Spider-Turd

Rating: 4/10 (6 July 2014)

What a stinker. A huge disappointment following the fantastic Spider-Man 2. This sequel had a checkered production with a lot of studio interference so I'll cut Sam Raimi some slack. However, I'm not sure his original idea for the movie would have been much better. There's way too much camp and comedy in this. Also, as is so sadly common with superhero movie sequels, they felt the need to tack on more new characters and villains. Like more villains really helped the '90s Batman franchise. Just stupid backwards corporate focus group logic.
Anyway, there isn't a positively memorable scene, line, or performance in this film. The only parts people remember are terrible, such as wall-eyed Topher Grace's embarrassing Venom. Thomas Haden Church is actually decent as Sandman, although the way he is shoehorned into the events of the first movie is insulting and offensive to me as a Spider-Man fan. Kirsten Dunst, who I've defended many times from her critics, is awful here. For some reason now, Mary Jane's not just an actress but a singer. Whatever. James Franco looks like he's ready for the movie to be over the whole time. Tobey Maguire is having a field day with the campy scenes he gets and I couldn't hate him more for it. I'm really disgusted with this movie. The direction is half-hearted, the script a mess, and the effects spotty. Sandman effects are okay but the Venom stuff is dreadful. Watch this only if you want to complete the series but be prepared for the worst.