My Re-Analyzing of Spider-Man 3 (2007)/Review of the Editor’s Cut · 5:08am Jul 30th, 2023
Greetings and salutations, my friends.
This is your top-of-the-line film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, I'm gonna give you guys my 3rd reexamination of a film:
A re-analyzing of Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 3"/review of the editor's cut by Bob Murawski.
As with my previous re-analyzings/reviews on the extended versions of "The Patriot" and "Salt", I'm gonna skip giving a summary of this sequel's story since that was already explained in my review of the theatrical version.
If anyone would like to see what the 3rd film in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" series is about, and if you'd like to check out what I thought of the theatrical version, click on the link below:
To tell you the truth, reviewing the editor's cut wasn't a top priority of mine at first, mainly since "Spider-Man 3" was one of my least favorite sequels anyway. But, there were things regarding the movie that I grew a soft spot towards in recent years, so I grew interested in giving the film a look-back to see if my opinion of it changed any. I also read from somewhere that the editor's cut was much more well-received compared to the theatrical version, so I wanted to see if it was any better.
Unfortunately, finding a place to watch the editor's cut was very challenging. The alternate and new clips it contained were very easy to find on YouTube, but finding how to the whole thing...was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Miraculously, though, I found the editor's cut to be available for free on archive.org recently, which really took a load off my shoulders.
Coming from a guy who finally saw the editor's cut recently, I will say this:
In contrast to the theatrical version, the editor's cut was a much more tolerable experience. It was a 50/50 at the most, but it was worth checking out.
On the positive side, the few alternate versions of scenes presented in the theatrical cut were way better than how they were originally shown. They helped give story a more natural flow, and they didn't feel as distracting or forced compared to the T.C.'s versions.
Among the examples is this:
- In the T.C., Harry reconciles with Peter after his butler informs him of how his father really died. Whereas in the E.C., after angrily telling Peter to leave, Harry spots a photograph of him, Peter, and Mary Jane that was kept inside a broken photograph. This causes him to contemplate his broken friendships, before deciding to reconcile with Peter and MJ on his own.
For me, this alternate scene was a much more natural course for Harry's redemption. It helped his eventual team-up with Peter not feel as forced or predictable.
Along with this, the newly-incorporated scenes shown in the third act were surprisingly beneficial for the narrative. The moments where Peter is shown to be openly tempted and manipulated by the symbiote suit into putting it on were the perfect lead-ups towards his confrontations with Flint, Eddie, and Harry. And, the part where Flint poses as a sand castle for his daughter not only served as the right lead-up for his alliance with Venom, but a great reminder for why he's been robbing banks in the first place.
Aside from enjoying the newly-incorporated and alternate scenes, I'd like to mention that there were elements of the overall film that I went from disliking to actually liking:
1. In my review of the theatrical cut, I commented that I wasn't a big fan of Topher Grace's performance as Eddie Brock nor of this film's version of the character. I also wasn't particularly fond of Venom and often questioned his incorporation in general.
In recent years, though, I grew a soft spot for Brock because I found him to be a great alternate reflection to Peter, I began noting that Venom was basically the villainous version of Spider-Man. Plus, I actually found Topher Grace's portrayal to be enjoyable compared to my first experience watching the film, and I thought that the symbiote perfectly served as the right source for bringing out Peter's own inner darkness.
2. I don't consider the "Flint Marko being Uncle Ben's true killer" aspect of the story as a retcon anymore.
After talking about the scenario with family and friends, I gained a better understanding of how someone could accidentally shoot another by accident, or in this case, how Flint could accidentally kill Ben. And as I remembered that the first film gave no official clarity on who killed Ben and how he died, I've become more accepting of the whole thing. Nowadays, I consider it an interesting expansion on the event in question.
3. Many scenes from the theatrical cut have frequently stood out to me in the best way. Especially the part where Peter frees himself of the symbiote suit, and the climactic battle near the end.
Unfortunately, in spite of of the positives I mentioned, and the things I've had a change of heart towards, the editor's cut wasn't able to remedy my feelings towards the film as a whole. Bob Murawski definitely had the right ideas, but he also didn't exactly improve the film.
The main problem is that the movie was still suffering from an overbalanced and disjointed narrative. It felt like there were too many things happening at once, especially in terms of execution.
For instance, while I didn't see anything wrong with incorporating more than one villain beforehand, the real issue came from how the villains were being used and handled. Each Spider-Man adversary often seemed to be there for one moment but gone the next for too long of a period, which caused them to not have enough time to fully develop or make an impression. These factors are what I believe to have been caused by several of Flint's, Venom's, and Eddie's scenes being cut, as well as Harry getting the amnesia-ball for half of the entire film!
Many of the scenes the editor's cut kept were also ones that I found to be too forced.
The biggest examples are the following:
1. Despite no longer having a problem with the revelation of Flint being Uncle Ben's true killer, how it was brought to light in both the T.C. & E.C. was too unnatural. Something about it being revealed through Peter and Aunt May meeting with Captain George Stacy felt mean-spirited beyond anything, and how the police came to the conclusion in the first place was questionable.
2. While I can't deny that the "Sandman confession" scene was heart tugging, the timing of it just wasn't right. It caused a disruption in the narrative flow, because between that scene, Harry was slowly dying! How can he possibly stay alive while the confession scene plays out?
3. Another scene that was unnecessarily kept was Aunt May talking to Peter about revenge after she's told Spider-Man killed Flint. The part where May talks to Peter about forgiveness was excluded from the editor's cut, so why keep the one about revenge? Why couldn't the scene featuring May giving the ring to Peter be the only one that's kept?
4. The part featuring J. Jonah Jameson at the slogan meeting while constantly getting beeped at by Betty Brant to control his anger and take his medicine is an openly unfunny and mean spirited moment, and the entirety of it literally has no purpose for being there. Same with the part featuring Jameson trying to buy a girl's camera as battle at the construction site was happening, because it literally distracted from the battle.
In the end, the editor's cut of "Spider-Man 3" was easier to sit through compared to the theatrical version, and the brief alternate and additional footage it contained was deeply enjoyable. But, because the E.C. carried little difference with the T.C., and due to having the same problems as the latter, it wasn't as great as I hoped it'd be either. If anything, it made me yearn even more for Sony to release the clearly existing extended-director's cut of this sequel.
So, I rate the editor's cut of "Spider-Man 3" three out of five stars.
To Sony, Columbia Pictures, & Marvel: If you guys have seen my reviews of both the theatrical and editor's cut of "Spider-Man 3", I deeply hope that they'll convince you to release the extended-director's cut of the film. And to bring Sam Raimi back onboard specifically for further improving and bring it to life.
I beg of you to please do so. Heck, why not release it as a three-combo pack with both the theatrical and editor's cuts?
Personally I still like the 3rd entry of the film, despite its gripes and criticisms from fans. I gave it a 9/10 for my personal score.
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Out of curiosity…
Is there anything about the overall film that you believe could’ve been done or handled better?
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Perhaps make Venom more muscular? Like how he's seen in his solo films?
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What about how the “more than one villain thing” was handled or executed?
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I didn't see any problems with that honestly.
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I was just wondering.
Personally, I would’ve loved for Flint to have had more screen time, mainly because there are so many questions revolving around him that I believe need to be answered. Same with Eddie Brock, and when he became Venom. Also, I still think that the whole “Harry getting amnesia” thing was unnecessary and undermined his character.
But, what do you think?