Spider-Man 3 - UK-Exclusive DVD on Page 37

[Voltron]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

Nothing wrong with that, it's just he adds nothing to the story, and if you look at the interviews Raimi has given, the insistence of Venom's inclusion played havoc with the storylines he wanted to tell, storylines that had to be held back from full exploration because of how many characters they had to put into the script.

It's a miracle Raimi made them work, at least for some, but Venom is partially to blame for the 50/50 reaction this film has gotten because some fans were dissapointed with how he was represented in contrast to the millions of Lee/Dikto/Romita purisits who relished the focus on Harry, Sandman, and MJ. It was Raimi sticking two fingers up at Avrad and the prescense of studio interference for a quick buck.

By centering the story on the Alien Symbiote, they were able to tell those storylines very carefully and without tripping on any of them (the team-up between the villains is debatable), and gave the five year olds their favourate action figure for about fifteen minutes whilst the substance and arcs were all dealt with

Spoiler:

In all fairness, Venom isn't that much of a two-dimensional character. In fact, I'd venture the opinion that he has a very complex identity. There are a lot of angles you could use when approaching him in a film. The issue of suicide, the duel personality and relationship between he and the symbiote, the consequent struggle between justice and revenge that occurs in him. The idea that Venom is the anti-Spider Man, a lethal protector who straddles the line of good and evil would have made for a very compelling storyline. If Raimi felt that Venom held the story back, then I have to assume that he was biased against Venom in general.

I appreciate what he did with the other villains. Maintaining the canon with Harry but changing it was a stroke of genius. His retelling of Sand Man did make for a deeper character. I also feel the portrayal of the Venom was appropriate, acceptable, good even. I just believe that, in the grand scheme of things, (if what you say is true) that he just forced that portion of the movie in some bout of spite.

Hypothetically, if the writers had taken Sand Man out and left all that time to Brock and Venom, then this wouldn't be any real issue. Not that Sand Man was all that bad to watch; it's just that I always felt Venom had so much more to offer a plot.

I like Mikey's-in-tha-hizouse's appraisal of the plots. I agree whole-heartedly with that. I still liked Venom, though.

Also, let's stick to spoiler tags, please.