Spider-Man 3 Revisited: 5 Awesome Moments You Always Overlook

2. The Underground Subway Fight

Each of Raimi's Spider-Man films has a definitively genre-smashing setpiece, one that utilized new technology to craft a showstopping, adrenaline-pumping action sequence that somehow set the bar even higher. In Spider-Man, it was the final fight between Goblin and Spidey. In Spider-Man 2, it was the brilliantly made above-ground train sequence. And in Spider-Man 3, it is the underground subway fight with Sandman.

This thing works on a lot of levels. First and foremost, the craft is stunning. Again, Raimi and cinematographer Bill Pope outdo themselves, effortlessly weaving the CGI work into the practical work, resulting in a setpiece that feels visceral and tangible. The editing is also a huge highlight here, taking on a manic energetic quality that echoes Peter's own blood-thirsty rage in a really interesting formal way.

But a huge part of what makes it works so well is how it is positioned in the story. Using this moment as Spider-Man's first real excursion with the black suit makes for an incredibly compelling sequence, one filled with tension as you're left on the edge of your seat, waiting to see just how far the symbiote-infused Spider-Man will go to get justice for his Uncle Ben. In many ways, Spider-Man is kind of the antagonist of the sequence as Sandman just tries to get away.

It also makes the final beat of it, where Spider-Man seemingly kills Sandman, all the more affecting.