Six Times as much fun

Clearly, Sam Raimi has failed to learn the lessons of Spider-Man 3 and X3, in that more is not necessarily better. It appears that the following comments were made with complete candor:

As Raimi sees the next installment, according to MTV: "I would love to see Electro, Vulture, maybe the Sinister Six as a team."

So, even though most of the negative press for Spider-Man 3 was focused on there being far too many characters involved in the film (which is now the 11th-highest grossing film of all time, proof that $ <> :)) to the point that story and development were sacrificed, Sam thinks it would be great to add a few more villains the next time around. Say, another three.

Frankly, two villains at a time is about the most you should attempt to muster. One has generally proven to be the most reliable number (but it is the loneliest number, and so must be consoled), with the original Spider-Man, Batman, Superman doing quite admirably. There are always exceptions to this guideline (I'm looking at you, Fantastic Four, which I didn't loathe, but I didn't necessary tolerate without being heavily sedated.), but with the origin story of two -- hero(es) and villain -- to cover within the framework of an actual tale, it's best to not get bogged down with multiple threats in the first episode of the series.

Beyond two, you get into murkier territory. Generally, when you take on two new villains, you'll need an origin story for both, so again, you incorporate their stories into the general plot and development of the film. When you have too many egos involved, you'll get mixed products like Batman Returns or Batman Forever. Not to pick on Batman, I will say that Batman Begins is the how-to in handling two villains in one picture.

Now, I have to admit I haven't seen Spider-Man 3 precisely because I thought there was going to be too much going on. I can't confirm this, but neither can I say that I think putting SIX villains in a picture will make it anything other than an incoherent mess. Maybe this is a warning to those contemplating making a Justice League or Avengers film, or for fuck's sake another Brett Ratner's X-Men, where this time it's 20-on-20! I hope that Sam comes to his senses and, IF he can make Spidey-4, he scales it back.