I think I really agree with this review of Spiderman 3. I’ll post the first two points but if you want to read more, you’ll have to head on over the Cinematical and finish it off over there. <3
1) Kill Mary Jane in the opening scene
The Uncle stuff is played out, Peter needs something new to be upset about. And I used to love Kirsten Dunst, but now she “acts” her scenes like she can’t wait for someone to yell “Cut!” so she can go and make out with one of The Strokes. Are we really supposed to believe that Peter would choose Dunst’s dehydrated, negative, miserable Mary Jane over Bryce Dallas Howard’s pants-explodingly hot, upbeat, and cheerful Gwen Stacey? Mary Jane is a terrible girlfriend! She spends the entire film whining about her lackluster singing abilities to a guy who spends his time keeping the city free from evil! She’s dull, she’s pouty, and she participates in elaborate Chubby Checker-scored cooking/dancing/infidelity montages with James Franco! Dump her!
2) Have your villains get upset before the last twenty minutes roll around
A no-brainer. I can’t recall seeing a movie where the villains decided “You know, maybe we should kill the hero” so late in the game. The Sandman appeared to be thinking about what to have for dinner for most of the film. Venom doesn’t even enter the picture until the last third. It’s screenwriting 101, especially in a movie of this kind. By the end of Act One, you better be damn sure your audience knows who the antagonist is, and what your hero is up against. Nobody seems to have clear motives here. All the characters are confused and conflicted and don’t really know who they want to kill and why or if they even want to. That’s fine for a Scorsese film, but this is Spider-Man, people!
