Exit the Sandman

I don't want to make a habit of posting reviews of films on here. That's a job that I've happily left behind me. However after seeing Spider-Man 3 last night (with just three other people in the cinema) I felt compelled to put something on the page.
What a mess! Too many strings and villains turn Raimi's third chapter into a miandering over-long (and often tiresome) film that underplays all of its best moments.
As a kid who LOVED the black suit when it showed up in the late 80s, it was terrible to see the concept shoe-horned into the second act, dismissed in just a few scenes and then over almost before the fun got started. Then there's Venom, Spidey's coolest and most revered villain reduced to a last-minute showdown that rarely lived up to expectation (with the small exception of the line "I like being evil") Moving on to Goblin Jnr, a concept which was conceptualised in Spider-Man 2 beautifully but which is all over the place here. He's evil, then he's not, then he is again, then he's not. The sudden appearance of the Alfred-esque butler suddenly remembering to mention that he happened to know that Spider-Man didn't kill his dad (after two battles and a nice big facial scar) was laughable.
And then there's the Sandman. Nothing against the character in principle, but he serves absolutely no purpose here and could (and should) be excised effortlessly from the film to make a much tighter and more compelling story. I'm sure there's some Spidey fans out there with enough spare time on their hands for such a task, and if such a version does wind up doing the rounds, it will be the only reason I'll have for watching this again.

In other news... I'm meeting our potential director tonight to discuss the script for the romantic comedy. He's fairly low profile, although he's just finished a film with a pair who are often in the limelight, so that could change. Also, we have funding in place, so it could be all systems go...