What the hell did they do to Spider-Man?! (My childhood icon)

Rating: 1/10 (3 January 2013)

When I saw the first Spider-Man movie, it was OK and the content works in that movie even if it didn't actually follow the original story line in the comics and when I saw Spider-Man 2, it was better than the first movie and actually managed to show a great example of a superhero movie. But when I saw Spider-Man 3 in the theaters...my childhood was destroyed...
The plot of this film is Peter Parker asks Mary Jane to marry him. While out watching the stars in Central Park, a meteor crashes near the two without them noticing and an alien symbiote starts following Peter. Elsewhere, the police chase after Flint Marko who runs into a sand mutation experiment and the sand fuses with him becoming The Sandman. Harry Osborn knowing that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, attacks him with his new Goblin technology. While that is going on, Captain George Stacy tells Peter and Aunt May that Flint Marko is Uncle Ben's real killer. Knowing that he's still out there in the city, Spider-Man swears revenge on him. While trying to find the whereabouts of Sandman, he falls asleep and the symbiote bonds with him making his Spidey Suit black and finds Sandman and confronts him. With the symbiote changing Peter's personality, Mary Jane goes to Harry and...I won't even bother telling you what happens between them because it's just stupid. Harry Osborn recovers from his amnesia and compels Mary Jane to break up with Peter.
First, I'll start with the flaws like I usually do. There were some pointless characters in this movie. In the comic books, they played a bigger role, but in this movie...they had no purpose whatsoever. Dr. Curt Connors (the man who becomes The Lizard in the comics) helps Peter in the movie so I guess that's OK, but what about Gwen Stacy? She actually had a bigger role in the comic, in fact she was Peter's first girlfriend, but she's just a throwaway character in this movie.
Second, Flint Marko, the Sandman is Uncle Ben's real killer? Really?! So you're telling me that the guy Spider-Man went after in the first film was not the main killer?! That makes no sense whatsoever! I know he needed the money to cure his sick daughter but the thing is...that wasn't even written from the comics at all! Flint Marko was just the bad guy in the comics! Not to mention, when he tells Peter the truth about his Uncle, Peter just lets him go! I know it was out of forgiveness but would've turned him into the police anyway!
Now when I heard that Venom was going to be in this movie, I was really hyped and excited to see this character in action! But I was really sad on how much screen time he had in this movie. (excluding the parts where he had his face peeled back) They shouldn't put Venom in this movie if he only gets like 10 minute screen time! In the comics, the suit tortured him and that alone could fill an entire movie! But he's mixed in with some other subplots that he's only given 10 minutes of screen time! They could've just save him for Spider-Man 4! (which was canceled) I wish I could've seen a lot more of him. And the Symbiote that Peter is attached to is only suppose to alter his personality, it feeds on negative emotion! Not make him into a geeky...idiot.
Now for Emo Peter...he's one of the most hated aspects in this movie. Emo Peter goes more for comedy when he's dancing in public and it's just...geeky. If they went for a more serious route, this movie would have been more effective.
Finally...the dance scene. Oh my god, this is the dumbest moment ever in this movie! It changes everything and it sucks out any amount of seriousness you were going for.
Now for the pros, I like the special effects (obviously), I liked the scene where Peter rips his black suit off and then falls on Eddie Brock who becomes Venom and I especially liked the design of Venom, it looked really realistic. That's it! These were only 3 things that I liked about this movie!
This film changed a lot of elements in the original comic book series by making Flint Marko/Sandman the killer of Uncle Ben, interesting Gwen Stacy when she was obviously murdered by the Green Goblin in the Amazing Spider-Man series, ruining the character of Peter Parker and giving Venom only 10 minutes of screen time!
Also, we never saw the planet from the Secret Wars storyline, where the alien symbiote, Venom, came from and we never get to see the dream sequence from The Amazing Spider-Man issue number 258 were Peter Parker is running for his life were the black suit and the original Spider-Man suit are battling each other. When they see Peter trying to get away, they grab him and they're trying to tear him apart. Yes I know that this idea would be a bit cliché to put in Spider-Man 3 but at least it would make the film tens times better considering that this is a "comic book" film!
So overall...This film destroyed my childhood, didn't managed to stay faithful to the original comic book series and it's one of the worst Marvel and superhero movies I've ever seen! Seriously, I wanted to like this movie but there were just so many flaws in this film that it's hard to give this film a decent score! Do not buy this film, it's seriously a huge slap in the face to Spider-Man and comic book fans such as myself!
My final verdict for this film is: 1/10!