Christian BlauveltThe Daily Northwestern

At midnight tonight, he’s back. Spider-Man slings his web into thousands of theaters all across the world, for what may be the last time. To say that expectations are high is an understatement; that it will be a Box Office smash, a given. But even the outstanding previous track record of director Sam Raimi isn’t a quelling concern in the critical and fanboy communities. After all, we’ve never had a superb third film installment of a comic book franchise.

Don’t get me wrong. I have tremendous faith in Raimi and his vision for this series. Although I found the first Spider-Man to be a tad cartoonish, with Jingle All the Way-level effects and Willem Dafoe’s bile-spewing, scenery-chewing-meltdown of a performance, it struck a strong balance between a detailed, character-driven origin tale and a few exciting action scenes.

Spider-Man 2, however, showed that, in the right hands, a comic book story could be a work of art. The superior sequel proved to be one of the most psychologically compelling action films ever made, with probing dialogue that touched upon issues of intellectual responsibility and individual versus collective needs. Only James Franco’s overwrought, sub-Hayden Christensen-level, Gothic performance (you just know he spent the whole night stroking that dagger) held back the film.

I must admit, though, I’m concerned that Raimi might have bitten off more than even he can handle with Spider-Man 3. This is the most expensive American film ever made, with a production budget of $250 million. And yet, even with such vast resources, Raimi was still editing frantically just a couple weeks ago.

This new film sees Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) grappling with his inner demons over how to use his power responsibly, while having to battle three new nemeses: Venom, Sandman and the New Goblin. How can Raimi juggle three new villains, Spidey’s psychological issues and Peter’s relationship with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), without it all spinning out of control?

Originally, Raimi meant for the plot of Spider-Man 3 to stretch over two films because of it’s epic size and scope. In fact, because the character drama was so dominant, he had to shoot more action scenes than initially intended to liven up the pace a bit. If Raimi isn’t careful though, he could fall into the trap of previous overblown third installments.

Batman Forever also tackled multiple villains (Two-Face and the Riddler) resulting in a cotton-candy, cartoon pastiche that still leaves viewers sick to their stomachs; Superman 3 indulged in the clich