Spider-Man Trois

I didn't get the chance to see this movie in the theaters like I wanted; when you have little ones, your theater attendance plummets to unacceptable depths. But I did hear rumblings that the movie was kinda . . . bad. I didn't see how they could screw up a movie that told the tale of the black costume and the birth of Venom, but after watching it, I bore witness to them indeed mangling this awesome storyline.

Truthfully, the first half of the movie was great. It looked and felt like the first two. I wasn't really buying the Sandman's excuse for a life-of-crime, but I went with it and started to wonder if people had misjudged the movie.

But then Petey wore the black costume under street clothes, let his hair hang into his eyes, and started gyrating strangely on street corners and in jazz clubs. The movie slid into bitter oblivion from that point on.

In hindsight, the movie did try to tackle more content than it should have. Many people have pointed this out and it's absolutely true. They should have either gone with a Sandman story line, or the symbiont story line, but not both. And probably dropped the whole Harry thing entirely. The real problem with the last half of the movie is that Petey's slide into aggression and hedonism is too sudden. As is his emergence from it. If the writers had taken out the Sandman plot line and added more depth to Spidey's struggle with the black costume, the movie would have created a more effective tie-in to Eddie Brock inheriting the symbiont.

Speaking of which, they really messed up the mechanics of the alien. The cute little guy only solidifies into costume form while bonded to a host. Alone, it stays oozing and tarry. Yet Pete kept the black costume folded in a trunk? It didn't make sense that it would stay in that form, especially since its biological urge is to find and corrupt a host. In addition, the movie didn't adequately explain the power surge the costume gave Spidey. When he wears it for the first time, he says something like, "This feels GREAT!" He then proceeds to jump around and web-sling like he always does; the movie never gives a good example of the increased power the costume grants (which is one of the lures that makes it hard for Petey to eventually part ways with it).

And to be clear, combing Toby's hair down and painting black eye-liner on him does not make him a bad-ass. Neither does having him get down and funky in the middle of the street. I think the movie made the mistake of trying to be humorous while depicting the costume corrupting Peter. It was a mixed message that failed completely. And how many times did Toby cry in that movie, like tears-streaming-down-the-face crying? I counted at least three, which is three too many. It's fine that Peter Parker is a sensitive guy. But in the comic, he never blubbered. Yeah, he got down in the dumps and depressed, but he always compensated with humor, not sobbing. Spidey's fast-talking, wise-cracking clobbering of bad guys is his trademark and unfortunately the series underutilizes it in favor of tears and moping.

Topher was miscast as Venom. In the comic, Brock has a brooding hatred for Petey, which is why the symbiont bonds to him differently than Peter. Venom's evil visage and wide-open mouth of razor-sharp teeth most obviously reflects the raw emotion he feels for Spidey. But the Topher Brock isn't brooding, only mildly devious. I didn't get brooding or undying hatred from Bropher, only likable, funny, easy-going, and handsome. Just like his character in That 70s Show. The movie didn't allow enough time for us to see the natural progression of hatred Brock develops for Spidey, but even if it had, I doubt that Bropher would have been able to depict it.

This is a great series, and with the success of the first two, it can likely continue to flourish despite a bad third movie. But clearly this is a wake-up call to the movie producers to do better next time. I could give them the benefit of the doubt and chalk the whole thing up to a third movie curse, since the third installment of the X-Men series also blew chunks. But if the fourth movie is as bad as the third, the Spider-Man movie series could find itself in the dubious company of the Fantastic Four movie franchise. And that would be a real shame.