Review: Spider-Man 3 (2007)

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★★★½

Spider-Man 3 concept art by Kasra Farahani.

I've been a fan of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy for many years. I've enjoyed the world-building, characters, development, and arcs that occur within the films. Spider-Man 2 still remains my favorite Spider-Man movie of all time. However, Spider-Man 3 has grown into a film that, while I still recommend and enjoy, I have some problems with. I can't place most of the blame on Sam Raimi, as Avi Arad meddled with the script and forced Raimi to include Venom in the film, instead of Vulture. This led to a messy story. The novelization, on the other hand, is surprisingly a more definitive version of the story.

Peter David, the author, follows the script but isn't afraid to add or fix things. This is similar to the Editor's Cut, but even that cut doesn't fully resolve all the silliness in the film. The novelization actually allows us to get inside Peter's mind, helping us to understand his motives, feelings, thoughts, and actions. For example, when Gwen Stacy approaches Peter and MJ's table at the fancy restaurant, we get to see Peter's surprised reaction. When Gwen places her hand on Peter's shoulder, we can sense how uncomfortable Peter feels around her. Another example is during the Spider-Man event when Peter senses something is bothering MJ, and she’s hiding it from him. None of this is present in the film, and I wish we had more insight into Peter's feelings, as Raimi effectively showed us in Spider-Man 2. I'm not sure why he ignored it in the third film.

Aside from Peter, several scenes and character moments are expanded compared to the film. One notable difference is the deeper exploration of the symbiote's psychological impact on Peter Parker, offering more internal dialogue and conflict. There are also additional scenes that flesh out Flint Marko’s (Sandman) backstory and motivation, making him more sympathetic. Eddie Brock’s descent into becoming Venom is more gradual, emphasizing his jealousy and bitterness toward Peter. The novel also delves into Harry Osborn’s struggle with his father’s legacy in more detail, offering a more well-rounded portrayal of his redemption arc. In the Editor's Cut, there's a scene where, instead of Bernard, the family butler, telling Harry the truth, Harry picks up a photo of him, Peter, and MJ, and realizes they were once all friends. This allows him to forgive Peter, even without knowing the full truth.

These differences make the story a lot better and give the characters more depth, similar to the Attack of the Clones novelization by R.A. Salvatore. I had a great time reading it and even laughed at some of the classic, hilarious scenes from the film. Peter David does a good job capturing what I like to call the "Raimi humor." It seems like he understood what kind of novelization he was writing, keeping it aligned with the films.

It's a shame that Avi Arad had to meddle with the final product because he made a lot of bad decisions. Apparently, he didn't trust Sam Raimi after the success of the first two films, even accusing him of not listening to the fans and relying too much on his favorite villains. We may never get a "proper" version of Spider-Man 3, but this novelization can be considered the closest we'll ever get to a "Raimi Cut" of the film. Peter David was able to give the film justice and fix as many mistakes as he possibly could, making this an excellent read and an "apology" to Spider-Man fans.