Overall, the good outweighed the bad by quite a bit. One trend that Hiphopguy23 is starting to notice is that these superhero movies (and Harry Potter series) try to fit way too much in. Spider- Man not only had three villians but three love interests?!? Everything has to move quick, quick, quick. No wonder today's kids have ADD. Hiphopguy23 recently watched Planet of the Apes for the first time. Hiphopguy23 was just captivated at how the slow pacing kept Hiphopguy23 completely entranced, giving Hiphopguy23 time to think and wonder what would happen next. M. Night Shamalayan is a master of this sort of pacing. Unbreakable is one of the best superhero movies of all time.

Buy it here.

the wiseguy Brock is a far cry from the jock thug in the comic books, making his physical transformation harder to explain.

I always thought of Brock as more of a Flash Thompson-type jerk of a character. In this movie, he was just a pretty boy who didn't understand what it was he'd gotten his hands on. We saw very little of the potential of what Venom could be.

So if Sandman is the one who killed Uncle Ben… does that mean Peter is not responsible, by letting that thief escape into the elevator?

I wonder how much cut footage from the dance scenes will be re-inserted for the Spider-Man 3.1 DVD special edition? ;-)

Disclaimer: I had neglible Spider-Man history before the movies. I couldn't have named a Spidey bad guy if my life depended on it! So it's difficult for me to comment on how appropriate the portrayals of the bad guys were.

Ah, you're right (of course!). I remember that vividly. I guess it escaped me while writing the post, as I think Spider-Man 3 was still the only film in the series to not use the original theme song (as opposed to a variation thereon)… or at least to apply lyrics to it. :-)

What did you think of the rest of the film?

-Ken

(And to end on a sour note: This was also the only film in the trilogy to not feature the original theme song anywhere — not even in the closing credits! Way to tick off the true believers!)

I just saw the movie tonight, and the original theme song music was used as background music during the "Keys to the city" scene. I don't recall if it was used at any other time such as the dance scenes that GeneD mentioned.

Far as Spidey 3, the Black Suit/Venom storyline probably deserved an entire movie to unfold and developed. You're right Gene, Raimi initally didn't want to include him but had his arm twisted by Arad to satisfy 'younger fans.'

Maybe that's why the actual 'Venom' character was handled so sloppy.

Yeah the CGI Venom had big teeth, but did he really scare the bejeebies out of anyone? Yawn.

Without question Venom is the most significant Spider-Man villian to come from the non-Lee/Ditko Golden era — and he was mostly relegated to a CGI circus performer around the screen.

In a movie littered with weak points, that was probably the most brittle regarding on-screen presence, continuity, and overall coolness.

Yeah, the wiseguy Brock is a far cry from the jock thug in the comic books, making his physical transformation harder to explain. By the same token, making all of the villains sympathetic undercuts their struggles with Peter Parker/Spider-Man, whose secret identity must be as difficult as ever to maintain after being unmasked during a battle in front of spotlights and news copters!

If anything, I think that "New Goblin" Harry Osborn got short shrift in this movie, since his redemption was short-lived… On the other hand, I still think James Franco would have been a better Anakin Skywalker in the "Star Wars" prequels (with Keira Knightly instead of Natalie Portman)….

I agree with Brian that the later sequels tend to aim wide for mainstream success and forget the qualities that drew us fans in the first place.

A very good synopsis and assessment, Ken.

I agree with a lot of your points — albeit I differ upon Sandman getting voted "off the island."

His characterization was handled well by Raimi and put an interesting twist on the Spider-Man villan, e.g., one without a specific vendetta against the wall-crawler but rather a super-powered being whom is more neutral (an homage to the eventual about-face Flint Marko performs in the comics and eventually joins the Avengers??).

To me, the symbiont was handled very poorly. You are correct stating the black suit personified Parker's struggle with responsibility for Ben's death vs. ability to live a normal life and submissive repression in favor of overt personality expression (or in this case, over the top dancing sequences and chick magnet portrayal played for laughs with casual fans and drawing snickers from devout Spidey followers).

I was very disappointed in Topher Grace's 'hip, smart alec, fast-talking, wiseguy' Eddie Brock rendition. He was more annoying than he was sympathetic, or better yet, an imposing fear the black suit could make perhaps Spidey's deadliest enemy.

Gene and I discussed this at the off site, but I think Raimi really 'pulled a Singer' here. He took liberties with Spider-man canon and history (aside from Sandman) and really twisted things to his own end. Goblin Jr. on a jet ski?? The Black Suit making Parker uber-evil and an A-hole rather than simply aggressive? The butler suddenly puling a mea culpa to come clean about Norman's death?

No mas, no mas.

Begs the question: For whom are these movies being made for these days?