When I walked out of Spiderman 3, I quite liked the movie. I enjoyed the action, I enjoyed the drama, we seemed to make a good team, the ol’ movie and audience.
But then I talked to a friend about it. And I thought about it. The more I thought about it, the weirder it seems that I’d like the movie. Sure, there were likable parts, but there were also parts that weren’t so good, and a couple which made it into the ‘weird and disturbing’ category (almost exclusively inhabited by an emo dance scene). It could really have done with a few reels missing. I was getting uncomfortable in my seat at times, I felt like going out and doing some banking!
Then there were all the things that didn’t make sense. There were plenty. I’m just going to list a few, but feel free to chime in with your own in the comments, and I’ll edit this. Because some of this needs to be said.
1. If Sandman was so intent on getting money for his daughter, why didn’t he turn around and sue the scientific mob who had the experiment going and are essentially responsible for him becoming a pile of sand? If someone can break into a house, injure themselves, and sue the homeowners, then surely Sandman has grounds for a legal case. You can’t get an erection when you’re made of sand. It isn’t going to work. There’s something to start you, sandy!
2. Didn’t Peter Parker’s neighbours get suspicious when they saw Spiderman jumping out of the window at regular intervals? Because really, they can’t miss it all the time. Wouldn’t at least one of them think ‘hey, that Spiderman sure hangs around at Peter Parker’s place a lot…’
3. Why did the black space goo decide to target Peter Parker specifically? Why did it hang around his apartment for a few days before making its move? Was it taking in the sites of the city, seeing the statue of liberty, watching daytime television, taking the subway…
4. Did Green Goblin Jr. have a plan to get at Spiderman beyond messing with his love life in a rather lame fashion? After provoking Spiderman and getting the snot beaten out of him (again), that was pretty much it. And what was the deal with the ‘amnesia’ storyline if it was just buying time? The better option was to write him out near the start of the movie with a bit of jail time and come back later, scars and all, but willing to work with Peter for the sake of Mary Jane. While he was in there, he could meet the Sandman. They could plot a breakout together.
Better movie? I think so.