did you see spider-man this weekend?

I really liked Spider-Man, but I didn't like Spider-Man 2 nearly as much. I understand this puts me in a minority, so I'll be applying for government money later today.

I have no interest at all in seeing Spider-Man 3, and according to everyone I know who has seen it and knows me and my tastes, that's probably a good thing.

"It's just going to make you angry," a friend of mine said, no doubt recalling the unfortunate days after I saw Phantom Menace. "Do us all a favor and stay home."

"It's the Batman and Robin entry in the franchise," another said. "don't waste your time."

Okay, so I'm just one person, and I don't like much of anything, so this doesn't mean anything important. But look at this: at the moment, Rotten Tomatoes gives Spider-Man 3 an unimpressive 61% (compared with the original's 90% and the first sequel's 93%.) The advance word from the critics wasn't especially positive, but it blasted off and nuked box office records from orbit, taking in $373 million worldwide in the biggest opening weekend in history both globally and domestically, where it earned $148 million.

Wow.

So while I personally have no desire to see this film, I think it's still really good news that it opened so well. Hopefully, this means that the studios will keep greenlighting comic book movies for at least a little bit longer, increasing the chances that for every Ghostrider and Catwoman and Punisher and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, we'll get a Sin City. Of course, if the studio had a heavy hand in the making of Spider-Man 3, it could increase the chances that there will be a lot of studio interference in Watchmen, which I really think needs to be made entirely faithful to the source material.

So were you one of the people who lined up for Spidey and made it impossible for me to get anywhere near the mall this weekend? Don't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but what did you think?