Sam Raimi can be a wonderful, playful filmmaker. These were traits evident in his original Spiderman film, and especially in his largely great sequel Spiderman 2. However, in the final installment of his trilogy Raimi's irreverent silliness - which initially was so charming - went completely off the rails, resulting in one of the goofiest superhero films of all time: Spiderman 3. To be fair to the filmmaker, it is now public knowledge that Spiderman 3's bloated, sloppy storytelling can be partially attributed to Sony, who basically held a gun to Raimi's head and forced him to include Venom in the already busy film. That being said, there is really no explanation for some of directorial decisions found in Spiderman 3, such as the awful way Gwen Stacy was utilized, and of course the infamous sequence where the symbiote morphs Pete into a jive-talking, emo-looking moron. While public opinion towards Raimi final spin on Spiderman seems to have softened in the years since its release, the film remains one of the least successful entries in the franchise. It is also one of Raimi's most disappointing films. Which films made you seriously re-evaluate your respect of formerly great directors? Share your thoughts below in the comments thread.
Adam Mohrbacher has been afflicted with an obession for film since his earliest memories. In addition to his work with WhatCulture, Adam has been a contributor with Filmophilia.com, FilmMonthly.com and Examiner.com. You can also check out his personal blog here: adammohrbacher@wordpress.com.
A devoted fan of all film genres and styles, Adam gets equally giddy over the sensitive, existential musings of Ingmar Bergman, and the brawny brilliance of Arnold Schwartzenegger. He loves fish tacos and misses the work of Heath Ledger and Jack Lemmon on a daily basis.
