Review Detail

EDIT: I want to go back and say my feelings have since evolved on this edit, and now consider it probably the best version of ASM2 that can exist. I think my initial feelings at the time were informed by a sense of not having the fate of Peter's dad resolved, which to be fair would really require the existence of a third film that never got made (due to studio interference, other nonsense).

I will still stand by initial feeling that I think the airplane scene could have worked better here than being moved to ASM 1, to mirror/foreshadow Gwen's fate, but that's more a nitpick than a significant enough criticism to not recommend it. I will include the original review unaltered for historical reference, but just know my opinion has since evolved on it.

NOTE: unlike Masirimo’s two edits of ASM 1, which are almost identical apart from the inclusion/exclusion of a single subplot, his two edits of ASM 2 are so different you really can’t compare them. As a result of which I’ll be viewing BOTH of his versions, and writing seperate reviews for each. For now, however, I will leave my thoughts regarding the “Untold Finale Edition” below.

This edit is, quite simply, amazing (no pun intended). There are still problems with the film in this form, but they’re minor problems at best; and to be fair, they’re problems that I don’t think any editor could have really fixed, seeing as they’re inherently baked into the film. I refer specifically to the blatant recycling of things from the Raimi trilogy; such as the Graveyard/loss imagery, the dynamic between Harry/Peter/Peter’s love interest, the conflicted love vs duty arc, etc. I expressed in my review of the “Untold Extended Edition” of ASM 1 that the new additions outnumbered the stuff that was recycled, yet — while that’s still true here — there are a lot more of these recycled conventions from past Spider-Man films here than in the one prior. That being said, the unique additions still outnumber the recycled content, and that’s largely thanks to Masirimo’s excellent work resurrecting Marc Webb’s vision.

In fact, his work here was much more signifiant than his work on ASM 1. In regard to that film, there really wasn’t that much needed to be saved; since studio interference with that film moreso took the form of deleting close to a half-hour of the film, as well as sloppily re-ordering what scenes remained. Here, however, Marc Webb’s vision was muddled more by what the studio ADDED rather than what the studio DELETED. I like the return to what was closer to the original script order, and I like the reduction of the unnecessary subplots. I even sorta like the deletion of the Roosevelt subplot for the most part, despite my reservations about it in my review of the “Untold Extended Edition” (though I’ll still be talking about that). The biggest liberty, however, that Masrimo takes is his decision to reframe the film’s theme toward running out of time. This was probably the majority of the film’s focus in the first place, with the clock/countdown imagery, and I like moving the scene with Harry to the beginning of the film to establish that; excellently using the opening shot of his watch to come full-circle with the latter shot of the clocktower, since both events are linked to him running out of time.

It’s a bold decision… that deviates from Webb’s vision. In fact, that’s the one element I didn’t like. I understand his decision to delete the Roosevelt subplot, I really do. The film was already bogged down with so many plotlines, the biggest being the conspiracy behind Oscorp. The Roosevelt subplot being an extension of that, I realize it arguably benefits AMS 2 to delete it (while probably just slightly hurting ASM 1, as I expressed in my review of its “Untold Extended Edition”). However, there is one byproduct of this that seriously hurts ASM 2: the deletion of the plane sequence.

HERE ME OUT! I agree that it felt out of place in the theatrical cut of ASM 2, because it came near the finale rather than where it was probably originally intended (at the beginning, as a prologue). I don’t think the inclusion of the sequence itself was ever a bad decision, I think it just didn’t come at the right point in the film (due to studio meddling). The problem with altogether cutting it — which I also mention in my review of the “Untold Extended Edition” of ASM 1 — is that it serves as an important thematic parallel to the death of Gwen Stacy. Peter’s dad loses the love of his life, as a consequence of his devotion to do good. Likewise, Peter loses the love of his life, as a consequence of his devotion to do good. Thus, the deleted scene where Peter’s dad returns alive in the graveyard is really impactful, because his dad can relate to what he’s going through in that moment (coming full-circle with the beginning of the film). Without the prologue, the film loses its thematic setup and thus it hurts this latter sequence…

…which results in an editing decision I disagree with more strongly. To fix this problem — of the deleted graveyard scene losing impact, without the bookend of the plane sequence to parallel it — Masirimo chooses to cut the return of Peter’s dad from the film altogether. I really don’t think this works, considering it’s what is supposed to motivate Peter to return to being Spider-Man in the first place. It also hurts this film working as the end of a series. For this film to work as a finale, it has to come full-circle with where the series started: Peter’s connection to his dad. By deleting the graveyard scene with him, at the end of the film, that connection to an overarching story is now lost; resulting in a strong lack of connective tissue between the two movies.

As much as I understand the motivation behind cutting the Roosevelt subplot from this film, Masirimo has expressed his goal with this edit was to restore Marc Webb’s vision. Because Webb’s vision was for the plane sequence to thematically parallel Gwen’s death — as well as parallel the latter graveyard sequence he was forced to cut — I would honestly say, in that regard, Masirimo has failed. Connecting the series overarching story to Peter’s story, through loss of a loved one, was part of that vision. To not even have it in the film contradicts Webb’s vision rather than serving it.

I wish there was a perfect cut of ASM 2; essentially, in my opinion, it would be this exact version with only one small change… inserting the plane sequence back to the beginning of the film, per Webb’s original cut (as well as the bookend graveyard sequence). Albeit, Masirimo was probably right to cut the Roosevelt subplot, but just those two scenes inserted back would work nicely. The plane sequence would parallel/foreshadow the death of Gwen, and it wouldn’t even be that hard to insert back in. All one would have to do is put it at the beginning of the film, as a pre-title sequence, then it cuts to black... leading perfectly into the voiceover narration. Without this sequence, there’s just a lack of connectivity to ASM 1, as well as a lack of impact if you include the graveyard scene (which I think should’ve stayed).

I will still go as far as to say this; this is, BY FAR, the best edit of ASM 2. I’m also confident I will still feel that way after watching Masirimo’s earlier “Ultimate Edition” of the film, since the changes are far more significant in this updated cut. I just really feel there is a lack of an overarching story between ASM 1 and ASM 2, because of almost completely cutting Peter’s father from this film.