“Spider-Man 3”

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Last and definitely least. The third time’s hardly the charm. More is less.

Choose your contrary cliche — and then apply it to "Spider-Man 3," which launches this summer’s movie onslaught in oversized, underpowered style.

Audiences caught up in Spidey’s webdom because of the computer-generated effects and elaborate action sequences will have no problems with this installment.

Those of us who expect more than that from our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man get too much — and not enough — in this third chapter.

Too many plot twists — and not enough plot.

Too many characters — and not enough character.

Plenty of crowd-pleasing moments — but hardly a coherent whole.

Fortunately, the "Spider-Man" movies, inspired by Stan Lee’s Marvel Comics creation, have enough residual good will built up that the series’ legions of fans still will enjoy this not-quite-equal sequel.

As "Spider-Man 3" launches, our hero Peter Parker (a game, if eternally callow, Tobey Maguire) seems pretty pleased with the world — and his place in it.

Then again, why shouldn’t he be? Blissfully in love with longtime girlfriend Mary Jane Watson (a winsome, occasionally whiny Kirsten Dunst), he’s planning to pop the question. His science studies are progressing, as is his career as a freelance photographer with an uncanny knack for predicting when and where New York’s crime-fighting toast of the town will appear to save the day.

Truth be told, Peter’s a bit full of himself these days — much to Mary Jane’s chagrin, especially after her Broadway debut doesn’t exactly live up to her starry-eyed dreams.

Worse yet, former best friend Harry Osborn (James Franco, ably balancing charm and rancor) still wants to avenge the death of his father, the Green Goblin — which he blames on Spider-Man.

He’s not the only one after Spidey, however.

Before the movie slings its final web, our hero must battle escaped convict Flint Marko (a mournful Thomas Haden Church), who — like Peter himself — suffers the consequences of a science experiment gone awry when he stumbles into a nuclear test and metamorphoses into the giant, shape-shifting Sandman.

And what about obnoxious Eddie Brock (Topher Grace, oozing smug bravado), a gung-ho photographer himself, who’d love to ace Peter out at the New York Bugle? Assuming, of course, that blustery editor J. Jonah Jameson — once again embodied by the hilarious J.L. Simmons — doesn’t keel over from apoplexy.

Eddie and Peter have more in common than photojournalism, however. Both have had too-close encounters with some mysterious, meteoric black goo. In Peter’s case, it gives him a tantalizing glimpse of Spider-Man’s dark side, transforming him from dweeby do-gooder to arrogant aggressor. And in Eddie’s, it triggers an entirely new persona: a multifanged Spidey doppelganger dubbed Venom.

Oh, and have we mentioned Eddie’s model-worthy girlfriend, Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard)? Who happens to be a classmate of Peter’s — and the daughter of a police captain (crusty James Cromwell)?

Clearly, "Spider-Man 3" has some serious narrative overload issues.

But instead of weaving the various plot threads in silky, intricate fashion, director Sam Raimi — who collaborates with his brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent on the screenplay — strings us along, skittering down one narrative strand before jumping to another.

Throughout the "Spidey" series, Raimi’s had trouble integrating the action and the acting; this time around, the problem seems magnified, due in part to the movie’s triple villains and their I’m-not-bad-I’m-just-misunderstood backgrounds. (Ah, for a villain with the power-crazed command of "Spider-Man 2’s" Doc Ock, the quintessential visionary scientist overwhelmed by his own daring experiment …)

Then again, plenty of people just want to watch the movie’s big-bang effects, and on that score "Spider-Man 3" doesn’t disappoint, with Spidey dodging everything from junior Goblin’s flying fireballs to Venom’s sharp-toothed bite as he swings into action.

Yet you can’t help but sense a creakiness in the ol’ webslinger’s bones as he suits up one more time to give the folks what they want.

Maybe what he really needs — maybe what we all need — is a good long rest.