Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Spark of Life, The

An amazing edit, turning an okay film to wonderful!
Bobson trimmed, added, moved around and replaced many scenes and shots, yet the result flows smoothly. I felt that most trims were definitely justified, and that they improved both the narrative and Peter's likeability. I especially appreciated how removing the Shared Universe buildup (Sinister Six stuff, Peter's parents) streamlines the plot, how gently trimming some of Peter's scenes make him less whiny and temper-tantrum-y, but rather more relatable, and how cutting or replacing silly things (tooth gap, ringtone) can improve the general tone of the film.
While most of the film is technically amazing (as generally always with Bobson's edits), there were two technical issues that surprised me. The first is a total audio mute, as dingo mentioned in their review, that takes place at the 57th minute mark (between 57:04-08). I thought I was crazy, but it is really there. I hope it will be quickly corrected.
The second issue is a slightly underwhelming audio transition at 1:12:13 - from really tense to strangely calm. I know it is a result of trimming some Ravencroft scenes, but the result felt a bit odd to me.

All in all - this is a fantastic and impressive edit, and definitely makes this film watchable.

After witnessing Bobson's miraculous salvation of Raimi's final Spider-film, I was eager to see what could be made of Marc Webb's terrible final outing with the Webhead. Unfortunately, despite lots of visual and narrative clean-up, the raw materials just aren't there. Despite Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone's natural likeability, their characters are self-involved, grating and unsure what they want, which just muddles the entire arc of the film, despite the excision of entire pointless subplots and villains. There's no clear throughline for anything in the movie, and with the ASM franchise's ambitions to simultaneously ape the somber heroic motivations of the Nolan Batman films, the over-the-top villains of the Schumacher Batman films, and the expansive world-building of the MCU, ASM2 just tries to do to much with too little.

Definitely an improvement on all fronts, and anyone wishing to revisit the Garfield/Webb movies should definitely seek out this edit, but at the end of the day, watching the trailer might suffice for the curious.

Being quite familiar with Bobson’s work, several of his edits replacing the theatrical cuts in my collection, I came into this edit expecting a miraculous make-over. And even though I can testify that The Spark of Life is a vastly better viewing experience than the mess that the original film was, it would be a lie if I didn’t confess that by the end of it I felt a little disappointed. For even the most talented of editors need the right ingredients to work with, and TASM2 simply does not deliver.

To begin with, the story here is tighter and much more focused. I was never a fan of the Parkers’ disappearance mystery, right from the start, so I was pleased to see it cut in Bobson’s editing room. That also comes with a price, though, taking down too much of Sally Field’s solid presence along with it. I actually forgot there was an Aunt May somewhere in the middle of the film. The mismatching, goofy or over-the-top elements seemingly coming out of Schumacher’s Batman era are also toned down to a palatable degree; Jaime Fox’s Max Dillon feels now less of a caricature and the same goes for Dr. Kafka at Ravencroft. Dane DeHaan’s Harry Osborn is also greatly benefited by the addition of the deleted scenes as well as his introduction in the very first scene of the film. In the original cut he seemed more like an afterthought to me, never really selling out his friendship with Peter and his personal drama, his character strangled in the web of plot threads. In The Spark of Life, with so much of the unnecessary subplots cut out, he has the chance to shine more as the main plot revolves around his quest to save his life. Unfortunately, though, it all crashes down during the final act of the film. Harry’s transformation still feels uneventful; his Goblin still as cringeworthy as he ever was. There’s no way for any editor to fix that, and inevitably this spoils (at least for me) everything that’s following down to the end.

Technically, while the edit mostly meets Bobson’s high standards, as other reviewers have pointed out, there are some audio issues here and there, most notably when the sound mutes for a few seconds during Gwen’s and Harry’s elevator scene. And I could also spot a quick flash frame as well.

Final verdict: A better experience than my original viewing altogether, but still missing those qualities that would transform it into a great film.

Does exactly what it says on the tin and does it really well: this fan edit (re)builds a really good film by adding in deleted material, moving things around, and ruthlessly cutting "all the crap and all the clutter" meant to set up sequels.

It clips along at a brisk pace, and the big theme about connections between people -- including Spidey's (doomed) effort to balance love for Gwen and his great responsibility -- is front-and-centre. Fewer lame jokes, less waffling; more action and a clearer emotional core; the interminable side-tracking to the world's least interesting, most inconsequential mystery, the fate of the Parkers, is gone, gone, gone. Seamless editing.

Honestly, I'd say what we have here is now one of the three best Spider-Man films ever (the first two by Sam Raimi still top the list, IMO), and something far better than the current bland, emotionally empty series with Tom Holland.

I really, really liked EXPOED's "Amazing Spider-Man 2: Reworked" but this is shorter, tighter and punchier.

PS. I didn't give audio full marks, because on my copy there is a brief silence when Gwen is taking leave of Harry in the lift during her escape from the Oscorp building – Harry talks but nothing comes out. Maybe something wrong with my copy? Happy to edit the marks back in if it’s just me.

Otherwise pretty much flawless.

This edit is a great sequel to the TASM 1 Untold Extended Edition by Masirimso17 as this has no mention of the father subplot and the previous grabs all those scenes and puts them in the first film. That being said this is a much better fanedit with all the added deleted scenes in that add more context to the film and can spare it much better without feeling bloated.
Not to mention, it feels much more connected and complete. I would have loved to see Peters father return from that deleted scene put in here as even though it is a bit of a shocker and may not make much sense, the talk he has with Peter really shows how it can help him return to be Spiderman after Gwen's death.
Only issue I have is already mentioned by previous reviewers in that there are a few audio issues but other than that, its a great edit that makes the film much better.