REEL CRITICS:

You know that “Spider-Man 3” is going to have jaw-dropping special effects, bizarre super villains and sweet romance on the side. But Director Sam Raimi puts it all in a package that stretches the formula way too long at 2 hours and 20 minutes of uneven running time.

I could hear the kids in the audience getting restless during the many long, slow sequences in between the dynamite action scenes. Sometimes, less is more.

The action centers on an overly complex mix of antagonists. The son of the Green Goblin continues his father’s deadly pursuits. A new bad guy appears in town when a nuclear accident turns a small-time crook into the shape-shifting Sandman. To top it off, a mysterious black slime falls to earth in a meteorite. It brings out the dark side of Spider-Man’s personality and turns his costume charcoal gray. Then the slime itself becomes a new monster rampaging through the city.

Tobey Maguire is still a great choice to play Peter Parker, Spider-Man’s low-key alter ego. But his troubled romance with the lovely Kirsten Dunst remains troubled and takes up way too much time in the screenplay.

There’s a lot to like in this effort, but it has obvious flaws that keep the third film from matching the epic impact of the first two features in the franchise.

‘Disturbia’ far-fetched but still entertaining

As one of a handful who did not see “Spider-Man 3,” it seemed a good idea to check out that other blockbuster people have been talking about.

“Disturbia” surprised me as a better-than-average thriller, a rip-off of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 classic “Rear Window” for the Xbox set.

Kale (Shia LeBoeuf) is still dealing with his father’s death a year before. After punching out a high school teacher, he’s put on house arrest with an electronic bracelet. If he strays past a certain distance from his lovely Craftsman house, the police are on him like a big box of doughnuts.

His mom (Carrie-Anne Moss) cuts off his online accounts, so a bored Kale gets out the binoculars and starts checking out the new girl next door (Sarah Roemer), who doesn’t seem to mind. But what really starts to catch his eye is longtime neighbor Mr. Turner (David Morse). The news on TV is full of reports about a serial killer — could this be the same guy?

LeBoeuf is certainly worth watching, and the story will give you some edge-of-your-seat moments. Some of the action is a little cliche — swarms of police are available to get to Kale’s house within seconds, except when they’re really needed. Or Kale and his friends have a stakeout with the blinds open and the lights on, but nobody notices.

And how is it that bad guys always seem to disappear and reappear in the twinkle of an eye? Maybe Spidey’s not the only one with superpowers.