Spider-Man 3: The Enemy Within

I gotta say compare to other fan edits such as "spider-man 3: redemption" this is possibly the best version of spider-man 3 and the best overall fan edit of said movie. Unlike redemption, the edits and cuts feel more natural and scenes are fleshed-out with better context than being abrupt with awkwardly forced transitions in-between scenes from the former though there are similarities between the two like the dance scene at the jazz club for example. My favorite part is when Spider-man forgives the sandman for Harry's Death than Uncle Ben's death instead. The tone is more balanced with drama and comedy like in the first movie thanks to the deleted scenes that even it out. But My only complaint which is me just being nit-picky was the removal of the bully Maguire montage because while yes it was cringe-worthy and maybe the scene that jumped the shark but I warmed to it to the point of nostalgia. But also the montages are traditional within the trilogy such as the city montage in the first movie and the spider-man no more montage in the second movie so to me the third movie feels pretty alien without one. Overall this is another great fan edit by Bobson Dugnutt that made this movie a worthy entry to the spider-man trilogy than feeling like it's black sheep.

It's incredible how cutting 20 minutes from a film can make it feel closer to being complete, this has become the definitive version of the film to me. The unnecessary dialogue, scenes, and entire side plots (Uncle Ben retcon -_-) being removed enhance the film so much that it makes this seem like the "real" Spider-Man 3. The core narrative themes of love, guilt, forgiveness and the story arcs pertaining to them that were built over the trilogy are handled and concluded in a way that feels much more natural.

The cuts are mostly unnoticeable with the only exception being the removal of the modeling scene which felt a bit awkward. The addition of deleted content works well and because I have only seen the theatrical version, it was very fun to see all of it for the first time. There were a few video compression issues during scenes with Sandman, audio quality changing during the Symbiote takeover scene and my nitpicky personal preferences but it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment. In conclusion, just watch this edit.

QUALITY

Quality is decent overall, but some odd scenes look to be more heavily compressed with some noticeable artifacts. I know that trailers are used as additional sources, so maybe that has something to do with it? One example is 24:40 when sandman is "collecting" himself.

55-ish - During the montage, some of the audio seems quite brittle/artifacty


VISUAL

I thought that the opening credits being black instead of blue was a nice touch and much more fitting.

There were a couple of visual cuts that felt rushed:

- 7:37
- 36:54

When Peter is being taken over by the symbiote there is a visual montage. I assumed this was new, because it feels a bit random and I'm not sure what it's meant to be conveying (also references to Uncle Ben's killer, showing the face of someone who isn't sandman), but I can't see it on the cutlist... so I'll assume it's from the original. Either way, I don't think emphasising Uncle Ben's killer is relevant since that thematic is no longer explored in this edit (though I guess that's more of a narrative comment).


AUDIO

Venom's voice sounded odd to me, which I assumed was in the original, but scanning through the cutlist I see that it was pitch-shifted and modulated. Comparing with the original, the original is preferable. Some kind of modulation is a good idea, but I don't think the execution works here.

Misc audio things:

- 53:25 - the score clashes noticeably during a crossfade
- 1:01:21 - both visual and audio are abrupt here

Unfortunately, I'm scoring lower than I'd like because of an error where the audio completely drops out at 8:19. It only happens for a couple of lines, but it is there and it shouldn't be.


NARRATIVE

I haven't seen this film for over 10 years... so I came in pretty fresh and with only a vague memory. My impression after this viewing is that it is a choppy mess. I believe Bobson has improved some things, even if I can't accurately judge to what degree. I certainly cringed less... there are still some moments I'd rather be gone, but overall I found it considerably more watchable and not half as bad as I remember.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest narrative changes of the edit just doesn't hold together, and that is sandman no longer being uncle ben's killer. While it is a decision that makes perfect sense (a pretty jarring retcon), things still allude to the fact. At a push, spiderman's initial seeking out of sandman to pick a fight works based on the symbiote suit, but it's still a little random. Also, at the end of the film, they both have a conversation where it's very clear that the context is uncle ben's death. They talk of forgiveness, how he needed the money etc... in this version, if anything, it is sandman that should be forgiving peter, not the other way around. I don't think the scene works here at all.

But to expand on that further, if sandman is no longer Ben's killer, why is he in this film? Everything to do with sandman feels like an unrelated subplot that distracts from the main storyline. I'm surprised no one has tried to excise him entirely in a fanedit yet.

One other thing is at 28:39 when I think originally Mary Jane and Peter exchange words and then he leaves... now they say nothing at all, and he leaves abruptly, which just comes across as callous and out of character at that point. The editing itself is fine, but it felt like such an odd character moment that I thought it was very unlikely it would be in the original.


ENJOYMENT

The cut-list shows that a lot has been done here, and not being overly familiar with the theatrical I find it hard to judge thoroughly, but Spider-man 3 still comes across like a mess to me and some narrative problems are introduced. However, I did enjoy this iteration and found it to be less cringy than I remember, which is nice (and certainly it is a blessing to be without the strut scene). Some effects have not aged well (that initial fight with the goblin) and on a subjective level, I would have liked to have seen some of that trimmed.

I'll start this off by saying this is has become my favorite fan edit. Watching Spider Man 3 at the cinema when it first was released was one of the biggest cinematic disappointments of my young life. Having loved the previous two films, and Toby Maguire being my personal favourite actor in that role, I still remember walking out feeling so confused by what I had just witnessed. Why is Peter Parker dancing on chairs in a Jazz Club? Why did we need Sandman killing Uncle Ben? Why is there so much cringe? Please God, no more cringe! But what Bobson Dugnutt has been able to do with this edit is a miracle, turning a tonally, and thematically confused film that I felt was unwatchable and turned it into a thrilling, compelling, and thoroughly entertaining end to the trilogy. The editing and sound mix throughout was seamless, with all the worst being removed without a choppy feeling and smoothly adding in great unused m0ments. All of the extra Venom footage worked so well in building on Peters's darker moments.

To finish this off, it was so good that my partner who was going to bed early ended up staying until the end and asked me, "why have we never watched this before? it was great!".

I know it's popular to take shots at this movie, but I still remember how disappointing it was seeing this in theatres after loving Spider-Man 2. After re-watching the original 2 movies before this edit, there are still several things I dislike about the movie as a whole, but what a difference this makes. Getting rid of the some of the worst parts of the movie (Sandman being Uncle Ben's killer, that terrible dance, etc) really did help the better parts of this movie shine. Somehow despite these helpful cuts it still feels like there's too much going on, and if I didn't enjoy the spectacle of the Sandman scenes I might be tempted to prefer a "no-Sandman" edit approach.

Putting aside any prejudice I have against this movie as a whole, this was a fantastic edit that really did the best job possible with the material given. It definitely helps me appreciate the movies as a trilogy, instead of just "those two good movies and the one we don't ever talk about".