Don't go get 'em Tiger... ever

Rating: 6/10 (10 May 2007)

After being excited about the movie ever since I heard the main plot of the symbiote and then watching the actual movie, I had mixed opinions. Good news is that Topher Grace was a good Eddie Brock. You can't really say he was a bad Venom because technically A) It wasn't him as Venom, but CGI; and B)Not his fault the production crew didn't lower his voice while he was Venom. I agree with everyone else that Sam should've waited for Venom until the 4th and not add him into the already overpacked Villain list. The 15 minutes of screen time and the end of the movie proved that even more so by making Venom (one of the best Spidey foes) short and scrappy work (the end I will get to... deserves a whole other review if you ask me).
The other villain (Sandman, played by Thomas Hayden Church) was just so-so. He's never been a good villain in my eyes, so seeing him in the movies instead of Doc Connors turning into the Lizard is a huge disappointment. The movie portrayal was better than I thought it would be because they went into a little bit of background and I really started pulling for him more so than any other of the characters (including Peter, but I'll get to that in a second). I really don't anything to say about him except why was he picked to be a movie villain with other great villains in the Spidey Universe out there (personally, Shocker would make a great movie bad guy I think.)
The last villain on the list is one that has been developing throughout the series... the tragic story of Harry Osborn (James Franco). I have to say, his gear was fly. I would take the surfboard over the hover craft. All his weapons were the same. His suit changed and really they could've done without the mask for him seeing how he never really used except for a total of 2 minutes throughout the whole movie. The coolest scene that involved him was the fight with him and Emo Peter in the mansion, where he same how survives a direct pumpkin bomb blast with a lot of other pumpkin bombs around him (that didn't explode with that one did which was really confusing) with just a half scared face. His man servant, the mysterious Butler who kinda came out of no where, decided to wait until the very last moment to pop in and say, "Hey I've been here a while and seen some stuff that I dare not speak of..." He tells Harry that Spidey didn't kill Norman... yatta yatta yatta.
The biggest disappointment of all had to be Spiderman (Tobey Maguire). First off, why take off your mask every time you stop... NY is a big place and more than likely people saw you without the mask and now know who you are. Props though for the kiss on Gwen Stacey (definately would choose the movie Gwen over the movie MJ anyday of the week). This isn't the worst of it though. Somehow, instead of the suit bonding with Peter like it does in the comics, it just bonds with a spare Spidey suit and Peter takes it on/off whenever he pleases, which is ridiculous. Another key factor to tell Peter has been corrupted is the invasion of Emo Peter. Look out folks, now every emo person you see can now be explained that they too have been taking over by a symbiote. Professional jazz dancers aren't safe from the category either.
The other main character, Mary Jane (Kristen Dunst) really wasn't that important in the movie. Basically she lost her job, become a singing waitress at a jazz club, kissed Harry, and breaks up with Peter on a bridge (since neither her nor Tobey can act, watching them trying to cry act is by far the funniest part in the movie).
Now the review of the last 15 minutes (perhaps the worst part of the movie). Don't get me wrong, the ending wasn't horrible... it just was't long enough and everything either resolved too quickly or left you hanging and scratching your head at the end. I guessed the end sequence as soon I saw Harry get the bump on the head in the beginning of the movie. I remember leaning over to a friend and saying, "Final sequence: Sandman and Venom vs. Harry and Spidey." I was hoping I was wrong and that this cliché filled movie would not turn into a Batman Forever. Sadly it did. Fight scene occurs, Sandman and Harry square, leaving Venom and Spiderman to duke it out. This whole thing was a let down.
As soon as the blades came out of the board of Harry's, I knew his fate had been sealed. I'm just glad it happened the way it did, giving Venom something cool finally in the movie. But the cool was short lived as Spiderman put up poles that resonated like bell tones and forces the symbiote away from Brock. Then the writers added the most asinine thing: throwing a pumpkin bomb at the symbiote and having it fuse back with Brock while it had it, ruining any chance of him being in the second one and having a kickass showdown with Spidey against Carnage in a future Spiderman movie (like how it went down in all the other adaptations). After this happened, and this movie apparently being the "darkest" Spidey movie, I really hope Carnage isn't in the movies, or at least make it to where he's the only villain. Every superhero movie that has more than one villain has always been a big letdown (the Batman movies show dividend to that). All in all, if you haven't seen it... see it. Its not a waste of movie as long as you can in with low expectations.