Does Whatever A Spider Can

Apparently, Spiderman 3 is the most expensive movie ever made.

More expensive than Steven Spielberg's animatronic dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, more costly than James Cameron sinking the Titanic, and more pricey than every other summer blockbuster ever committed to celluloid.

Mrs Wife and I went to see the movie on Sunday. To be honest, I hadn't been blown away by either of the prequels. They're perfectly passable films, but they just didn't grab me in the same way that the first couple of Batman films did, or in the way that the X Men trilogy has done.

I think the problem is characterisation - Batman and X Men both revolve around the unhinged personalities behind the spandex and leather boots.

Lest we forget, Batman doesn't even have any superpowers - he's just a rich psycho in bondage gear. And Wolverine is clearly hard as nails.

But Spiderman - he's just a scrawny college kid with some neat gymnastic moves and a web slinger.

So I was hoping that the latest installment of the Spiderman series would live up to the hype. The trailers suggested a darker, more violent, storyline. And, to some extent, it delivered.

The intergalactic goop that crash lands on Earth was cool. And the new, edgier Spiderman was also pretty interesting.

But I just have trouble associating Tobey Maguire with a superhero - he looks like a scrawny little college kid. This may be ideal for playing Peter Parker, but doesn't cut it as Spiderman. Clark Kent may be a geek, but that's just a disguise - he's still Superman. And as for Topher Grace as Venom.....my opinions on that are best kept to myself.

So, the most expensive movie of all time? Yeah, you can see how - most of the film is taken up with fast-moving special effects.

The plot? Certainly a step forward from the disappointing second movie.

But Spiderman 3 doesn't really bear comparison with the heavyweights in the super hero movie stakes.

Although it was at least better than Hulk.