So now and then I go back and peruse the history of the Film Lounge's reviews and reader comments. It's interesting for me, especially with the really old posts, to revisit them and check out my initial thoughts of a film a few years removed. Quite frequently I'll go back and read a review and worry that I no longer would rate it the same, but then I get to the end and see the rating and breath a sigh of relief because I feel that I did get it right and I would still give it the same rating.
But not always.
First, I feel its important that we be able to admit when we are wrong; we cannot be afraid to do so. And second, I think that it helps me to be a better reviewer and viewer in general to be able to, with the passage of time, be able to go back, think it through again and re-rate a movie if I can find justification. Quite often people tend to overreact (both positively and negatively) right out of the gates and I am no exception to that. I am, after all, only human.
During a recent trip back through the blog I ran across three entries that, as I read them and then saw the rating I gave the movies, I argued with my judgment at the time. So now I will address them and hopefully the record will be set straight.
Spiderman 3 (was rated 8/10) – Oh superhero movies.... My recent viewing and review of Green Lantern has really had me mulling things over during the past week. I've done a lot of thinking on the genre and looking back at all of them through the lens of full decade, I've had a lot of interesting thoughts, some of them expressed in my Green Lantern review.
One of the things that didn't make it into my final draft of the Green Lantern review was a portion where I put my feelings about GL into perspective by listing which superhero movies I felt were worse than GL. After much contemplation I feel Spiderman 3 is one of them. Many people will call me crazy, but I can't help my feelings. Agree or disagree, one thing is certain – Spiderman 3 is not 8/10 material.
First, it is the weakest of the trilogy - by far. Second, when I talk about Spiderman 3 with people it is never fondly. We all seem to complain about the “emo” sequence and how Tobey Maguire's Spiderman, while not terrible, is not really true to the comics. He isn't enough of a wise-cracker and is way too pathetic. Don't get me wrong, Peter Parker often battles with his self-image in the comics, but Maguire's version just doesn't get it right. Finally, Sandman, while the effects were well done, was under-utilized as a villain and we really didn't care about his story. It's largely forgettable as a movie. If you were going to sit down with friends and watch a Spiderman movie, it would either be 1 or 2, not 3.
The passage of time has only magnified Spiderman 3's flaws and the flaws of the trilogy as a whole, but 3's most of all. Therefore I am adjusting it's rating to 6/10.
Transformers (2007) (was rated 9/10) – Here is another film that has lost some luster. Perhaps not a lot, but some and more because of the second installment than anything else. Looking back, 9/10 seems a tad high to me. The visuals, which carried the movie, were great then and still are now, but Michael Bay's name is uttered in jest these days and he consistently puts out summer cash-cows with little, if any, substance. Let's face it, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was not good, and by not good I mean irritatingly bad! (Don't make me invoke the twins!) That said, Transformers did meet my expectations in 2007 and didn't do anything to offend its in own right and did genuinely entertain. However, thanks to number two (A PUN!) I won't be seeing Transformers: Dark of the Moon. New rating – 8/10
Next (was rated 7/10) – Here is a movie that is largely forgettable to me. In fact, the only thing I really recall about Next is that the concept was really cool and I feel like I gave it an extra point for having an interesting concept. Now, I still think the concept is interesting, but I can't justify a 7/10 rating as it definitely is not as good or entertaining as some of the other 7/10 movies I've reviewed on this site. So, to make myself feel more at ease, this movie is getting adjusted down to 6/10. Sorry Nick Cage – Kick Ass is still awesome!
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