...super! Reader Reviews After you see the movie, submit your own review of "Spider-Man 3"

"Spider-Man 3" gives its title character the chance to don a black hat -- or face mask and costume, in this case -- and all that entails. Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) unmasks a rival as a cheat, flaunts another woman in front of his already humiliated girlfriend and struts down the street as if he had the sexy swagger of John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever."

In his case, it's more like Symbiote Night Fever.

A gooey black alien substance has latched onto him and turned Peter Parker into an arrogant Alpha Male version of himself, complete with new suit, hair combed over his forehead and what looks like a smidge of eyeliner. It's a sign of the identity crisis in this new installment that has the webslinger questioning who he is.

When the movie opens, all seems to be going well for Peter, his alter ego and girlfriend Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst).

Spidey is hailed as the reason New York is so safe, Peter is doing well in college, and MJ is starring in a Broadway musical. Reclining on a silvery web that serves as an oversize hammock beneath a starry sky, Mary Jane confides to Peter, "I'd like to sing onstage for the rest of my life with you in the first row."

But, in quick order, Spidey's stock rises, hers falls and Peter/Spidey turns into someone she doesn't recognize. When Peter does something mean and out of character, MJ asks, "Who are you?" and he replies, "I don't know."

Adding to Peter's predicaments: three villains and a reenergized desire to avenge the death of Uncle Ben. If Uncle Ben gave Peter his mantra about great power bringing great responsibility, his widow provides the corollary.

Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) informs Peter that revenge is like a poison. It can take over and before you know it, turn us into something ugly, the way an alien parasite can.

That is exactly what is happening to Spidey as he encounters the villainous Sandman, an escaped convict named Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church). He emerged from a mishap at a particle physics testing facility as a creature who can shift into a sand tornado or appear to be a sandy Incredible Hulk.

He's not alone on the nemesis list, as onetime pal Harry Osborn (James Franco) taps into his vengeful side and a rival photographer named Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) angles for Peter's job at the Daily Bugle and turns venomous in his own way.

	Merie W. Wallace, Columbia Pictures Kirsten Dunst reprises her role as Mary Jane Watson in "Spider-Man 3." Click photo for larger image.

Sam Raimi is back in the directing chair for "Spider-Man 3," and he shares screenplay credit with his brother, Ivan Raimi, and Alvin Sargent. An Oscar winner for "Julia" and "Ordinary People," Sargent handled the screenplay alone the last time, although Michael Chabon shared story credit with two others.

"Spider-Man 3" is not as novel or engaging as the first two, but it's genius compared to most of the PG-13 movies that did the limbo to get into theaters before today.

Still, the sterling effects -- we've come to expect the best and the team delivers, whether Sandman wobbles to life like Frankenstein or Spidey catches someone plummeting 62 stories -- overshadow the characters, and one story thread about Marko's ailing daughter is left dangling, like a damsel waiting for Spidey's rescue.

Having said that, Thomas Haden Church makes a surprisingly perfect Marko.

Church, whose shaggy haired, wine-drinking womanizer earned him an Oscar nomination for "Sideways," looks like he stepped out of the pages of a comic book or 1940s movie. His hair has been cut short, exposing his ears, and a striped T-shirt barely contains his newly muscled arms.

Returning to the subject of damsels in distress, however, I realize MJ and police captain's daughter Gwen Stacy (a blond Bryce Dallas Howard) are not intended to be Wonder Woman or even Susan Storm, but both dance with death in similar ways that require Spidey's assistance. It is 2007 and a little liberation would be welcome in that regard, even if it runs counter to comic-book tradition.

In short: "Spider-Man" was as intoxicating as a first love. The screenplay of "Spider-Man 2" made it a four-star winner.

"Spider-Man 3," arriving in some theaters at 12:01 a.m. Friday, gives Maguire a new color and emotion to play, along with fearsome villains and an examination of the fine art of forgiveness, but it doesn't soar in the same way. After all, with great power comes great responsibility ... to entertain.