So, yeah, Spider-man 3

I used to tell people, "I haven't seen a movie in theaters since Spider-man 2." Soon, I'll be able to change that last part to "Spider-Man 3." Surprisingly, I don't mind some of the canonical changes -- Eddie Brock as a darker version of Peter is an inspired idea -- but I am concerned that the CG will be just as bad as in the previous movies. Oh well, at least Venom looks decent from what I've seen.

I'd heard that Dunst was a standoff-ish jerk throughout the whole thing. *_*

There was an interview recently where she said that the Spider-man movies would be nothing without Tobey, Raimi, and herself.... She must have breathed in some of that goblin gas if she actually thinks people are watching because of her brave portrayal of Mary Jane.

Zebraman > spiderman

Amazingu wrote:

Xenogears Omni wrote:

I'll probably regret this, but: Why?

Come on, it's a bit "USA!!!USA!!!" isn't it?
If I want to see that I'll go watch Captain America or something, that kind of thing has no place in a Spidey movie.
Doesn't make any sense either way cos all the bad guys are American as well, so why make Spidey look like some All-American Hero or something?

But hasn't the rampant American patriotism been in every one of the Spider-Man movies?

Xenogears Omni wrote:

I'll probably regret this, but: Why?

Just back from watching the movie. That particular scene pulled me out of the movie's atmosphere and had me think of politics for a second. I had to grin thinking of this thread, but if I weren't prepared the scene probably would have made me cringe first and think of politics for the rest of the playing time. I find it a highly bad choice for otherwise carefree entertainment to pull real life politics into a fantasy movie by unnecessarily showing a flag (which I see mostly in bad news otherwise) fullscreen.

You're right.  Nobody should be subjected to Macy Gray.

Adam Corn wrote:

Aside from the action, which is one area which improved from 1 to 2 and continues to do so here, what really impressed me is how each of the numerous characters are driven by forces that are well-grounded, believable, and essential to the story.  It makes for a long movie but the progression from one plot segment to the next is pretty much flawless.  Biggest testament to the story being that as much as I love my comic book movies and can't wait to see new ones come out, 3 completes the series so well that I think they should leave it as it is for a very long while.

If I were to nitpick it would be that the effects are occasionally a bit cartoony, Sandman's powers are maybe overblown, and the "I'm so cool" segment two-thirds of the way through is too excessive to properly serve as comic relief or exposition.  But when the credits started rolling these were all far from my mind.

Agreed on all counts, although I totally dug the "Emo Parker" portion of the film.  Just seeing Pete struttin' his stuff and him 'sticking it to the man' on so many counts had the audience cheering with approval each time. 

I liked the way they handled Harry's story arc, but while Venom looked awesome, his character did feel to be the most underdeveloped by the end.  The supporting cast is still one of the best things about the Spidey flicks; Harris' Aunt May is as wonderful as ever, Simmons' J.J. is yet again comedy gold, Campbell's latest cameo as the maître d' was a delight, and Tovah's Ursula (Russian waif girl!) is always adorable. ;)

"How's the pie?"

"It's sooooo good."

For about the first half of the movie, I found it hard to believe that Sam Raimi even directed it. Probably the hardest of the 3 movies to initially get into, but it's still an enjoyable film overall.

Being a person who doesn't like comic books or super heroes pretty much at all, I have seen all three Spider-Man movies over the course of the last four weeks.  Batman used to be the only superhero I could tolerate because he didn't have any super powers, but now I think I like Spider-Man more, mostly because Peter Parker is a great character.

I think each Spidey movie has been better than the last.  SM2 was better than SM1 due to the more satisfying love story and SM3 is the best of the trilogy (IMO) because the villians in this movie were far superior to the completely two-dimensional and utterly pointless cinematic versions of the Green Goblin and Doc Ock in the first two movies.

I think I agree with most of the points Angela brought up: I like Urusula, I loved the contrast that Emo Peter Parker provided (such delicious humor), Bruce Campbell was great, and the action was turned up quite a bit.

My major problem with the movie comes from a specific scene (hightlight to show spoilers):

It was completely unbelievable that MJ would break up with PP just because Harry threatened to hurt him.  Makes no freaking sense since she knows he's Spider-Man.  Even if he she thought Harry had any ability to hurt PP, it's not like Harry would have known exactly what MJ said to PP on the bridge since he was so far away.  She could have just told him to make motions looking like he got dumped.  Anyway, I know this fed the story and setup Emo PP, but the scene made no sense in the context of the film's world.

That aside, I definitely enjoyed the movie.  Now I understand why these movies continue to shatter box office records.

Amazingu wrote:

That thing with the American flag in the background made me want to vomit though.

Vomit? That's pretty harsh. I mean, I hope you're not an American yourself thinking that's alright thing to say about your own country.

Sadly, a few laughed there and I myself am getting a little exhausted by the band of spoiled Americans who belittle their country, who gives them so much, snickered in an almost trendy mocking tone. Anyway, the movie itself was a bevy of things; a little silly (Peter's little emo solos you couldn't help just laughing at intended or not), flimsily constructed (often flat, uninspired and cliched dialogue and situations) but the fight scenes, while traditonally for the series, widly over the top, where steroidal and very much inspired by an anime-invasion to the caliber of a Dragonball Z fight. I must say, despite that, I enjoyed the fights which kind of made me perspire. I didn't really care for Topher Grace after the transformation but I thought the final battle was a little short of an superb, if somewhat predictable way to end the trilogy.

Even though Bryce Dallas Howard had fake hair for the movie, she was just beautiful. Her eyes and talent have captivated me since I saw her in The Village and The Lady in the Water.

They certainly ramped up the male emotion...

Amazingu wrote:

If I had said this as an American, would it have been worse than saying it as a Dutchman?

Yes it would have. Some people (not necessarily people who visit this board) would have literally tried to take your head off - verbally - for writing such a thing. I find it odd we like to attack our own before those outside our soil for having a different view or opinion on an issue; that whole "you're either with us or against us" mentality runs pretty deep with some people. Some people take it to the point it's practically like committing treason to questions the motives of certain goverment offiicials. News flash, powerful people do bad things to.

Amazingu wrote:

America undoubtedly has enough to be proud of, but that shouldn't stop you from raising criticism where it is necessary. Or do you blindly accept everything that is American as the best thing there is?

Sometimes I think our leaders want it to be that way... pulling the wool over the eyes of the pubic while playing the whole "patriotism card" as a vice to sway public opinion towards what they believe is "the right way," or the indefinitely flashier phrase "the American way."

I think people here can be more objective than those who post at policial debate sites and the like. I'm not trying to start anything, but as far as the scene in the movie is concerned, I agree with you - it doesn't really need to be there. It not like the US is the only region the movie is playing in, so the overall reference/presence isn't entirely appropriate. I mean, didn't the debut party take place in Japan in the first place?

Qui-Gon Joe wrote:

XISMZERO wrote:

Sadly, a few laughed there and I myself am getting a little exhausted by the band of spoiled Americans who belittle their country, who gives them so much, snickered in an almost trendy mocking tone.

I dunno... as an American I was a little embarrassed of the whole flag scene.  It just seemed silly and totally out of place.  Then again, I was watching the movie in a theatre in Japan with a group of people of various nationalities other than American.  The thing that *I* am most exhausted of is the absurd notion of national pride.  Try living abroad for a little while, and your whole perspective on the world changes.  People are people.  Period.  It doesn't matter where you randomly happen to get popped out at birth.  If you're going to be proud of anything, be proud of what YOU have done for the WORLD.  One country whose government's actions you are probably not directly involved with in any way isn't something that anyone really deserves to be proud of. 

Uhh yeah... back to Spiderman 3.  As someone who hasn't read the comics, I think I'd rank the film as better than the first but not as good as the second.  The third one is just... messy.  Too much going on, not nearly enough Venom.  I even had the same complaint about some of the action scenes as I did in Batman Begins - too fast, too close, and hard to keep track of what was going on.

Also... I love that he never did anything to stop that crane. 

Ok, I can probably agree the flag scene was cheesy but cheese was no stranger to the movie.

A flag stands for its people and its accomplishments; one that America can be proud of. You can't selfishly view what you've done for the world because others helped you get there. After all, there's a reason why people are migrating to the U.S. in droves; not just for the opportunities but for the top medicines, and aid we give to other countries. If anything, I thought the American flag thing in Spiderman 3 was appropriate; look at the record-breaking box office stats for the last three movies. Spiderman is not only multigenerational but just Americana - more so today than apple pie, baseball or Chevys...

Last edited by XISMZERO (May 07, 2007)

Qui-Gon Joe wrote:

The thing that *I* am most exhausted of is the absurd notion of national pride. People are people.  Period.  It doesn't matter where you randomly happen to get popped out at birth.

Finally, someone comes out and says it on this board. I come from an incredibly nationalistic place (being in Canada, many people I talk to, either jokingly or not, say I live in the wrong country when I say I dislike drinking beer and watching hockey, which always insults me), so it's refreshing to hear someone else who thinks that place of origin are among the many things people are too prideful of.