2012 just got a whole lot more interesting

So I thought I should weigh in on the latest Spider-Man news. Word is that Sony and Sam Raimi have parted ways, and they're starting all over with the fourth Spider-Man movie. I'm talking totally over -- new cast, new writer and new director. And with a new director comes a new direction. The rumor is that Raimi had a script and even villains. Sony couldn't get on the same page with him, and so they mutually agreed that they should end the relationship and start the franchise over again. Now, three years ago, I would be miffed by this. I would probably be writing a letter to my congressman. But not so much now. While it is true we're now going to have to wait until Summer 2012 for the new installment, it's going to be worth the wait. I can't believe I'm going to do this, but here it goes.

Spider-Man 3 -- where do I begin? I liked it. Wanted to love it. But the more I watch it, the more I realize how all over the board it was. It didn't suck me in. I didn't care about Venom, and I should have. But that's probably because he seemed like an afterthought. And the Sandman . . . really? I've been screaming for The Vulture since the first one was over. And they go with Sandman? I don't get it. And of course, they have to tie him into Uncle Ben's murder. Like they got it wrong in the first one. C'mon, man. Just let him be a bad guy. That could have been a good storyline without the Uncle Ben thing. We know Peter Parker fights bad guys because of what happened to Uncle Ben. But everything doesn't have to tie in to that. Some people just want to watch the world burn. Why can't that be enough sometimes?

That leads me to my next point. Batman is kicking tail right now. And why? Is Batman more beloved than Spidey? I say he's not. But is he cooler? Slicker? More interesting? Right now, you'd have to say "yes" to all three of those. And why is that, do you think? Well, let's be honest. The last movie (The Dark Knight) was a perfect storm of box office glory. They had a lot of things working for them at once. They were a juggernaut waiting to happen. Think about it. Batman Begins didn't set box office records. It was solid, but heck, it wasn't even Iron Man if you just look at box office results. But TDK had several things working for it. First, Chris Nolan is the best director in the world. Don't even argue this point. The man knows how to tell a story. Think about it. TDK would have been a good movie if it had different characters in it, characters that you didn't even have a history with. That's one reason it works. Secondly, and let's be honest, Heath Ledger dying whetted appetites for this movie. I mean, that's just going to happen. Did they want Heath Ledger to die? Of course not. Did his death boost ticket sales? Of course it did. That, plus the fact he was probably one of the top five movie villains ever, put this movie in rare air. Thirdly, and lastly though, the PR people for this movie did an amazing job pumping this movie. They were more creative than anything I've ever seen. The viral marketing campaign they used on this movie should be bottled up and put in The Smithsonian. It was brilliant. They should all get their own island and never have to pay taxes again. Brilliant.

And so here Batman is kicking butt and all I have to look forward to is Kirsten Dunst coming back in Spidey 4 and being the worst Mary Jane Watson ever! And we're going to rush through another movie, throwing in as much as we can to try to make everyone happy. The folks who have produced these first three movies seem to think we're more interested in seeing cool villains than an actual story. I mean, come on, how many times you gonna use that "gotta go save Mary Jane" crap? It's old, Sam. Go make Evil Dead 17. You made Spider-Man a reality. You got it jumpstarted. Then you ran out of steam. S-M3 was lazy, confusing, rushed and frankly, insulting. Spider-Man has been my favorite superhero since I was 10. But you focused too much on tying things together and making it about Mary Jane. And it got old. I'm personally thankful that Spidey is getting a reboot. It was much needed. I think this is the best thing that could happen to Sony. Now, let's get a hot young director with a penchant for spinning a good yarn. Let's get a new cast with a better looking Mary Jane. And let's tell a story. A really good story, not rehashed peril. Let's look at new villains. Oh, and don't even think about getting any of the Twilight guys to play Spider-Man. I swear. If you thought I pitched a fit about the organic web shooters thing, you haven't seen anything until you try to get Taylor Lautner in this film. Just don't do it, turds. And don't make it cheesy. And for crying out loud, please leave Stan Lee out of it. Enough with the cheese already!

I know I sound like a colossal nerd on this one, but I have to go back to my nerdy roots here. Oh, and just as an aside, for some reason I am really interested in The Flash lately. I would love to see that come to life on screen. I don't know if it will, because there was once a rumor that Ryan Reynolds had signed on to play him. But he's doing Deadpool now, so I don't think that's going to happen. So we'll see. But The Flash has such cool colors and a really interesting back story. I think it could be DC's answer to Iron Man. Just a thought. I'd go see it. Well, I have really nerded myself out on this one, haven't I? 'Nuff said.