Tobey...dance...okay, I'll never lay eyes on this in my life.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Okay, now some thoughts on the film, with
some spoilers. Those of you who haven't seen it--or who are sick of my
e-mails--delete this. In no particular order:
!SPOILERS!
* I really, really could have done without the Tobey McGuire dance routine. A
few steps would have been sufficient, but it went on too long and was rather
stupid. The symbiote should be about enhancing his aggression, confidence, and
powers, but dance moves??? His "Saturday Night Fever" steps on the streets of
NYC went on too long to.
* What's up with Eddie Brock having vampire teeth after becoming Venom? The
teeth are part of the merged being, but note that when the symbiote peels away
to reveal Eddie's human face, he's got pointy teeth too! I kept laughing at
that. Looked like those bad teeth kids wear for Halloween.
* Kirsten Dunst ought to complain about the damsel-in-distress storylines they
keep writing for her. I get that as Spidey's girl she's open to attack by his
enemies, but when Venom put her in the car up in the webbing I thought "enough
is enough!", in every film? If they must do this, let her be more pro-active
and fight the villains, the way MJ does in the comic if one of Pete's enemies
comes after her.
* Anyone else think the citizens of NYC were way too close to the Big Fight?
Why didn't the cops push them further back? My wife and I kept laughing at how
they were close enough to cheer on Spidey and get hit by debris...
*...yet, as close as the citizens and cops were, there were conveniently *no*
choppers from the police or news stations monitoring the battle, and I guess
not *one* TV camera crew with telephoto lenses in the crowd. Awfully
convenient, that, as Peter's masked was ripped off, yet no one saw his secret
identity--or Harry's for that matter.
* The effect was cool, but since when did Sandman learn to fly? Note that his
"sandstorm" cloud was moving through the air, as if propelled by the wind, not
touching the ground at all. To be correct, he should have been moving along the
ground like a wave of sand...
* Did I mention I hated the Tobey McGuire dancing?
* I didn't like the new device that Marko was the one who killed Uncle Ben,
albeit accidentally. That was way too contrived in order to teach Peter again
about not giving in to vengeance. The original story was that Ben was killed by
a robber (in his house, actually), and they should have left it there.
* I'm still thinking what a waste the Gwen Stacy character was. I don't know
why they bothered making any deal out of her character. She was only in a few
scenes. Wonder if they plan to somehow use the classic storyline of her and
Peter falling in love, then her being killed because of the Goblin? If so, they
have to resurrect Norman Osborn--which does happen in the comics--then I guess
make Peter and MJ break up...
* "Loved" the web missiles Peter used during the fights. They hit with quite a
punch.
* Who the heck builds a nuclear research facility in a marsh?? The ground would
be incredibly unstable, not to mention the potential for radioactive material
to leak into the water table. And why the heck is a nuclear test pit open to
the air? Note that Marko and the cops simply ran up to the pit after scaling a
simple barb wire fence. Wonder how many birds have fallen into the thing and
gotten fried? And, what kind of dopey scientists build a test pit without
cameras? They could have seen Marko in there and aborted the process.
* If the Osborn's butler knew Norman was the Goblin, how long has he known
Harry's been the new Goblin, and why didn't he say anything to him sooner? By
the way, there is no Alfred-the-butler wannabe for the Osborns in the comics.
* Another reason I'm a little bummed about the short time period Peter had the
black suit is that they didn't show the symbiote in suit form moving around on
its own. In the comic, one of the coolest--and creepiest--things was that the
suit responded to Peter's mental commands, and would leap to cover him with a
thought. It creeped out one of his enemies when that happened. At night, while
Peter slept, the suit would crawl into bed, cover him, then take him out web
swinging all night--while Peter was still sound asleep! He'd wake each day
wondering why he was so tired and sore. (The symbiote can ambush Peter because,
having bonded with him and sampled his DNA, it knows how to turn off his Spider
Sense).
* That dancing's got to go...
* The ending was nice, but it left a really open space there. Will Pete and MJ
finally get married? Will Venom returned? Would they use the comic storyline
that Norman Osborn is actually regenerating and will re-emerge to menace Peter
again?
* Did anyone else have a problem with Sandman joing with Venom to possibly kill
MJ? I get that he needed money to give his daughter an operation (and what is
this, Tiny Tim in "A Christmas Carol"?) but killing another innocent? With all
those powers, he could have slinked and slithered into a number of places and
been gone before Spidey even got wind of the robbery. I guess they wrote Marko
as so sympathetic--he felt sorrowful about Ben's death and really didn't like
hurting people--it just seemed contradictory that he'd help kill MJ.
* Pure fantasy thinking here, but wouldn't it be cool if a movie were made
teaming up Spidey with the Fantastic Four??? Spidey and the Torch go it at in
the comics, always good-naturadedly playing jokes on each other. The contrast
between the flamboyant Johnny and nerdy Pete would be cool. And since Venom's
only other weakness outside of sound is fire, the Torch would be a great
addition to a battle against him. Also, in the comic, it was Reed Richards who
deduced that the suit was a symbiote trying to permanently bond with Peter, and
Reed who got the suit off him--the first time--by using a sonic weapon. I think
I'd pay for a Spidey-FF teamup.
* Did I mention I hated Pete's dance number? :(
[KeithBJohnson wrote]
My quick take: A fun, entertaining movie. As always, the story and characters
are more important than the superhero action, and it's fun to see Spidey have a
bit of good luck for a minute. CGI is better than ever, though still too fake
in spots. Battles are good, but too brief, and often the action is hard to
follow. The final battle is pretty bad, way over the top, and the Fx suck in
that case. The cast is too large, meaning all the plots don't get the full
development I'd have liked, especially Sandman and "Venom". Ending is open, and
a fourth movie almost required to tie up some things, but not sure it'll
happen. Overall, well done, better than the second, and worth seeing--though
not a must-see unless you're a fan. For my money, though "Batman Begins" might
still be the best superhero flick ever... Overall Grade for S3: B
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"There is no reason Good can't triumph over Evil, if only angels will get
organized along the lines of the Mafia." -Kurt Vonnegut, "A Man Without A
Country"
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