Spider-Man 3 is not a good Spider-Man movie, no matter what young people will tell you. The story lack focus, the villains are thinly sketched, and its tone is uneven. There were early warning signs though that the action movie’s production was more troubled than we knew though.
No, we don’t mean the alleged studio interference that crowbarred Venom and the black suit into the film. We mean the song that accompanied its release. You see, both Spider-Man and its sequel were released alongside absolute bangers – Nickelback’s ‘Hero’ and ‘Vindicated’ by Dashboard Confessional) respectively – while the third in the trilogy got ‘Signal Fire’ by Snow Patrol.
Honestly, I’d write something mean about ‘Signal Fire’, but it’s so forgettable that thinking of something to say about it is nearly impossible. It’s like a hotel carpet in that it’s entirely and completely unremarkable in such a way you’d presume it was deliberate. Worst of all, it wasn’t even written for Spider-Man 3. It was written for the animated movie Shrek the Third.
As drummer Jonny Quinn told PopMatters at the time, “Shrek didn’t like it, but Spider-Man did.” Spider-Man may have the proportional strength and speed of a spider, but he clearly didn’t inherit their musical talent because, as everyone knows, they’re good with strings… because webs… they’re like strings. Geddit? (Editor: You’re fired.)
I’m not the only one who didn’t like ‘Signal Fire’. The song only broke the top ten in the UK and Ireland (making it all the way to Number 4 and 2, respectively). If you prefer good music, check out our list of the best musicals.