The Spiderman 3 Effect!

STAGE 1: ANTICIPATION

STAGE 2: DENIAL

STAGE 3: HATE

So yesterday morning, since I didn't have much to do, I decided to watch Knocked Up, and I hadn't seen it for a long time, because I just didn't have much motivation to. However, it's been a disappointing movie summer, and I wanted to see a good movie. At one point about halfway through the film, the characters started talking about rushing to the theatres to see Spiderman 3. Knocked Up was released before that third installment of the major film series, and if you remember, Spiderman 3 was the film of the century back then. Don't try denying your excitement back then based on what you know of the film now. We were all a part of the madness.

I remember being a part of that hysteria. The first time I caught up on a negative review of the film, I remember spewing statements of hate all over their comments section. It's the sort of irrational anger that fans display towards people who don't like films that the fans haven't seen yet, but want to see and are 100% sure it will be perfect. It still happens today, like with that first negative review that cropped up of Toy Story 3, but that was actually monumental moment. It was the first time a critic had dared expressing dislike of a film in the series.

Then Spiderman 3 came out, and the first thing that came to my mind after I left the theatre was something I don't wish to say here, because I believe this blog has dignity. In summation, I was very disappointed. That was probably one of the most disappointing summers in movies. Among the other hyped up let-downs were Shrek the Third, Transformers, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Evan Almighty. So exactly what is my point in all of this? Personally, I don't think I need an explanation for why I go off on these long-winded rants.

However, I do have a point to all of this, and it's that as fans, we are very much responsible for how disappointing a movie can be. We are aggresive moviegoers who have no care for what the filmmakers intended. We only dare care about what we wanted to see. We exist in our own little dream worlds, and we build those worlds for ourselves. If anybody throws a contradictory wrench in, we dismiss it, just as a paranoid schizophrenic would deny reality. We are gearing ourselves up for disappointment. Not that I'm in any way suggesting you should go see Spiderman 3 again and give it another chance. That film should've never been, and I actually understand why Sony is trying to cleanse themselves of it.

That's something to keep in mind as we get closer to the debut of Inception. I'm as excited as anyone about the film, and I too am sure it will be great. Just be ready for the possibilty that it isn't what everybody expected, as the film has quite a bit of hype to live up to. Christopher Nolan films rarely are as they seem, and that usually works to great satisfaction or great despair. However, I have a bit of a challenge for the earnest moviegoer this weekend. After you've seen Inception for the first time, whether you like it or dislike it, see it again and try to see the film as he envisioned it while making it. You may exit with more of an understanding than when you went in.