It clearly is MEANT to be the conclusion to the storylines started in the first, but it loses its bearing along the way.

Haven't seen the movie (All the negative reactions are now making me wait to see it on 2.1 perhaps) but I'm curious about all this dancing talk. Is it a victory dance or something?
http://www.24hours-mtb.com/turman/lo...an_dancing.gif

wow, just got back and what a disappointment. Venom the coolest enemy was wasted, on screen for what 10 minutes. Peter Parker with the black suit was lame. Hair pulled down and all the ladies go nuts when he walks by. He looked lame too. Sandman story went no where. Not even with his sick kid. the effects for sandman looked amazing though but Venom's effects were a let down and Topher Grace did a bad job, he didn't fit the part at all (so miscast, even though the church scene when he sees parker was well done. the Harry stuff was lame too.

Bryce Dallas Howard looked hot though., btw when he saved her what happened to all those big blocks of cement that were falling. They just disappear? The story was a mess, tried to do too much, sandman and Venom were so unused it was sad. There was a couple funny moments with Joe Jameson and his receptionist and the pills.

I thought it was lame how the introduced the symbiote landed right next too peter parker. the timing of events felt forced.

this was a big disappointments, theater was about 15% full at 12:45 showing and 2 people left about 5 minutes before the movie ended.

With Venom being probably one of my favorite comic book characters I came away really disappointed with what they did with him, they need to have him by himself and have someone other then Topher Grace . I didnt care for the ending either. I would give this movie 5/10 maybe 4/10




and whats with Harrys butler coming out at the last minute? come on that was so lame, why wouldnt this guy say something earlier? weak writing


****its not a victory dance, he goes into a jazz bar with the black suit under him and does this dance across the place because hes "bad" and angry with Mary Jane

That happens to be the stupidest logic I have ever heard by far regarding why Spider-man 3 may be so lackluster. You do realize that Sam and Ivan wrote the script to one of the greatest sequels of all time right? Cause last time I checked, those were the two credited writers on Army of Darkness. Ivan has also helped Sam out on the past on other flicks.

I saw the film this morning, at 6:30AM, at a complete sold-out showing in IMAX. The crowd dug it, as did I. Now I enjoyed Spider-man 3 a lot more than I did the first one, but it wasn't as good as Spider-man 2. Granted, there were too many things going on at once and the film's pace was set to hyperdrive, but I dug the hell out of it. It felt like they probably trimmed a good hour out of it just to fit a 137-minute run time, but when it all comes down to it, it followed the rules to what a typical summer film should be (and at least it was entertaining to boot).

Yes, there are plot holes galore and character development was tossed right out the window, but I enjoyed it. I just don't get the hate for the Peter Parker emo-montage. Everybody loved the Butch Cassidy-esque montage in the last outing, yet everyone is crying foul with the montage in this one.

This is nowhere near as bad as the travesty that X3 was last May. In all honesty, with everybody and their mother having some sort of creative input, this could've turned out a lot worse.

I didn't dislike the movie but it's definately not as great as Spidey 2. I thought the first two Acts worked well enough for all the storylines they tried to cram into it. A lot of the characters suffer for not having enough to do...coming and going only when the story needs them.

The third Act becomes Batman & Robin (IMO). It's like they got to the end of the script and wrote EVERY FIGHTS.

Again, didn't dislike it.

Ouch, just got back, what a snorefest. So many parts were forced, actors didnt really seem to be into their roles and script was mess and all over place. Hard to imagine even the action scenes seemed boring. Time for Spidy to take break for good 5 years here and rethink few things. Shame as I loved 1 and 2.

Perhaps...but I think you just topped it by stating ARMY is one of the greatest sequels of all time. ;)

Spoiler




What was Sam Raimi thinking with Harry's butler coming out at the last moment, thats gotta be the lamest thing in the movie. at least Bryce Dallas Howard looked hot which was surprising.

wow. That review does sound awful. The whole star wars rant to simply say he likes spider-man a lot. great.

I liked it, and regardless of what I think either way, its going to make a bazillion dollars.

The film just falls into the trap, that many second sequels do. People spend 6+ years enjoying a set of films, and they build hype for themselves, that is hard to achieve.

I thought it was excellent. It fit perfectly within the other 2 movies and all the zany-ness worked for me. I loved all of the villains and yes, while they could have used more screen time for Venom (don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back somehow), they absolutely nailed the way he looked and sounded.

I think a lot of people criticize this stuff and forget to have FUN while watching the movie. It IS a comic book movie after all and for me it delivered whole heartedly. LOVED the action and the humor.

I really don't think this movie is going to perform as well as some would like. It will most likely be #1 again next weekend as there is nothing major coming out against it. However, I expect it to drop a lot more than some might think as negative word of mouth will keep the casual movie-goer away. I expect this to end up with about $260 million, which is a disappointment for a Spider-Man movie. This one just simply doesn't have the extra stuff of the others.

I did have FUN while watching the movie, it's just a lot of stuff that should have been FUN fell flat.

I think $260 million is way too low. If it earns near $130 million as some are predicting, then you're saying it only doubles that. And it will have another weekend all to itself.

After this weekend, if it gets the $130 mil, then add $60 mil Monday - Thursday...that's $190 mil for its first full week. I think it'll get more than $70 million after that point.

I don't know who David Walker is, and I have no idead why he prizes himself so highly. He's a terrible critic, and makes DVDTalk look bad.

I wouldn't lump him in with the others though. I liked Orndorf's review of the film - he seemed to understand the film without being long-winded (Rich) and... bleeeech (Snider).

Bolt-ons?

I give your post 1 star, or a grade of D-

I caught it this morning... I'll agree with the "good, but not great" sentiment and put it behind Spidey 2 but better then 1.

The goofy parts just didn't seem to work in this movie compared to the others, and there were too many sidetracks that didn't seem to make sense to me with all the characters.

Eddie Brock came off as too much of a little twit rather then someone that could actually challenge Parker. I think it's dissapointing when the cartoon pulled it off better.

It's called "going to the well one too many times."

I could be reading it wrong, but it sounded to me like he was saying
"yeah, I know this movie is shit, it is poorly structured and dramatically weak and full of contrivances, all the things that really hit you on a subsequent viewing, but like a star wars fanboy I have so much affection for the character/universe/etc that i can convince myself that none of this matters to me, and that a few money shots here and there are enough for me to reconjure up the film in my head and view it fondly."

or something like that.

FWIW, I just rewatched S-M2 the other day, and I had forgotten how expertly Raimi had integrated the silly and the sensational. Character moments were largely affecting, and two of the greatest wow moments I can recall from the last 10 yrs or so of movie watching happen here (one is when Spidey, unmasked, turns around at the end to see MJ watching him- the first few times I saw it, my reaction mirrored MJs...it was like the wind was knocked out of me). Another thing that really impressed me with the second film was the creative decision as to the very last shot. Rather than going out with a typical upbeat shot of him swinging and yahooing (both well earned at that point), the film instead chooses to cut back to MJs face, with the knowledge of an uncertain future writ large and clear. right up to the very last frame, this film knew what was important.
From everything I've read, it sounds like S-M3 was made by an entirely different filmmaker who just aped some of Raimis gimmicks from the second movie.
Like Ebert I thought S-M2 transcended the genre and was simply a great, great film.
after seeing the first photos of Church as Marko, and then Howard as Gwen I thought for sure this one was following the same trajectory. Its now clear that that isn't the case regardless of whether most people like it or not.

I really loved the first film and thought Spider-man 2 was even better. I am a fan of the comics since I was a kid and I did go into this movie with rather high expectations...so...

I came out today extremely disappointed. Scenes went on too long. Some scenes felt like I was watching a completely different movie at times. The bad guys were weak. The personal situations were lame. Just about everything fell flat.

Gwen Stacy - why even introduce such an important character in the Spider-man mythos and then give her absolutely nothing to do? And what an average looking girl. Where there no hot blondes on casting day that could even half-way act? In the comics, Gwen was mega hot and rivaled MJ. I've had better looking girls serve me at McDonalds.

Venom - just seemed too tacked on and rushed. I didn't think Topher Grace did a bad job. He was especially good as Parker's professional rival but not very scary as Venom. Hell, you see his face thru Venom mask more than you actually see the Venom face...which isn't very scary and looked a bit silly. And I hate convenient plotting...Brock just happens to be in the church praying, and, why, it's the very same one that Spider-man just happens to be in. What a co-winky-dink. They could have at least showed Brock tailing him or something.

Sandman - great effect and a good performance my Thomas Haden Church. I know it is know secret that they made him to be the killer of Uncle Ben (it's in the trailer) but jeez, it's a lame plot device. Come on. Why can't Sandman be just another bad guy that Spider-man has to dispose of? Also...give me a break on the sick kid sob story, the accidental shooting of Uncle Ben, the ultra lame "I forgive you speech" as he flys away in the wind. I thought I was seriously going to puke...no wait...

The Saturday Night Fever/Bob Fosse dance experience - serious puking material. So Peter as a bad guy becomes an emo, eye liner wearing, whistling at chicks guy who likes to boogie down on the street all dressed like Spike from Buffy. What a bad-ass! But wait...it gets worse...the Bob Fosse, jazz dance sequence made me want to gouge my eyes out. What movie is this? Am I still watching Spider-man 3?

Why couldn't they just play it like the comics did? Peter Parker became an aggressive dick while the costume affected him. I know...looking for realism in a comic book movie may be silly but they just went too far over the top here. He could have come in, gotten drunk, heckled MJ and got into the bar fight that way. Why overplay it to the point of sheer silliness?

The score...pretty poor. One stand out was the bluesy jazz beats when Harry & Peter go at it for the second (?) time in Harry's house. Is Raimi going thru a jazz-blues stage and forcing it on an unsuspecting audience?

The ending was simply terrible. Let's wrap it all up with a big pretty pink bow and hug, kiss, and forgive one another.

I was especially bothered that Spider-man needs Harry's help to make it thru. Sure...there are crossovers in the comics but it just seemed silly when Harry and Spidey help each other out during the fight scene like a terrible buddy movie...kinda like the awful looking trailer of Rush Hour 3 that the audience was subjected to.

I liked Stan Lee's cameo...('nuff said) even though it was a little forced and Bruce Campbell stole the show once again. The movie started out with promise but scenes tended to go on way too long and many just didn't work (The Twist, anyone?).

All in all...pretty poor sequel. I didn't hate it (despite all the problems discussed above), but I didn't really like it or love it. It was just okay. Nothing special and nothing to take off work to see. At least it was nowhere near as intolerable as Pirate of the Caribbean 2...but it sure seemed like they were trying.

Rating: C-

Okay. I retract my last statement directed towards Shannon. That comment may be the most retarded comment regarding why the sequel is so lackluster. You did see there was a number three after the title, right? Because we've been to this well twice before.

I liked it, but like others, I didn't love it. When I saw Spider-man 2, I was practically on rooftops shouting about how great it was. I really feel like this movie should have been longer - tons of character scenes felt absent and I think they'd really strengthen the story and the constant emotion that the characters seem to be feeling. I want to see an extended edition.

Venom had better be back, because they didn't use him nearly enough. I thought Topher Grace was really good, but like Gwen, underused...they tried to do too much too soon...I think they needed to let these storylines breathe...I know the thought of a 3 hour spider-man flick is something that would make Sony shudder (less shows per day!) but it would have helped a lot IMO.

I thought the end to the Sandman thread was laughable at best and really disappointed me...probably the lowpoint for the series, which left a bad taste in my mouth just as I was leaving...the rest was fun and entertaining, so I was satisfied (even the dancing which was like the 'raindrops' montage from spidey 2). I'd say it's about an 8 out of 10....but coming after the 11 out of 10 that was Spider-man 2, it can't help but feel like a let down.

When I saw SPIDER-MAN 2 it reminded me a lot of SUPERMAN 2.
When I saw SPIDER-MAN 3 it reminded me a lot of SUPERMAN 3 where Superman goes bad. I liked SPIDER-MAN 3 it's still better than GRINDHOUSE!!!!

The "feel" of the Spider-man series was completely off in this one, especially in the Peter Parker scenes. Everyone is worried about whats going to happen if this series gets a new director but it really felt like someone else already took over the series. The music direction was pretty wonky as well.

It's not a bad movie though. It's just a disappointment, especially after Spider-Man 2 had me thinking that Raimi could do no wrong.

Bad point.

- Unlike in Spidey 2, they gave you a great backstory to the main villan. So Sandman's "resolution" felt like nothing, because they didn't get you emmotionally involved.

- They had to completely change Peter Parker to make the story work. With his relationship with MJ, WHO was that man and where was Peter Parker? And this was BEFORE the evil suit.

- Too many villans. If they could have focused on sandman it would have been alot better to save venom til pt. 4.

- Too many stories trying to be told at once.

I thought it was, OK. But nothing more really. A 6.5 - 7.0 out of 10. .