SM3: Novel VS Actual Film

[spida-man]

for those who have read the novel..which script/story do you prefer? The novel's or the actual film itself and why?

[VenomVsSpidey]

I love the movie, but I'd take the novel. the reason being, that it gives more insight to the characters & their thoughts

[LightningFlash]

The novelization is far superior, imo. It gives full stories of the characters, more dialogue between Harry and Norman, and gives Venom more of a story, imo, than the five belittlement minutes we got, where he spent forty-five seconds getting Sandman to be his partner. And speaking of Sandman, we get full closure of his storylines(plural!!), because we know the doctor Sandman was stealing money for, and we get a closure of Penny getting helped and even Penny being the one to stop Sandman, which is an ending I would've enjoyed. Instead, we only got a half-ass attempt with Sandman's "family" arc.

Also, the novelization had a happy ending, where we got almost a cliffhanger ending thanks to the fact that there won't be a Sam Raimi Spider-Man 4.

[Frodo]

Imo , the shame of Spiderman 3 isn't that it didn't have a story to tell , but had too many stories to tell. Sure there were lame brain things like the dancing and Sandman killing Uncle Ben, but other then that , there were alot of elements that could have worked had they been developed. With all the material that made up the final mish mash script they could have had 3 more films.

If they had flushed out the Sandman and Harry stories alone minus the Alien Saga, Gwen, And Peter's becoming Jerk Before the costume , right there you already have a better focussed, more character driven film. But we all know what happened, so I won't go to that well again.

[LightningFlash]

^^ The stories felt complete within the novelization though.

And multiple stories isn't much of an issue, imo. A great writer and director could tackle on so many storylines and come out at the end with an amazing film. Sam Raimi proved that he wasn't able to. Bryan Singer has proved he can't. And that's why I would love to know if the Avengers can make it or break it. With so many storylines, it would be a nice change, but only if we get a great writer and director to do such. And so far, Zak Penn hasn't had a great track record, so I partially hope another writer gets onboard.

[Frodo]

Well in Spiderman 3's case, I think there we too many themes that weren't connected or had the feeling of unity in the end . You had the revenge forgiveness thing , At the same time you had the idea of Pride before the fall, Jealousy and betrayal, the addiction of power etc.

It didn't seem to have one theme as Spiderman 2 did which was, choice, and how his choices effect everyone elses lives.

However the advantage of a novel is that you can flesh out all of those ideas . These novels also often add things which aren't in the scripts and expand on ideas only hinted at in the films. However alot of the things mentioned in the thread were filmed from what I understand .

[LightningFlash]

Yes, pretty much everything the novel had was filmed, which was sad, because Raimi then filmed alternate(shorter) scenes and had them replace the original ones. Which is just, very, very sad.

[VenomVsSpidey]

actually I'm sure sony had them taken out...

[LightningFlash]

^^ Which is laughable if true, because then it shows that Raimi bended over for everything during production of that film.

And also questions why, because they knew Spider-Man 3 would make millions of money, and the taking out of scenes only made the film a disappointment, even though it still catered to the masses who can't appreciate quality, imo.

Which is, then, a reason why I can't understand why Raimi left during Spider-Man 4 since Raimi "behaved" and listened to all of their orders for Spider-Man 3...maybe he received a brain and finally departed after the whole "Vulturess" thing, which is what I hope, but, still...it's weird to think Sony would want that; Sony use to always one-up 20th Century Fox...but now perhaps Sony is on the same level as them.

[VenomVsSpidey]

or maybe wanted to keep his job....?

he left because of all the pissing and moaning fanboys did when SM3 wasn't what they expected, he felt he owed it to them, when in all honesty, their problems with SM3 lay with themselves.

[LightningFlash]

Ahh, so he'll look over creative control for money. That's nice.

[VenomVsSpidey]

trollin for the loss....

[LightningFlash]

You're doing the same...fyi.

[VenomVsSpidey]

Oh really? care to explain how?

[LightningFlash]

Because if you're calling what I'm doing "trolling", by me saying my own opinions, then you're doing the same exact thing. I say my opinions on the films and what I think of Raimi, while, even though you're always praising the films and praising Raimi, it can still be viewed as trolling as you don't stop. Example is this thread, you're replying to my posts, so I am replying back. It's not trolling when someone keeps talking to ya. Opinions can be told whenever; they shouldn't be hidden just because the mass thinks otherwise.

[Venom75]

I enjoyed the novel more because,as some of you have said,it really goes deeper storywise and give more insight on the characters and their motivations. I haven't read it in a while,but I remember one or two moments when he feels hurt by MJ (while he's wearing the black suit) and he tells himself,"Wait,I don't need her. Who cares what she wants?" The novel really went deeper into Peter's mind and how the symbiote effected him...and how it effected Eddie Brock as well. The film,obviously didn't do that.

[webhead731]

Well, to be fair, it really couldn't do all those.

I remember Hulk had something like that, and so did Ock's tentacles in the SM2 novel.

[Venom75]

Originally Posted by webhead731

Well, to be fair, it really couldn't do all those.

I remember Hulk had something like that, and so did Ock's tentacles in the SM2 novel.

I guess they could've,at least with Peter. I mean,he had narration at the beginning of each film,why not a few thoughts here and there during the film? Although,who knows how well that would gone over with some fans?

[tocuba]

I really liked the movie. The novel was good, but what makes the movie better is that you can't enjoy such good effects in the novel.

[Venom 1988]

Originally Posted by tocuba

I really liked the movie. The novel was good, but what makes the movie better is that you can't enjoy such good effects in the novel.

You must have a poor imagination then.

[Visceral]

Originally Posted by Venom 1988

You must have a poor imagination then.

hey come now that not fair to the man.

[Visceral]

I've never read the novel and was pissed with the outcome of the film as I loved the second one.

For those who have read it, is there a dancing scene, and does he hit mj?

[TomPiltoff]

Originally Posted by LightningFlash

It's not trolling when someone keeps talking to ya.

You grossly misunderstand trolling.

[Hurm...]

The novel is basically the director's cut of SM3, and probably the closest thing to us ever seeing the damn thing.

Novel>Movie