Well, it's certainly a crowd-pleaser. I work at the local theater, and we could only keep things sane by showing the movie in 8...count 'em...8, of our 18 theaters. So many movies, even recent ones were kicked to the curb that it was hardly funny. We STILL sold out from 6:00 PM to 9:15 PM. Nobody could get a seat to any showing between those times, for ALL 8 THEATERS IT SHOWED IN!!! It looks pretty nice. I've actually been to Sony Imageworks last fall, where they did all the effects for this. Got to see some footage before the trailers were released too
Needless to say, they packed a lot of **** into this film. It seems satisfying though. It wouldn't have felt nearly as involving if it were JUST Venom or JUST Sandman. That's why the first two were good in my eyes, but had tunnel-vision. In this one, the plot isn't easy to predict from what I gathered. I really loved how they made Peter feel dark during the Symbiote Spiderman part of the movie. His eyes seem baggy, and the way his hair combs down over his forehead adds something sinister to his character, something totally in contrast from regular Pete. I gotta say though, Toby hasn't lost his touch. He's a great actor; his emotions were totally believable. From rage, to elation, from depression to smugness, he never stops being his character.