Spider-Man 3

[RealFolkBlues]

Well, this has been the most poorly-received of the three films thus far, and none of the star actors have renewed their contracts, so... Eh well. I actually loved almost everything about the resolution here especially the part with Sandman. Him just leaving I thought was a great contrast to pretty much every main villain in the series, who just frickin die. Parker forgiving him and what not had me a little choked up, though he definitely could have said a sentence about how he thought he had already killed him.

Yeah, Venom also needed the giant tongue, but like I said, they kind of screwed him up. A better explanation for him arriving on Earth would have been nice as well, as opposed to Oh Schnapp METEORITE.

[Shadow Wolf]

Emo-Spidey what? What did you say? Huh? Nooooo wayyyyy.

You simply cannot know until you see the movie. It's like, if emo and Ferris Bueller had a child, it would be Toby Maguire for 30 or 40 minutes of this movie. Hi-la-ri-ous.

[Shadow Wolf]

Seen it. Loved it.

[Alexis]

What the hell was up with emo tobey dancing down the street for like five minutes? Also, he can't pull off eyeliner. Johnny Depp is the only man I've seen that looks like a bad ass wearing eyeliner. This is probably my least favorite spiderman...The first one was the best. This one just took way too long getting the plot to start, and then the end just kind of fizzled out. But it's still spiderman, so I'll probably be seeing it again.

[Admiral_C]

I thought it was done rather well. They managed to pack a lot into the movie and paced it very well. The dry spells (non action scenes) weren't too long and most of them had a significant purpose.

Also... watching Peter Parker punk just about everyone he knew was quite hilarious.

[Ffej]

I enjoyed the movie, but I feel there was too much Topher Grace and not enough Gwen Stacy dying. Because there was none. Why didn't she die?

[I-n-j-i-n]

Well, that was easily the worst out of all three Spiderman films so far IMO.

MJ was way more annoying than Gwen Stacy. Speaking of characters who should've been killed off or get less screen time, it's MJ.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

I never really liked any of the Spiderman movies that much, and this one just seals the deal for me.

A. Topher Grace as Venom and the guy who played Lowell on Wings as Sandman!? Seriously, you were asking for me to laugh at you, Raimi.

B. Aside from the obvious screw up of having ERIC FOREMAN playing Venom, they totally ruined him, and Venom's ALWAYS been my favorite Marvel character.

C. Toby brings out his inner emo. We knew it was gonna happen sometime, although i will say that he should have nixed that bouncer's arms for being a douche.

D. A fucking tag team? Even a dude way in front screamed out hell no to that.

E. Lowell from Wings as Sandman!?

F. The American flag just popping out of nowhere for no reason whatsoever... That almost killed me.

That being said, I love Topher on That 70's show, but I couldn't help but wanting to hear Red calling him a dumbass every five minutes.

[NNY]

They could have cut out most of the romance scenes, but MJ was actually a much better character in this movie than she was in the first two. She's more than just a plot device. They actually made her character sympathetic. She's where Peter was in SM2, and Parker vise versa. Her part wasn't dead weight and limited to being in distress.

As for Sandman? His actual transformation was meh, but Thomas Hayden Church's acting was incredible. I don't know what the hell he's been in in the past, but fuck you for not understanding that actors can be bad in one movie and incredible in another.

It surprised me how much I'd like New Goblin. NG had much potential for massive suckitude, but it was rather the opposite. His performance was great. I completely hated Harry one minute, then loved him the next, then hated him, then thought holy shit, then loved him, and then my comic book geek intuition kicked in and I remembered his fate from a certain comic I read once. He's like an Anakin Skywalker that doesn't suck.

Venom, was actually the most disappointing thing about the movie. I loved Eddie's character in the beginning, such a jerk, his interaction with seeing Gwen nearly die was hilarious. But as it progressed, I started to dislike him. His performance wasn't bad. It's just Venom himself. It started with the first scene with Sandman. His voice, they shouldn't have used Topher's voice when speaking as Venom. Another inaccuracy I spotted was Eddie getting the vampire teeth. Eddie Brock himself doesn't get the vampire teeth. It's all Venom. I also hated that half the time he was Venom, the face was removed showing Eddie. His demise was a disappointment too. I won't spoil it, but sheesh, it coulda been beeter.

As for the emo jazz club scenes? I LOVED THEM! They were ridiculous and a great comic relief for such a heavy story. Peter Parker is trying to be someone he wasn't. And it failed horribly. I felt like I was watching myself from the 8th grade to Junior year in high school.

The cheesy ridiculous stuff is Sam Riami's pastiche. You can't not expect this in one of his movies.

The Bruce Campbell scene had me in stitches too. We need more Campbell in the world.

The movie had some pacing issues, some rushed scenes, and some of the CGI looked unfinished.

But overall, I loved it.

Edit: The American Flag scene was great. They did the same thing in the first two movies too.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Yeah. The new Goblin and Sandman were unexpectedly the best characters of the movie. I think even Spiderman was a bit of a bore throughout the movie.

Now I don't care if the 4th movie will have totally new characters and creative team. It's as if the writers and Raimi got bored of the franchise.

[NNY]

Yeah. The new Goblin and Sandman were unexpectedly the best characters of the movie. I think even Spiderman was a bit of a bore throughout the movie.

Now I don't care if the 4th movie will have totally new characters and creative team. It's as if the writers and Raimi got bored of the franchise.

Riami has said (Don't ask me for a link I don't have one.) that he wants to make Spider-Man movies till he dies. But if either Dunst or MacGuire pull out of the next movie, he goes as well. As of yet, the main cast hasn't updated their contracts, but we'll see how it goes.

As for Spider-Man himself being a bore, I wouldn't say so entirely.

I got such a kick from Spider-Man being happy about his life for once. It so rarely happens.

Edit: I say "As for" way too much.

[atmuh]

the movie SUCKED

[Antipode]

Wow, I thought the movie was actually really bad...I dunno. I saw the midnight showing.

I thought Venom was handled extremely poorly which really disappointed me, and everything (excluding all the awesome action sequences and fight scenes) had this awful tacky feel to it (I think it was mostly the writing. I'm not sure exactly what else it could have been). Seriously, in between all the fights the audience was either groaning or laughing at it.. when the credits started rolling there was just this kind of rolling downcast sigh through the whole audience.

The redeeming value of the movie is that Sandman was pretty amazing, particularly the scene where he's getting up for the first time and the scenes where Spiderman is first fighting him.

I think, even though Venom is probably my favorite Spiderman villain, that to fix the movie they should have totally scrapped him and the whole blacksuit subplot (which somehow seemed to only be like the last 40 minutes of the film - wasn't it advertised as the main plot point?) and instead just focused on and actually expanded on Osborne/Sandman/Spiderman. I would have probably rated it quite a bit higher if they had done that. You either make Venom a buff, growling badass, or you don't have him at all. I don't want to see Topher Grace's head sticking out and making some little snappy remark before turning back into Venom again.

I think the real root of the problem for me of this movie is just that there's about 4 individual plotlines relating to each villain, each one insufficient for its own film, barely held together with a wire-thin structure. I know some people liked it and it will earn a ton of money, but it wasn't what I was looking for, and I don't believe it held a candle to the first two films.

[NNY]

the movie SUCKED

There was a time when this forum was called "General Discussion", where they "discussed" the topics the threads were based on.

Have the rules changed?

[atmuh]

boooooooooooooooooo

[TaVeRnErO_RuDd]

the movie SUCKED

agreed....eric forman WTF

and harry the sidekick

[Broken]

I loved the movie. More discussion on this later. I have to wake up early tomorrow.

Spolier? ..."I'll give you your rent when you fix the DAMN DOOR!" ....

[Blake]

Well...I'm about to go see it. I'm really sad to read these reviews, because Spidermans 1 and 2 were just fucking awesome, and there was this ultimate build up of tension between Harry and Peter, but apparently it loses focus on that powerful driving force of the series.

[RedFusion]

when the credits started rolling there was just this kind of rolling downcast sigh through the whole audience.

Haha. Our cinema had a healthy round of applause, and even one of my friends did too, which was entirely unexpected. (I'm never one who applauds in movies, and neither do they.. usually).

I enjoyed the movie on the whole. Action was great, and the storyline was fruitful and meandering enough that I actually had to pay attention (it didn't feel tacked on - everything resolved quite nicely in the end, I thought).

The biggest thing I'm pleased about Spiderman, is how surprised I am by the fact that (in my opinion), the series actually GOT better. Hell, it's weird enough for sequels to be better than the first. Or maybe just because I didn't like the first at all..

Oh yeah, wait, the movie was great _EXCEPT_ for the emo-spiderman. Aw heck, I cringed in every single moment of emo-spiderman-ness.

[weggy]

I write this as someone who is not a comic book fan on the whole, and just saw the first movie 3 weeks ago (have yet to see 2nd)

Overall, I agree with the comments about Venom. He came in way, way too late, and he didn't stay evil. Topher just kept popping out as to remind you "hey, remember me?" I felt it was poorly done, and Venom was kind of a letdown.

I like bizzaro evil spiderman. They should make a movie about that, without all the arrogant bullshit.

And finally, Sandman's ending was quite... silly. "Hay, lets leik stop fihting kay." I mean, what the hell. No death, no reason to stop fighting. Just a "I'm sorry", then he flies off to Nantucket.

Didn't live up to all the hype, but the huge blockbusters never do. Still, a decent flick.

(Bruce Campbell FTW)

[Antipode]

(Bruce Campbell FTW)

Oh yeah, hahah, I forgot to mention that that whole scene was pretty amazing.

[Antipode]

You might like it - it's got a lot of good action and it DOES have a lot of nice sequences with Harry and Peter. I just didn't really like it as a movie.

[Shadow Wolf]

He was easily the best actor in that whole scene too. Why is he a B movie actor?

[Ffej]

Why is he a B movie actor?

Because talent rarely gets you fame.

Also, I felt it needs to be said that, while the movie didn't stick to the facts of the comic book, I do think it got the mood of the Spiderman series down pat.

[Doctor Shaft]

You might like it - it's got a lot of good action and it DOES have a lot of nice sequences with Harry and Peter. I just didn't really like it as a movie.

Agreed here. I'll give my full review, having just seen it a few hours ago.

Spiderman 3 is not a "bad" movie in the sense that they don't try. None of the actors give up, per say, and the direction doesn't really "quit" in my estimation. They don't really just throw explosions at us, persay, and while a few scenes, especially towards the end, may be interpreted as just special effects fluff aimed at a sure sell, I didn't really think that was the main issue with this film.

The first hour and a half of this film is Spiderman goodness. Perhaps not as great as Spiderman 2, but one has to be careful not to give too much credit where credit isn't deserved. Spiderman 2 gets a great deal of its momentum from the very first film, and how solidly constructed that previous film was. The first film also doesn't really resolve anything so much as it serves as hour "First Act" of a play. It's the exposition. It reveals our main characters to us, sets up the love triangles, the romance, the drama, the meaning of a hero, etc. So of course, as long as the cast and crew followed suit and thought long and hard, Spiderman 2 was almost guarenteed some form of success.

Spiderman 3, however, doesn't have that same benefit. Spiderman 2 unfortunately resolves many issues from Spidey 3, and while it does leave plenty of juicy bits left over (like Harry), the love issue is essentially tied up in that film. It's tough to beat the love drama of Spiderman 2. This last film tries hard to bring some tension and struggle, and it does it somewhat successfully, but at times it over-shoots just a little bit.

So what's my main beef with the film? Again, the first hour and a half is good. Even though there are perhaps one too many characters and conflicts to deal with, it's for the most part okay, and makes sense. However, following the climax of the film (Spiderman finally deciding to get rid of the suit after a chain of pretty messed up and recent events), the movie just runs out of steam and time to properly give everyone, not just the villains, a proper send off.

In other words, if you could break Spiderman 3 into sections, i'd say it has a set up, it has a nice building of conflict with all the characters, plenty of nice fight and emotional conflicts, a good lead up to a nice climax.... and then most of the falling action is entirely missing. We get a good end fight, a decent and logical ending... but you'll probably find yourself not caring so much.

Because no one (except perhaps Spiderman himself) is given time to really spend time thinking about or reacting to the mistakes and bad choices they make. And that's really the primary theme about Spiderman 3. The ability to make choices. And all of the characters, even Mary Jane, are given opportunities in the film to make choices, most of which they make are bad. But Spiderman is unfortunately really the only guy that gets enough screen time to consider his actions fully. Harry, perhaps, gets enough screen time as well for it, but Brock, Mary Jane, and Sandman don't quite get it.

Sandman gets a little time, but it's at the very end, which is awkward timing, I thought.

BOTTOMLINE: Spiderman 3 is, by no means, a "Bad" film. It's not the greatest, but that's also understandable as it is the third film in its line up, and like most trilogies, it doesn't get the bulk of "loose strings" to work with as the middle film always does. So no fanboy love for Spiderman 2 from me. Spiderman 3, in my estimation, should have done one of two possible things (both of which I realize are probably not feasible due to $$).

1.) Become two films. Take major portions of the 3rd film, and divide them effectively between two films. Either focus more on "Green Goblin2/Sandman" or "Green Goblin2/Venom". Doing both, while not a total failure, didn't leave us enough time to care enough about them when we get to the final fight, which was spectacular visually, but not quite as prominent emotionally. Green Goblin had enough lead up in the first film to make their last battle something to remember, despite being far more low key.

2.) Make the film longer. I realize that wouldn't have sold too well in theatres, etc., but the reason LOTR:ROTK works both as a book and as movie adaptation is because they both are given enough time to resolve their major plot points. Spiderman 3 needed that extra 40 minutes or so for the characters to think through and struggle with their actions and choices they made. Unfortunately, that time wasn't available, so we saw the conclusion without the 4th Act, so to speak.