Look, I never thought this was the greatest comic book series but it was certainly better than Marvel’s other outings (Hulk, Ghost Rider, Elektra, Fantastic Four). My point is that if you don’t have a solid script, you don’t have diddly squat. Thids movie wanted to do some much and failed miserably trying to bite more than it can chew.

They never fully explained Venom. It was just a thing from space. OK. Why did it crash there? Where did it come from? What’s so bad about sound? Sandman had a sick daughter but that subplot went nowhere and was just idiotic in the scheme of things (Since when does sand fly without wind? What was the whole point of experimenting on sand to begin with?). MJ was getting jealous of Spidey’s popularity and Spidey allowing Gwen to kiss him @ the parade were things that were totally out of character for those…characters.

The Point? Be truthful to the characters. Don’t deviate from who they are. Make sure you’re story follows a logical path, not try to fit pieces of a puzzle that don’t fit at all.

Marvel needs to step their game up when making movies. I don’t mean put them out for the public just to make a ton of cash. I mean really put care and some sense of quality into the multi-million dollar movies they’re making. If they don’t care, why should I care about their future releases?

Spidey acted out of character before he had the suit on and it made no sense. Then he puts on the suit and wants to be Mr. Bad Ass / Tony Monero from Saturday Night Fever / Fred Astaire. This is a superhero movie, right? I thought I went to a theater to a real movie, not some Sci-Fi channel B-movie. Please!

*HELL THE SPIDER-MAN ANIMATED SERIES OF THE EARLY 90s DID A 1000% JOB OF EXPLAINING VENOM AND I DIDN”T HAVE TO PAY $11 SEE THAT STORY PLAY OUT!*

Plus, I’ve hated how this series somewhat copied the Superman story formula:

1. Superman: The Movie- Hero kicks ass but doesn’t get the girl. Same in Spidey 1.

2. Superman II- Hero wishes to become normal to be with girl 100% of the time only to realize the world needs him and goes back to being Hero. Same in Spidey 2.

3. Superman III: Supes becomes involved with another woman, is bad due to foreign object and fights himself. In Spidey 3- Spidey involves himself with another woman, becomes bad due to foreign object (at least Supes III tried to explain the objects origin [but that doesn't excuse the fact that its still a bad movie])and eventually fights himself a la Venom.

Be true to the characters. Show me something original and new. Don’t butcher it just to get a few bucks.

Me, too–I found that pretty cheesy. Actually, I found the entire key-to-the-city scene pretty cheesy and unnecessary. But I did like the Peter Parker Strut. (Not the nightclub scene, which was just mean-spirited, but the scenes of Spidey channeling John Travolta ca. 1979). It probably belonged in a different movie, but I actually got a good chuckle out of that sequence.

@Kayode: Felicia Hardy would have made a lot more sense than Gwen, and Howard could have easily pulled off playing her. Would have made the connection with Brock a lot more interesting, too, and potentially set up some interesting future plot developments.

But I didn’t see why it was worth bothering to name the new girl “Gwen Stacey” when she didn’t really seem to serve any “Gwen Stacey-specific” purpose (if that makes sense). I mean, she was there so MJ and Peter could have some relationship problems to work through. Nothing wrong with that. But she could have been any girl. And I’d probably have preferred her as just any other girl, instead of attaching a name that brings a whole history with it (the most important part of which, as you said, was already tackled in the first movie). Unless she really was being set up for an important role in the 4th. But like Venom, it just felt like familiar characters brought in as fanboy fodder. But then again, I’m all for unfamiliar new characters myself. Just a preference, I guess.

As far as the 1st vs the 2nd movie goes. . . well, I guess that’s just preference as well. I always felt like the 2nd movie felt based more in reality, less suspension of disbelief, just enough nods to the comic roots without being hokey. It just felt like the New York I know (you know, within reason), if it happened to be inhabited by a crime fighting guy with spider-like powers. The 1st and 3rd felt more like a comic book version of New York. It felt right to have a nice scientist using mechanical arms that made sense during an experiment gone wrong. It seemed to make more sense than a symbiote just happening to land near Peter while an escaped convict just happens to fall into some sand-experiment and someone else gets a perfectly timed bump to the head (none of that should be too spoileriffic). . . just didn’t feel as natural as the 2nd movie to me.

I liked the 1st one when it came out, but when I go back and watch it now, it feels a little painful and I’m likely to turn it off halfway through. It was a good comic-book movie. The 2nd one I can still watch and get a little thrill from. It was just a good movie. But hey, to each his own.

Regardless of any problems I have, though, like you said, I don’t think anyone is going to walk away from Spidey 3 feeling like they wasted their money. It’s still a real solid movie, all in all.

@Katherine: Because they already did Gwen’s story in the first movie, only difference being that MJ lived. Worst part about 3 is that I was really hoping they’d kill off MJ. Dunst is a weak actress — not unlike MJ! — and has zero chemistry with Maguire, while Howard is a superior actress and moving forward with Gwen Stacy would solve the problem of signing Dunst up for a fourth movie that she believes shouldn’t be done without her, Raimi and Maguire involved.

Anyway, my mini-review? It was good. Better than the first, not nearly as good as the second. And as hopeful as I was when we first heard he was gonna be in it (hey, I grew up reading Spider-Man in the 80s and early 90s), I gotta say. . . I could have done without Venom. Brock felt perfect while Venom felt tacked-on. It just didn’t seem necessary. I could use more Brock though. They really nailed that prick down to the last snide remark. Too bad he was shuffled off into Venom-land so quicky (in one movie), I liked the rivalry. Definitely lacked the nice pacing of the Peter/Harry relationship.

The relationship between Peter and Harry was done really well, though. Definitely one of my favorite parts of the movie. And the semi-nonsensical “Peter Parker Strut” scene, which may have been pointless and completely out of left field, but was still a gorgeous 45 seconds of screen-time. Maybe I’m just partial to a little funk.

On an Ebert scale? I dunno, 3 out of 4 stars, or something, if we’re just comparing it to its peers. Actually, make that 2.5 on account of Venom looking too much like the shinigami from the Death Note movie.

Seriously.