What made this movie a let down for the majority of the fans?

[jrd550]

You know, it's a simple case of the studio and or producers trying to cram too many characters into a single film... the film felt like a fast food place, where you ordered Sandman, Venom, Goblin 2 and that's exactly what you got without any backdtory or refinement. All this tension with Harry in part 2 leads to this? Amnesia and the butler? Please. And the symbiote comes from outerspace, and that's it? Nothing further on it? The film should have focused on sandman only and just teased at venom in the end...

 

[jrd550]

My main problem was, after the patience of the first two installments (character development, layered story arcs) the third film has too much crammed in. The pacing is all wrong too.

I'd have loved to have seen Eddie Brock as an introduction in this film much the same as Doc Connors has been treated.

Sandman was surplus to requirements and didn't offer much. I appreciated the humour but it was too much at times.

The sensibility was more Hollywood and less comic book and this is where the movie suffered.

I blame Avi Arad though and not Sam Raimi.

Well said - Avi is a business man, not a comic book reader or lover... I bet you sam won't come back...

 

[SFII]

i'm sick of the whole bullcrap romance side-story with MaryJane and Peter.
also, i'm sick of Harry. and sick of the Goblin character.
and i'm sick of Spider-man pulling his frickin' mask off at the end of every movie while he's in battle. i just wish he'd leave that mask on during his fight scenes, in particularly when there's a crowd watching!

 

[LiveWire777]

Long time lurker putting in my 2 cents, 6/10.

No I'm not a hater nor a rabid fanboy, was it a complete train wreck, no.
Was it a good movie, afraid not, only fair.

Was I hyped for the movie, yes, was it a letdown, also yes, for me at least. This was not because I was overly hyped for the movie but because of fatal flaws in the movie's script. I agree with many that if either Sandman or Venom were left out of the script, more time could have been used to develop the other character and a more satisfying story.

Problems:

1) Underdeveloped characters:

Sandman. Ok he wanted to help his little girl who is sick, nice. Sick from what? Flint falls into the scientists Particle pit. What was the experiment and why were they running it in the middle of the night, overtime pay?

Gwen. Peter is her lab partner I'm told later on, why didn't we see any of that to establish why she likes Peter?

Symbiote. Peter instantly accepts without question that he wakes up hanging upside down in front of a building because the "power feels good". Later he has a piece of it run around the desk for Dr. Conner and still goes back and wears it even though it appears to be alive?

Venom. Once merged, Eddie is swinging around the city instantly and not even questioning what this is or where it came from and why he has Spidey's abilities? No "we" and that was a key to the character, perhaps a little Gollum inspired conversation between Eddie and Venom would have helped. Does he go right after Spidey, no, he asked Sandman for help.

2) Bad Coincidences:

A black goo meteorite falls right in the middle of Central Park and no one sees it? Then the goo attaches itself to the moped and our hero doesn't even sense it (it seems the spidey sense was turned off for this movie completely anyway).

Amnesia, ugh, oldest trick in the book and the easiest way to make your enemy your best friend again.

The church, Eddie happens to be in the same church as Spidey as he takes off the symbiote and also why did Spidey go into the bell tower in the first place? Aren't there thousands of churches in NY, why was Eddie in this particular church at this particular time?

Gwen happens to be the only one to fall out of the building during the crane disaster?

Sandman happens to fly (what was with that anyway) by during the Spiderman Day ceremony?

Flint Marko happens to be the "real" killer of Uncle Ben (shouldn't this also negate Peter's feelings of guilt, by the way about his uncle's death)?

3) Missed Opportunities

The crane sequence- Umm, what happened to the thousands of tons of steel that was flailing around destroying buildings and putting everyone in peril?Rather than the same catch the single girl scenario, what if multiple people were falling out of the building and he dealt with that AND secured the crane?

Swinging- Maybe I'm just jaded but none of it wowed me. Look at the shot in Spidey 2 when he twists between the truck while chasing the 2 robbers in the car, that shot still blows me away (I love that whole sequence in fact even "go spidey go!").

There is something called "suspension of disbelief" in movies. When a movie obeys it's own rules and internal logic the movie "works" and you maintain that suspension.

This movie didn't "work". That is why I feel it was a disappointment.

You hit it on the nose my good man.

 

[LiveWire777]

I thought that the symbiote falling from the sky was the most laziest idea ever to hit a Spiderman movie. Come on is that the best they could come up with??

 

[KappeiJin]

I thought that the symbiote falling from the sky was the most laziest idea ever to hit a Spiderman movie.

The butler!!! The asterois was lame but it's just to introduce new stuff.
The butler was a abomination, a vile deus ex-machina to change completely one of the main stories of the cinematic saga.
Shame!

 

[Lightning54SC]

why all te crying and moaning... seriously you guys got 3 villains and a decent plot... what did Superman fans get... nothing but crap ... a floating rock... old baddie.. thats it... NO VILLAIN fight or anything

 

[Qwerty©]

What made this movie a letdown to the majority of the fans was that they didn't get what they wanted.

Simple as that.

Well, it's their loss.

 

[November Rain]

I honestly believe the key to satisfaction is not releasing so much footage...

there is definitely a correlation between the amount of footage released and full scenes showcased and the drop of enjoyment factor of a film.

look at the original xmen and spidey films, lack of footage, more enjoyment.

x3 and spidey 3 had more scenes released to draw in the crowds and bam, everyone then becomes dissapointed.

I always say be worried if the marketing team are throwing everything but the kitchen sink your way to market a film, even long extended fight sequences

 

[ChrisBaleBatman]

Wasn't the symbiote being from outerspace from the comics too?

I dunno.....the focus was on Peter mostly, and Harry as well. That was all I really needed. I don't think you NEED to give backstory to everyone who is in the film.

 

[venom892]

why all te crying and moaning... seriously you guys got 3 villains and a decent plot... what did Superman fans get... nothing but crap ... a floating rock... old baddie.. thats it... NO VILLAIN fight or anything

I'm sorry but I rather get one villain with a great plot then 3 with a lackluster plot.

 

[Eddie Brock]

This thread's title cracks me up because the fans ARE the let-down for me.

 

[Spider-X]

biggest dissappointment:

the mishandling of Eddie Brock and Venom. there's soooo much potential there and Raimi gives us an extremely unneeded Sandman...could have used that time to build up Eddie Brock and Venom into something really menacing and tormenting.

'nuff said.

 

[GhostPoet]

I thought it was a great film with a great story and LOTS of fantastic character moments.

As for being too crammed with villains...uh..there were only TWO. And they were both handled fine. Sandman went from being a guy committing crimes to help his kid to falling in with real evil and going on a revenge kick because Spiderman is stopping him from his goal. Venom, we had more than enough to show why Brock enjoyed being Venom.
It was a great film.

 

[dodus]

Wasn't the symbiote being from outerspace from the comics too?

I dunno.....the focus was on Peter mostly, and Harry as well. That was all I really needed. I don't think you NEED to give backstory to everyone who is in the film.

 

[DoomRulz]

I'm sure I'll be repeating previous sentiment, but I think the film wasn't as well received just b/c the entire film was hyped on the fact that Venom made an appearance.

Think about it: since Spider-Man first came out, then Spidey 2, and finally Spidey 3, people kept crying out "Where's Venom?, Bring on Venom!, We want Venom!"

All Raimi and his producers had to was capitalize on that 'burning desire' if you will. PRESTO! Along came Spider-Man 3.

 

[X-Punisher]

Personally, I thought the movie was awesome. When I went to school only 2 people complained about it, and hated it (for stupid reasons) because of the Jazz diner and not enough Venom. People expected it to be all about Venom, which is ridiculous because there are 3 villians in the movie. The only critisism that I had was that Sandman was unneccesary, but still pretty cool. But 3 villians is pushing it, but I still liked it. Anyways, I'm glad it turned out better than X-Men 3.

 

[KappeiJin]

It just was worse than 1 & 2 imho.

 

[dos_acoustic]

whats with all the " unneeded sandman" or " usless sandman story "? Sandmans story had heart. It was what Sam wanted to make. The movie would have an almost watchable flick if it would have been about Sandman alone. Venom was usless and unneeded IMO.

 

[Rizor]

My big disappointment was with just how lazy and clumsy this film was put together. I don't think it's a bad one, but certainly not even close to what Raimi and the team showed us they were capable of with Spider-Man 2.

First off, the whole Harry has amnesia business was just silly. Heck, I don't even understand why it was necessary at all. If anything, it gave James Franco the chance to act kinda goofy and ham it up. I also didn't understand how Harry got MJ to break up with Peter. He kinda just popped up, scared her, and she went along with it. He wasn't forcing her into anything. You'd think MJ would at least warn Peter about Harry, but nope. She just blindly agrees to go through with it.

Now we arrive at Peter turning into a jazz dancing, gothic a-hole. The whole sequence was pretty bad, but in an oddly funny way. Personally, though, I think the movie would've been stronger without the Jazz club scene where Peter's dancing with Gwen. And a little more subtlety may have helped out the characters more than Raimi's more goofy portrayal of Peter's dark side.

Sandman was just very underdeveloped. He's got a daughter whose sick. This is what drives him. Besides that and the fact that he feels guilty for killing Ben, he's really got nothing going. He robs banks. Presumably, this is for money to save his daughter, but to what end? He just shows up, causes a mess, and then he's thwarted. What's the plan? How's he gonna use the money to help his daughter?

With Venom, I think they could've done better. He really didn't seem that threatening to me. Maybe it was Topher Grace's voice coming out of the thing, but the character was lacking in presence, even when he was fully suited up.

Overall, the movie felt sloppy. Everything just seems so convenient. It doesn't evolve naturally. Things happen purely because the script says they do. For example, Sandman just so happens to fall into a research facility and get demolecularized or whatever. How convenient! Also, the Sandman-Venom team up was just so poorly handled. Sandman's just walking down an alley when Venom pops up and says, "With our powers combined, Spider-Man can never stop us!" And then they go about their plan, which is told in a similarly sloppy and forced manner. Just way too rushed.

The Harry-Spidey team up also felt quite contrived. We all knew it was going to happen, but they could've made it feel more natural. And what was up with the Osborn houseman stepping up to tell Harry that that stuff just when the movie needed him to, rather than during Spidey 2 when the same character criticizes Harry for his unhealthy obsession over Spidey? Anyway, when they do team up, it plays out more like something you'd expect to find in Hot Fuzz.

I think audiences have come to expect a certain level of quality with the Spider-Man films. So I think all the anger comes from the thought that Spider-Man was supposed to be great, but turned out to be mediocre at best.

 

[Aethea]

The Outrageous Amounts of Villains Did Not Allow for Individual Focus and Development on one Character. As a result, the plot suffered. Furthermore, The Sandman, was just ridiculous. Every single event seemed coincidental--like the landing of the mysterious substance--where did it come from?

 

[MST3KPIMP]

Spider-man 3 is superfluous.. It's like a third nipple which serves no purpose but to repeat the other two and add no exspansion or purpose. This movie cost too much money for it to just be ok. shameful

 

[MST3KPIMP]

Spider-man 3 is superfluous.. It's like a third nipple which serves no purpose but to repeat the other two and add no exspansion or purpose. This movie cost too much money for it to just be ok. shameful

 

[The Joker]

My big disappointment was with just how lazy and clumsy this film was put together. I don't think it's a bad one, but certainly not even close to what Raimi and the team showed us they were capable of with Spider-Man 2.

First off, the whole Harry has amnesia business was just silly. Heck, I don't even understand why it was necessary at all. If anything, it gave James Franco the chance to act kinda goofy and ham it up. I also didn't understand how Harry got MJ to break up with Peter. He kinda just popped up, scared her, and she went along with it. He wasn't forcing her into anything. You'd think MJ would at least warn Peter about Harry, but nope. She just blindly agrees to go through with it.

Now we arrive at Peter turning into a jazz dancing, gothic a-hole. The whole sequence was pretty bad, but in an oddly funny way. Personally, though, I think the movie would've been stronger without the Jazz club scene where Peter's dancing with Gwen. And a little more subtlety may have helped out the characters more than Raimi's more goofy portrayal of Peter's dark side.

Sandman was just very underdeveloped. He's got a daughter whose sick. This is what drives him. Besides that and the fact that he feels guilty for killing Ben, he's really got nothing going. He robs banks. Presumably, this is for money to save his daughter, but to what end? He just shows up, causes a mess, and then he's thwarted. What's the plan? How's he gonna use the money to help his daughter?

With Venom, I think they could've done better. He really didn't seem that threatening to me. Maybe it was Topher Grace's voice coming out of the thing, but the character was lacking in presence, even when he was fully suited up.

Overall, the movie felt sloppy. Everything just seems so convenient. It doesn't evolve naturally. Things happen purely because the script says they do. For example, Sandman just so happens to fall into a research facility and get demolecularized or whatever. How convenient! Also, the Sandman-Venom team up was just so poorly handled. Sandman's just walking down an alley when Venom pops up and says, "With our powers combined, Spider-Man can never stop us!" And then they go about their plan, which is told in a similarly sloppy and forced manner. Just way too rushed.

The Harry-Spidey team up also felt quite contrived. We all knew it was going to happen, but they could've made it feel more natural. And what was up with the Osborn houseman stepping up to tell Harry that that stuff just when the movie needed him to, rather than during Spidey 2 when the same character criticizes Harry for his unhealthy obsession over Spidey? Anyway, when they do team up, it plays out more like something you'd expect to find in Hot Fuzz.

I think audiences have come to expect a certain level of quality with the Spider-Man films. So I think all the anger comes from the thought that Spider-Man was supposed to be great, but turned out to be mediocre at best.

Excellent post! I agree with nearly everything you said.

 

[HerosOnFilm]

Things happen purely because the script says they do. For example, Sandman just so happens to fall into a research facility and get demolecularized or whatever. How convenient! Also, the Sandman-Venom team up was just so poorly handled. Sandman's just walking down an alley when Venom pops up and says, "With our powers combined, Spider-Man can never stop us!" And then they go about their plan, which is told in a similarly sloppy and forced manner. Just way too rushed.

All quite true. Also, if Sandman accidentally killed Uncle Ben, and was remorseful, and more than likely realized Spidey was after him for that reason, why did he even team up with Venom to begin with? If you were him and needed the money, why bother fighting Spidey (especially if Venom already was planning to) and just rob some more banks? I guess after bashing Spidey during the T-rex Sandman/Venom trap he just felt guilty...? It's like, okay, I want to kill you, and then after Venom is eradicated, well, here's how it really went down with Uncle Ben..