Clip features plenty of action, but no Venom

The new trailer for "Spider-Man 3" premiered on Thursday (Nov. 9) across a variety of Viacom platforms including MTV Networks' IFilm.com.

At roughly 10 p.m. ET, the trailer aired on BET, CBS, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Spike TV and VH1 and posted at http://www.ifilm.com/presents/spiderman3 where the circuits were immediately jammed by fans eager to ogle an extended glimpse at one of the most anticipated films of next summer.

"Spider-Man 3" opens on May 4, 2007.

Some immediate reactions:

Despite the poorly punctuated tagline "How long can any man fight the darkness before he finds it in himself," the trailer only barely begins to hint at the darkness in the film. The second half has plenty of Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane wailing and a killer shot of the dark symbiote engulfing Peter, but it lacks ...

Venom, which is bound to make all of the fanboys and fangirls just a little bit unhappy, particularly since the crowds at ComicCon got at least a peek at Venom back in July and screenshots from that have been available online for months. Perhaps they're saving Venom or perhaps ...

There's too darned much happening in this movie. You've got James Franco's Harry clearly tapping his inner Goblin, Thomas Hayden Church's really cool-looking Sandman (did we need to have him be the one behind Uncle Ben's death?), Spider-Man's own encroaching darkness and his romantic struggles with Mary Jane. That's in the trailer. Topher Grace is only spotted a couple times, which is too bad, since he looked fantastic in the ComicCon footage. And if you didn't know that Bryce Dallas Howard's Gwen Stacy was adding to the fun, you sure won't find out from this trailer (I think she's in a frame or two at the end). Plus, there have long been rumors about an additional villain, as if that's what the movie needs.

I love the shot of upside-down black suit Spider-Man with the reflection of upside-down normal suit Spider-Man. That's the trailer's coolest moment, not the overblown early shot of Spider-Man and the American flag.

Actually, the best part is that at no point does anybody tell us the linkage between great power and great responsibility. I've been told that they come hand-in-hand.

But enough of me. Go check out the trailer and then hop on our message board and let us know what you think.