Say what you will about the new Spider-Man movies, but it's pretty widely accepted that director Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 was the worst of his three Spidey films. And as it turns out -- maybe not surprisingly -- Raimi wholeheartedly agrees.

While talking to Chris Hardwick on the Nerdist podcast this week, Raimi confessed that his third Spider-Man outing "just didn't work very well," adding, "I tried to make it work, but I didn't really believe in all the characters, so that couldn't be hidden from people who loved Spider-Man. If the director doesn't love something, it's wrong of them to make it when so many other people love it."

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On what he thought was the big problem with the movie, Raimi said, "I think [raising the stakes after Spider-Man 2] was the thinking going into it, and I think that's what doomed us. I should've just stuck with the characters and the relationships and progressed them to the next step and not tried to top the bar."During the interview, Hardwick tried to tell Raimi that Spider-Man 3 wasn't that bad, saying, "I don't think 'bad' is the right word," with the director shooting back, "Awful!" (At least Raimi seems to have a sense of humor about it!)Despite the disdain from fans (and Raimi apparently), Spider-Man 3 still holds a 63 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a 59 on Metacritic. It also grossed $890 million worldwide -- more than either of the first two films.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.