Advice the "Dark Knight" can give "The Amazing Spider-Man" and Vice Versa

This year Marvel Studios will re-boot their most lucrative franchise "Spider-Man", which will be directed by (500) Days of Summer's Marc Fields and starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. The first thought of many is, "Why?," but look at another film franchise that was rebooted this decade and see that the idea may not be so bad. Christopher Nolan rebooted the "Batman" franchise with Batman Begins in 2005 and it received well by the public and the critics. The franchise is releasing it's third and final installment this summer as well and it could use some advice from the previous "Spider-Man" series.





First what would "Spider-Man" say to "Batman":
For starters when it comes to your third installment, the standard sequel formula needs to be thrown out. The first movie usually sets up the second, but the story is pretty closed off in each of these franchises. Here's a few points:

Be True to Your Characters: So go bigger, but beware of going too big. "Spider-Man 3" was the only film of the series to employ the multi-villain method and it didn't go so well. Now "Dark Knight Rises" is going to bring in Bane- one of Batman's fiercest villains that was relegated to a brawny moron in "Batman and Robin". Call this Christopher Nolan righting a Schumacher wrong, but he's also bringing out Catwoman who was personified by Michelle Pheifer in 1991. Will Catwoman fit in the story with Bane? Hard to say, but the first two installments blended it's villains together well. In "Spider-Man 3" the mix of Venom, Sandman, Peter's battle with the black suit and Harry's Green Goblin mixed like rum and dry vermouth. Even though you could pour them together, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth. Marvel did a poor job with the Venom character by changing him completely and the heart-strings pulling by Sandman seemed forced. Plus Harry's amnesia didn't help matters, one minute he's a villain, the next he's a friend, then right back to an enemy. The audience didn't connect with this installment because too many cooks spoil the stew.

Keep your tone: "Spider-Man 3" varied the tone too much. Funny, sad, heart-warming, heart-breaking and a couple of dance numbers in the middle. That pushed the audience away instead of drawing them in. Now, Nolan won't make Batman dance, but will the Bruce Wayne/Selena Kyle relationship mess up "Rises"? Will "Rises" make the same mistake?

Where do we go from here?: In each of the sequels, there was a huge action sequence that left the audiences dropping their jaws. In "Spider-Man 3", the opening/closing stunts were... eh. The action was mediocre. Where do you go from a runaway train or a tractor-trailer being flipped over? Just make sure the stunts pull the audience in. In each sequel the stakes are raised on the stunts. If you need proof, check with the Indiana Jones series.

What advice does Batman have for Spider-Man
Tell a new story: Batman never had an origin story, so that's why "Batman Begins" had freedom. Deciding the villains was a little easier by using two good ones that weren't touched. "The Dark Knight" recycled two villains and used them a different way. Now "Amazing" is going to feature the Lizard, possibly one more (IMDb lists the Proto-Goblin). Sounds good right? Remember the rum and vermouth. The trailers for the movie show a retelling of the origin of Spider-Man. Problem, the audience saw it years ago and -unlike Batman- multiple writers didn't write the backstory over. Supposedly, this will answer what happened to Peter's parents.

Villains- New or Improved: As stated before, right the wrongs of villains previously messed up. "Rises" will attempt to redo Bane. Venom will certainly fit this category. Use of the Lizard is a must to do since he hasn't been seen on screen. Spider-Man has other villains that haven't been seen by audiences (Craven the Hunter, Scorpion, Carnage), but that'll need some more exposition. Marvel's choice here was a slam dunk. Now "Dark Knight" chose to recycle it's most popular villain -Joker - but that could have back-fired. It didn't, but would repeating the Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus be a good idea?

Have a Good Cast - How do you replace Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker? Garfield maybe an equal to Maguire, but Stone's advantage is that she's replacing a forgettable character- Gwen Stacy from "Spider-Man 3." Unlike Bale's Batman, Garfield has to deal with one other actor to play Peter Parker, but did it three times and well. Bale's Batman was up against Michael Keaton's success and Val Kilmer and George Clooney's failures. Not that they were to blame for it, as Clooney told a hilarious story on Inside the Actor's Studio about Schumacher's direction. Still kind of funny that Kirsten Dunst was a blonde playing a red-head. Emma Stone is a red-head playing a blonde.

So this summer, good luck to the "Amazing Spider-Man" and hopefully "The Dark Knight Rises" won't fall into the trap of "Spider-Man 3". Learn from each other and don't repeat the mistakes of the past.