How do you really feel about Sam Raimai Spiderman Trilogy?

[Brazoo]

I dunno, I really don't see anything that was forced on Dark Knight by some unknowing studio nitwit.

Well - at the very least script approval and final cut were not granted to Nolan, but it's not like Nolan controlled the Batman movies the way he does with "Inception", for example.

During production there are most definitely people on a corporate level overseeing and cross-checking to make sure what's being filmed fits into branding guidelines for the property.

So - what's a branding guideline? If I'm creating a flyer for McDonald's I'm going to be given branding guidelines: A list of things I can and can't do. "The logo MUST be the correct hue of yellow" for example. It might include things like "Models must always appear to be happy".

In DC/Batman's case branding guidelines might say things like "Batman is never allowed to shoot a gun". The filmmakers still have to work within these guidelines. These characters are worth billions - so they're protected.

I have no idea if Nolan compromised himself or not - I'm just saying that I don't believe that everything was just entrusted to his personal judgment without checks and balances. In the end both parties might have just seen more eye-to-eye than in most productions - but he still needs the "suits" to be in-line with his vision to accomplish that.

[Brazoo]

In Raimi's case with the first Spider-Man movie - I have no idea if Raimi chose the dumb Green Goblin outfit - or if a guy in charge of merchandising got final pick.

At the same time, I doubt a corporate guy was sitting there telling Tobey Maguire how to dance in part 3, so that seems like Raimi's fault, but maybe there was some pressure for Raimi to shoot storyboarded scenes he didn't like - and he just hoped they'd get cut. Hard to say.

In Nolan's case - it's probably degrees of the same thing. We might just happen to like the choices the corporate guys made with Nolan in those films.

[GaryPlaysWithDolls]

First two were good. Never quite felt like MY Spider-Man, though. I don't know.

[Random Axe]

I can't really add much more than what's been written. THe first two are terrific and really capture the character. The third was an abomination.

Scott

[madmarva]

There were things about the first two that I didn't care for, but overall I thought both were really well done.

As for the third one, there were things I really liked about it, but overall it wasn't as good as the first two. The film did remind me of a very average issue of Marvel Team-up from the 1970s.

I wish the producers would have allowed Raimi to just use the Sandman as the villain or the James Franco character. His heart admittedly wasn't into Venom and having to work on those three storylines along with Parker and Mary Jane was too much.

As for dancing Parker, I didn't think he supposed to be "Cool." I thought he was supposed to be Parker's dorky idea of cool. The whole section of the film was kind of a parody of Saturday Night Fever.

[huedell]

I have a lot of postive things to say about the Spidey trilogy, but I'm
too lazy at this moment to list them.

One thing I WILL say is that I don't find superhero movies all that able
to be "killer" movies... and even tho' none of the Spidey movies are
"killer" great movies, they are notably better than anything that came
before it or after it IMHO.... an INCREDIBLE achievement in my eyes.

Dang! I had to edit this to point out that when I said "they are notably
better than anything that came before it or after it IMHO" I meant in the
SUPERHERO MOVIE GENRE!

[Hector]

The good:
Spider-Man, Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson (whoever is the new JJJ is gonna have big shoes to fill)

The ok:
Doc Ock, Norman Osborn, Sandman, Gwen Stacy

The bad:
The Green Goblin, Venom, Mary Jane Watson, Dancing Peter Parker, The "New Goblin"

Hit the nail on the head...I completely agree with you.

I also started hating the "I tore my mask off...so all you can see it's me, Tobey Maguire, it's the ego in me, folks"...or..."Hey guys, don't you like seeing me as Spidey without any mask at all?"...




Hey...me too!!!

[The Bat]

Wish he'd stopped at two, or was allowed to do what he wanted to without "suits" interfering. Nolan was left alone by Warner/DC and looks what he did.

I agree with ya Joe. Sam Rami has publicly stated that he doesn't like the Venom Character. But the Studio obviously does, so they "Shoe-horned" him into the Script. Which is my biggest problem with Spiderman 3. I like the Movie, but think it was over crowded with Villains. If the Story was going to be about the black Symbiote Costume...then the story just have been just about Venom.

Other problems with the Spidey Movies...Tobey" Maguire. I can live with him as Spidey, bur he's certainly NOT my first choice. It was rumored that originally Sam Rami wanted Wes Bently...but Sony said no, and gave him Tobey" Maguire as a 2nd choice. I would have gone with Wes.

[The Bat]

Oh, one more thing.......I HATED the Green Goblin's Costume!

[Earth 2 Chris]

The first two movies really adhered to the classic Lee/Ditko/Romita era, which is the undeniable core of Spider-Man, and a run that has never been surpassed. The origin sequences in the first movie gave me goosebumps. I thought DaFoe was great as the Goblin, but unfortunately his wardrobe didn't match his performance.

The second movie is one of the best comic-based movies ever made. Practically perfect from beginning to end.

Which is why 3 is so disappointing. I liked Church as Sandman, and the Sandman effects were awesome, but that's about it in hindsight. The angle with him killing Uncle Ben was just awful, and undermined the Spider-Man character completely. If Spidey wasn't responsible in some way for Uncle Ben's death, then where does his famous mantra come from?

Topher as Venom and dancing "evil" Peter were just huge misfires. I wish Sony gave Raimi and crew a chance to redeem themselves. Afterall, 3 still made huge money, and it's actually my son's favorite of the three.

I think I'll miss J.K. Simmon's Jameson most of all. I LOVED that guy!

Chris

[Nostalgiabuff]

the first 2 were really well done. I liked three but as most everyone agrees, the plot was not the greatest. the script lacked and they wimped down Venom way too much

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

They were okay. I was surprised how much of the comic story they left intact. The end of the first one kinda bugged me 'cos it seemed like they wanted to redo the death of Gwen Stacey with a happy ending. The mask thing bothered me too, but that was probably en executive decision. "We paid for this guy and by Thunder we're gonna show him off!" And yeah, the Goblin bothered me too. (I was waiting for Metalder to show up and put a smackdown on him.)

Don C.

[Mikey]

My guess is the public will be fickle as usual

Take '89 Batman as an example ......

People loved it until they rebooted it and everyone had a new darling

I can see the past Spiderman franchise going in the same boat.

[PNGwynne]

1. was amazing, except for Goblin suits, it definitely had a wow factor.
2. Spectacular from start to finish. Dr Ock was perfect.
3. What can i say, loved the Sand Man but all kind of flaws. Way too much plot, sub plot. Venom/new Goblin ruined it for me

I feel the sme way!

[PNGwynne]

Oh, one more thing.......I HATED the Green Goblin's Costume!

Yeah, Scorpion should be P.O.d.