Saw it tonight - I have to say I too am disappointed.
They had a great idea, the CGI was good, the acting was better than the previous incarnations (with a certain emo exception), and the plot was awesome...
Just one problem, the script blew chunks.
As has been stated many times so far, they tried to do too much too soon. I will say I am happy they tried to stick to the comic book lore SPIRIT of things this time.
1 - Sandman: This story got no attention and that's a shame, in the comics Spidey DOES in fact help the Sandman on the road to redeption and ultimately becomes a member of The Avengers "auxiliary" group with Spidey at his behest. A full movie explaining the path from escapee to crime spree to redemption would have been a whole lot better.
2 - Venom: Topher Grace was a great Eddie Brock jr, too bad he was too small for the part and not annoying enough (should have pushed the envelope, but I have a feeling that was due to bad direction.) There was practically no time devoted to the 'relationship' between the symbiote and Peter and the single 'confrontation' scene between Brock and Parker is given no muscle, it makes Parker look petty and Brock look fake. (which of course was the angle they were going for, but frankly THAT didn't even feel right.) And the death of Brock was dumb, how are they going to bring in Carnage now?
3 - Harry: This should have been either played out over two movies or the central focus in this one, but without an extra villian, why would you need an extra hero, right? Just bad form all around with this story line and frankly the butler had me wanting to scream at the screen, "Hey Alfred, Bruce is in Gotham, take a left and follow the coast to the mansion to DC-ville."
4 - Gwen, wait, why is she here again?:Who is Gwen, why is she in this film, why did she have less compleling screen time than Ursala the landlord's daughter? Oh, she kissed Spidey, Big Fat Hairy Deal. The framed it beautifully, but left her character so flat they should have used a cardboard cutout instead of an actress, they would have saved production money so that they could buy a better script.
5 - Emo Spidey: I am offended by this entire prortrayal. If they are looking to get the 'emo dollar' by play to the market, they are barking up the wrong tree. If they are trying to pit wholesome all-American Spiderman versus Emo Spidey, then they failed on a mammoth level that words cannot begin to describe. And the disco number, when did this become "Spiderman Night Fever"? I half expected him to walk out of that shop with a white polyester pantsuit with airplane collars.
6 - MJ: Dear Kirsten, when you screw your co-star and then break up, try to remember that you get paid to act like you like him, please don't look over his shoulder at the scenery in an attempt not to look at him in love scenes, please. Also, try switching to decaf, it should help with those moods swings, or maybe Midol or Pamprin. What was the deal with the musical numbers? 'Stunning' performance by MJ that gets her fired and her replacement can't even say the word 'wonderful (onerful)', a key word in the song. Please.
7 - Sam Raimi: This is the man that New Line wants to replace Peter Jackson for the "The Hobbit"? Dear God, NO!!!!!!!! At one time he could direct, I'm sure of it, but I seriously have my doubts if he can still direct something where story, pacing and scale are not set with a stopwatch and a starting pistol.
After all my gripes, I still thought there were a few redeeming qualities in this flop, Thomas Hayden Church gave it his all everytime he was on screen, I actually felt empathy with his character. The young lady that played Ursala didn't try to out act her stars and supported them very well, even when they forgot she wasn't self-proppelled scenery. Aunt May was once again brilliantly played by Rosemary Harris, sweet, charming, straight from the gut, brilliant. And while poor direction eventually got in the way, James Franco tried to make Harry Osbourn a real boy. The CGI and the attention to detail to story specific items were much better than in previous movies and the art team has got the whole building faces down cold. If you could vote for a movie for best supporting cast and crew without aknowledging the director, the writers or stars, I would probably give this one a go.
D+
