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- YSSMAN
What an event. Spider-Man 3, probably one of the biggest (if not the biggest) movies of 2007, it all came down to me in a theater filled with fewer than ten people. With all the fanfare leading up to the film, not to mention my own curiosity going into it, I had anticipated viewing the best two hours and twenty minutes of my life... Or so I thought.
Simply put, Spider-Man 3 is a polarizing experience.
The lead-up to the film was indeed one of great anticipation based largely off the resounding success of its predecessor, Spider-Man 2, largely considered to be the best Superhero movie ever. What Spider-Man 2 had was the sense of 'completeness,' following the basic story arc, keeping the comics in mind, beautiful cinematography, excelent acting, all boiling down to be one of the best movies of 2005.
How then did they manage to get it so half-assed in Spider-Man 3?
News of the production was mostly positive, rumors of long-awaited villains and heroes awaited, along with promises of excelent story telling, great computer graphics beyond what we had seen, etc. And without a doubt, most of that was fulfilled.
...But then the early reviews began to come in about two weeks ago, and the results were a mixed bag. Complaints about the lack of a cohesive story, so-so acting, continuity issues, etc. I was skeptical to say the least, as I had yet to get over the Spider-Man 2 hangover. Quite frankly, I think most of us were still on it up until last week. But sitting there in the theater, things just came apart, piece by piece, until we were left with this tiny web of hope...
So what went wrong? (SPOILERS AHEAD, MATEY!!!)
- Okay, we're done with Spider-Man 2, one of the best movies in Superhero history. Spider-Man fought one of his greatest nemesis, Doc Ock, so where do we go for an enemy? How about three... New Goblin, Sandman, and Venom. That is two too many to be honest, and it all would have made more sense with just one in there. Clearly however, Sony wanted to milk this cow, and bring in the best of what it had. Quite simply, we end up with a mess of characters by which the means are only semi-justified in the ends, and quite frankly, only leaves the viewer further confused... Particularly with those of us who have a knowledge of the comic book.
So aside from the stupid villain quotient, what else? The whole Emo thing threw me off while Spidey had his Black-Suit going on (BTW: Doesn't follow the comic-book story one bit. Even throws the later TV-influenced story off a bit...), and the reactions to him being that way certainly seemed strange as well.
...But I'm not going to rant about why things were wrong, how they should have been better, etc... I don't want to nerd-out on everyone here.
Still, I have a really hard time completely hating the movie. I enjoyed myself, I felt an emotional attachment to the characters with what was going on, and yet I walked away feeling like something had gone wrong. Maybe Spider-Man 2 was just too good, maybe my standards were set too high, maybe my nerdyness finally surpassed what I could handle... I don't know.
Either way, I can't fully-recomend Spider-Man 3. In my heart of hearts, I want to give it a 9, but I just cant...
Spider-Man 3; 7.5 out of 10
---
...One thing that still bothers me is how Venom died. Basically, a grenade is detonated with Brock attempting to get back to the suit, vaporizing both of them instantly. That was a cheap way to end the arc of one of the most-anticipated characters in recent memory... But wait, there is more...
We keep hearing hints that one of the characters who died really isn't dead. Obviously, this would leave us with Harry (semi-likely, given his clear regenerative abilities after taking the super-soldier serum) or Venom (too important of a character, stupid way of dying-off). With Spider-Man 4 already in talks, it may be anyone's guess, but with the crowd reaction the way with was for Spider-Man 3, I'd bet that these guys are listening to what the fans are saying.
Personally speaking, Venom deserves his own movie. I could care less if it is a Spider-Man title or not, the character is just too damn important to kill-off that easily. But the hole they dug will be an interesting one to get out of... Particularly with Harry as a "good guy" now, and the question of Venom completely left in the open.
...But even then, I've heard that a lot of people are jumping ship. Toby may or may not want to be Spider-Man anymore, Kirsten doesn't want to do MJ, and the rest of the folks are left standing wondering what the hell is going to happen. It has been long-rumored that Jake Gylenhal (however you spell his name) wants to be Spider-Man, and I've heard that Mandy Moore may play MJ... But with Rami questionable to return behind the camera, God only knows what will happen...
Either way, much of this won't be decided probably for the next year or so. With the Iron Man movie nearing the end of production, Captain America on the front-burner, not to mention another rumored Hulk movie, another X-Men or Wolverine story... And most importantly an Avengers movie (rumors suggest it would be the 'modern' avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Thor)... Clearly Marvel has a lot on their plate.
...We'll see...
Simply put, Spider-Man 3 is a polarizing experience.
The lead-up to the film was indeed one of great anticipation based largely off the resounding success of its predecessor, Spider-Man 2, largely considered to be the best Superhero movie ever. What Spider-Man 2 had was the sense of 'completeness,' following the basic story arc, keeping the comics in mind, beautiful cinematography, excelent acting, all boiling down to be one of the best movies of 2005.
How then did they manage to get it so half-assed in Spider-Man 3?
News of the production was mostly positive, rumors of long-awaited villains and heroes awaited, along with promises of excelent story telling, great computer graphics beyond what we had seen, etc. And without a doubt, most of that was fulfilled.
...But then the early reviews began to come in about two weeks ago, and the results were a mixed bag. Complaints about the lack of a cohesive story, so-so acting, continuity issues, etc. I was skeptical to say the least, as I had yet to get over the Spider-Man 2 hangover. Quite frankly, I think most of us were still on it up until last week. But sitting there in the theater, things just came apart, piece by piece, until we were left with this tiny web of hope...
So what went wrong? (SPOILERS AHEAD, MATEY!!!)
- Okay, we're done with Spider-Man 2, one of the best movies in Superhero history. Spider-Man fought one of his greatest nemesis, Doc Ock, so where do we go for an enemy? How about three... New Goblin, Sandman, and Venom. That is two too many to be honest, and it all would have made more sense with just one in there. Clearly however, Sony wanted to milk this cow, and bring in the best of what it had. Quite simply, we end up with a mess of characters by which the means are only semi-justified in the ends, and quite frankly, only leaves the viewer further confused... Particularly with those of us who have a knowledge of the comic book.
1) New Goblin: This one was a long-time coming, particularly after Spider-Man 2. To be honest, you would have expected this either way at least in some thorn, as Harry Osbourne had always been a thorn in Peter's Side after the death of his father. But the whole head-trauma thing threw a big wrench in the story, obviously there for the addition of Sandman and Venom, and by the end of things (after Harry regains his memory), you're disappointed. Particularly after the Emo fight. But that being said, the teamwork at the end really kicked-ass, and it made me feel happy to be a Spider-Man fan, at least during that scene.
2) Sandman: Where the hell did they pull this guy from? Okay, I know he is a long-standing character in the series, but did anyone really think they would have made this guy one of the baddies in the movie? Before Venom? before Vulture? Before Rhino? Come-on guys, this one was an oddity at best. If there is one redeeming quality to the story, it is that it helps to flesh-out the Uncle Ben incident, and furthermore demonstrates the idea of two-sides to a story. You really do end up feeling bad for Sandman by the end of it all, but the real head-scratcher at the end simply is what happens to him? We know in the comic books he becomes a good guy... But there wasn't the slightest hint of that here...
3) Venom: This one felt like an afterthought. The Eddie Brock story was neither fleshed out (keep in mind the deep history between Brock and Parker), nor really used as an explanation of why things were the way they were. To be honest, the whole Venom thing was probably done as an homage to the fans, but lets get serious, Venom deserves his own damn movie, not shared with these other two punks. With the idiotic way he died (more on that later), you have to hope they are doing more...
So aside from the stupid villain quotient, what else? The whole Emo thing threw me off while Spidey had his Black-Suit going on (BTW: Doesn't follow the comic-book story one bit. Even throws the later TV-influenced story off a bit...), and the reactions to him being that way certainly seemed strange as well.
...But I'm not going to rant about why things were wrong, how they should have been better, etc... I don't want to nerd-out on everyone here.
Still, I have a really hard time completely hating the movie. I enjoyed myself, I felt an emotional attachment to the characters with what was going on, and yet I walked away feeling like something had gone wrong. Maybe Spider-Man 2 was just too good, maybe my standards were set too high, maybe my nerdyness finally surpassed what I could handle... I don't know.
Either way, I can't fully-recomend Spider-Man 3. In my heart of hearts, I want to give it a 9, but I just cant...
Spider-Man 3; 7.5 out of 10
---
...One thing that still bothers me is how Venom died. Basically, a grenade is detonated with Brock attempting to get back to the suit, vaporizing both of them instantly. That was a cheap way to end the arc of one of the most-anticipated characters in recent memory... But wait, there is more...
We keep hearing hints that one of the characters who died really isn't dead. Obviously, this would leave us with Harry (semi-likely, given his clear regenerative abilities after taking the super-soldier serum) or Venom (too important of a character, stupid way of dying-off). With Spider-Man 4 already in talks, it may be anyone's guess, but with the crowd reaction the way with was for Spider-Man 3, I'd bet that these guys are listening to what the fans are saying.
Personally speaking, Venom deserves his own movie. I could care less if it is a Spider-Man title or not, the character is just too damn important to kill-off that easily. But the hole they dug will be an interesting one to get out of... Particularly with Harry as a "good guy" now, and the question of Venom completely left in the open.
...But even then, I've heard that a lot of people are jumping ship. Toby may or may not want to be Spider-Man anymore, Kirsten doesn't want to do MJ, and the rest of the folks are left standing wondering what the hell is going to happen. It has been long-rumored that Jake Gylenhal (however you spell his name) wants to be Spider-Man, and I've heard that Mandy Moore may play MJ... But with Rami questionable to return behind the camera, God only knows what will happen...
Either way, much of this won't be decided probably for the next year or so. With the Iron Man movie nearing the end of production, Captain America on the front-burner, not to mention another rumored Hulk movie, another X-Men or Wolverine story... And most importantly an Avengers movie (rumors suggest it would be the 'modern' avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Thor)... Clearly Marvel has a lot on their plate.
...We'll see...
), Jessica Biel is being asked to try out for Chun Li in the new Street Fighter (
