Finally watched Spider-man 3: No Sandman Edition.
Spoiler:
THERE IS NO SANDMAN!!!
End spoiler
In reality it was a very good edit. I am amazed at how well the editor was able to excise all Sandman plot threads and footage, and how he tied Peter's anger and black suit to Harry and not Flint Marko. The movie really did feel more focused on friendships and relationships, and I was tremendously pleased. Redemption was probably more flawlessly executed, by virtue of being easier to pull off since it kept Sandman, albeit not as Uncle Ben's killer. Nevertheless, this editor did an amazing job and except for in climactic scenes, I hardly noticed any obvious cuts that would have tipped me off that it was an edit, were I a first time viewer. It was really impressive. And though Redemption's editing was probably higher quality (again, it was an easier task), No Sandman Edition is how I would have preferred the story by far. It really puts focus on the correct characters.
My suggestions to improve it, and it could be a perfect edit. 1) I'll never get over Brock, Edward Brock Jr.'s annoying voice, especially once in the Venom suit. An editor once deepened Rachel Dawes' voice for Batman Begins, and many folks found Katie Holmes' acting much improved for it. I wonder if a simple deepening would improve his menace, or perhaps some other voice alteration. 2) I wish something could be digitally done to remove those $0.50 vampire teeth he wears when his mask pulls back. Better yet would be editing it so if it ever does pull back, it would only happen once for a moment as a reveal to Pete that it was Eddie behind the attack. Otherwise I really don't care to see his face at all. 3) In a perfect world, deleted scenes would be released that could be reincorporated into this edit. I'd really like to see more of Peter in the black suit. Without Sandman, Peter doesn't indulge nearly as long in his dark side with the suit, so his transformation to evil and back to good is pretty brief. It would be nice to see him do more stupid, angry things. 4) The most bothersome edit was the removal of the line to Harry that Peter "can't take them both," and the following reveal of the damage to Harry's face. Since there is no "both" in this edit, Harry merely is hiding in the shadows, then we cut to Peter, then back to Harry who suddenly is in the light with a screwed up face. I suspect reworking the audio a bit could have preserved his step out of the shadows. Similarly, a little work on the MJ rescue/double attack on Venom could have clarified what was going on a little better, as once Harry arrived on the scene, it became a bit confusing.
This editor left in things that folks found annoying, such as Disco Pete and other such things. I personally did not mind this stuff, and I found it to be humorous and silly, part of the corniness that I actually enjoy from this series. It helped keep the movie at a respectable length as well.
All in all, I superbly enjoyed this edit and recommend it to anyone who wants a better version of Spidey 3