10 Lessons Sony Must Learn Before The Amazing Spider-Man 3

3. Stop Forcing It

There was something icky about the way in which Peter Parker referred to Harry Osborn as his "best friend" at one point in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, because that just didn't feel right at all, did it? After all, there had been no mention of such a friendship in The Amazing Spider-Man, nor had Peter ever brought up the fact that he had a best friend at any point before. It's as if the writers thought they could get away with: "Oh, yeah, uh... these guys are best friends, by the way." And because of the pre-established connection between Peter and Harry that has been built into our subconscious through the Spider-Man mythos, we just sort of accepted it. The problem with this, however, is that - from a screenwriting perspective - it's cheating and it's lazy... do this too many times and you threaten to lose your audience's trust. Sony need to steer well and truly clear of "forcing" the story into place, because it feels awkward and contrived. Just let it flow, guys!