Spider-Man 3: No Sandman Edition

Review by The Aluminum Falcon — September 18, 2011 @ 9:17 pm

This is truly an underrated and utterly spectacular fan edit. While still not the best of the Spider-Man franchise, this is now on the level of the first one. Even as I first exited the theater, I realized how utterly extraneous Sandman’s character was and how it truly felt like he was stuffed in there for good measure.

Sandman simply didn’t belong in this movie, and the editor realizes it. Without him, this is the far more introverted and personal film that Spider-Man 3 should have been. Peter finally has to face dealing with his own life (not just Spider-Man’s); this deals with the consequences of his actions and the emotions he feels. In a way, the symbiote just represents his darker personas that he needs to conquer in order to live full life. With no focus on the Sandman, the audience can realize that.

This edit has a number of pluses too. The character relationships do seem stronger. We get to focus on Peter’s love/hate relationships with Mary and Harry. Also, the toned down action of this edit really emphasizes the character driven nature of this movie. Even Topher Grace and “Emo Peter” don’t seem as annoying here, they’re typical “comic book” aspects coming to the silver screen. That rubbish plot about Uncle Ben is also gone; I never understood why Raimi, as a fan of the comics, would violate them like that. As a side note, thank you for keeping Bruce Campbell; the man’s just flat out awesome.

This edit is flawless technically in terms of removing Sandman. There are no awkward references to him at all. Audio is crisp and video is immaculate. If ever I want to see Spider-Man 3, without a doubt, I will go to this edit.

Video: 10/10
Audio: 10/10
Editing: 10/10