Synopsis:

Clean up the final nail in the Sony Spider-Man Live Action Universe as much as possible and see what movie is left if most of the distracting elements are removed.

Intentions:

Wow, a *not terrible* movie was clearly there before shooting, but they clearly relied on too much "we'll fix it in post" while filming. I mean, they have literal sequences of still shots with moving lips. Theatres are releasing this and we fan-editors have higher standards of quality. But, it would be crazy to expect anything more from Sony at this point. It's almost like they wanted these movies to fail. But, these still a somewhat fun movie underneath!!

Change List:

• Removed Marvel Intro • Replace intro song to "Ballad for Russian Boys" instead of the song form the Hunt for the Red October (A major complaint in reviews) • Removed Sergei defying gravity whenever possible, i.e. climbing up walls like a spider when escaping prison. • Removed Sergei meeting the wolf in the snowstorm. • Removed Sergei talking to pilot at all before flashback. • Removed Title Card, moved to end. • Adjusted dialogue inside limo so Sergei's mom didn't JUST die, its been some time. • Moved Calypso's intro with her granny to the second day of hunt, the day of the attack (since she is wearing the same thing) • Tightened dialogue of Sergei and Dimitri in the tent. • Removed other hunter joking about Dimitri being a bastard. • Tightened Calypso's intro. Her name is now only said once, and granny doesn't give Calypso the elixir (she already has it) • Removed Calypso on safari with her family (now all of that is mysterious, we only see her Granny once.) • Adjusted Calypso saving Sergei and removed the granny's voice during the visions. • Removed Sergei and the eagle. • Tightened Sergei leaving home, and removed him falling from the roof. • Removed the boat crew asking if Sergei is on the run. • Removed shot of Sergei NOT WORKING on the boat • Removed the buffalo looking right at Sergei during the stampede. The heard just naturally runs around him. (FX work here is bad but not as bad as other theatrical attempts in this movie!) • Removed Sergei finding the old home, since he sleeps outside anyways. • Tightened Sergei's canyon jump to be more of a surprise to him and us. Removed him climbing the tree and using super-sight. • Tightened his discussion with the second set of poachers, removed his super eyesight to see the truck license. • Tightened his introduction to present day Calypso at the funeral. • Tightened Sergei and Calypso meeting on the bench to remove Sergei discussing the spelling of Kraven and that he kills bad guys. • Removed Calypso's ridiculous legal history. Removed Sergei need Calypso to find people "that he can't", instead just to work together in general. • Trimmed Dimitri calling his dad "Papa" as an adult when possible, tightened his initial club scene introduction by his father • Tightened The Foreigner's intro to have him kill faster • Removed Sergei getting a suit from Dimitri • Tightened birthday dinner slightly • Removed Sergei's super vision of the cigarette • Tightened van chase of Dimitri's kidnapping • Tightened Calypso meeting with informant, tightened The Foreigner killing informant • Tightened Sergei infiltrating the monastery • Tightened The Foreigner at the monastery • Removed Dimitri saying Kraven is a fable to out fear into criminals • Thugs in suits arriving at Calypso's office removed • Removed Sergei talking to leopard • Tightened The Foreigner explaining poison • Tightened Calypso in cabin with bow to remove most of the "animated still shot" • Tightened Sergei and Calypso discussion to remove "she died not long after that trip and I never saw her again" • Removed mention that The Foreigner's darts kill, just paralyze • Removed second "weapons showcase" sequence of weapons being displayed • Removed The Rhino asking for the body of Sergei to be brought back • Removed The Foreigner counting down to kill Sergei • Removed shots of Broken Horn buffalo in herd. • Removed Sergei saying "Gosh, you're heavy" • Tightened Sergei stabbing The Rhino with a pipe • Added title card after Father is attacked, added new music -cover of Johnny Cash's "Aint No Grave" by his grandson. • Added non-scrolling credits to music • Moved final scene with Dimitri to a mid-credits scene, tightened, removed mention that Sergei will stop Dimitri. Instead, he just realizes what his brother has become, but he would still never harm his brother, only want to protect him. • New final music added for credits - Russian song "Dark is the Night"

Additional Notes:

So, what can we remove? 1st - Sergei's ability to communicate with animals is just silly, and needs to go - if he is supposed to become a great HUNTER. Not wanting to use guns makes sense, Sergei's journey should be about not wanting to become a underworld criminal like his father only to become a ruthless killer instead. (He eats a raw fish, so are fish immune to his powers?) Instead of protecting most all animals, he simply protects the buffalo because this is his home, that's it. This requires digitally removing the buffalo that stops and stares during the stampede, a WIP at the moment. (FX work here is bad but not as bad as other theatrical FX attempts in this movie!) Lets ignore the fact that that Kraven's preserve in Russia is populated by a massive herd of (African) Cape Buffalo instead of (Eurasian) Bison (because no one making this movie about an animal-themed character gave a shit.) 2nd - Sergei's super powers need to go. He gets lucky enough to be revived, but getting super powers is just too much IMO, and diminished his hunting abilities. He gets brought back from the death with Calypso's serum, but nothing beyond that. 3rd- Make Calypso more mysterious and interesting. The audience is being spoon-fed exposition by the truckload and her story has some of the worst CGI lips moving and eye blinking where they try to make a still work as footage. Less is so much more here. Her intro as a kid is also just so bad, so lets also just leave what is needed for the plot, nothing more. Other things: The intro song being from The Hunt for The Red October is also weird. So I found a song called "Ballad for Russian Boys" that is not only an actual old Russian song, but also is thematically appropriate as the movie is about two Russian boys growing up. Also, the ending was weird, as the birthday dinner with Dima felt more like a mid-credit scene, and now it is. The real ending is now Sergei walking away from his father getting mauled by the bear. This meant that new ending music was needed. One trailer song used for this movie was "Ain't No Grave" by Johnny Cash. The intro of the original has a lot of distraction audio bits, so I ended up using a cover version done by Johnny Cash's own grandson, and it sound very similar. As for the infamously weird Rhino scream? I had to keep it. I tried it quiet but the scream is actually much better, keeps the Rhino hilarious.

Other Sources:

So, what can we remove? 1st - Sergei's ability to communicate with animals is just silly, and needs to go - if he is supposed to become a great HUNTER. Not wanting to use guns makes sense, Sergei's journey should be about not wanting to become a underworld criminal like his father only to become a ruthless killer instead. (He eats a raw fish, so are fish immune to his powers?) Instead of protecting most all animals, he simply protects the buffalo because this is his home, that's it. This requires digitally removing the buffalo that stops and stares during the stampede, a WIP at the moment. (FX work here is bad but not as bad as other theatrical FX attempts in this movie!) Lets ignore the fact that that Kraven's preserve in Russia is populated by a massive herd of (African) Cape Buffalo instead of (Eurasian) Bison (because no one making this movie about an animal-themed character gave a shit.) 2nd - Sergei's super powers need to go. He gets lucky enough to be revived, but getting super powers is just too much IMO, and diminished his hunting abilities. He gets brought back from the death with Calypso's serum, but nothing beyond that. 3rd- Make Calypso more mysterious and interesting. The audience is being spoon-fed exposition by the truckload and her story has some of the worst CGI lips moving and eye blinking where they try to make a still work as footage. Less is so much more here. Her intro as a kid is also just so bad, so lets also just leave what is needed for the plot, nothing more. Other things: The intro song being from The Hunt for The Red October is also weird. So I found a song called "Ballad for Russian Boys" that is not only an actual old Russian song, but also is thematically appropriate as the movie is about two Russian boys growing up. Also, the ending was weird, as the birthday dinner with Dima felt more like a mid-credit scene, and now it is. The real ending is now Sergei walking away from his father getting mauled by the bear. This meant that new ending music was needed. One trailer song used for this movie was "Ain't No Grave" by Johnny Cash. The intro of the original has a lot of distraction audio bits, so I ended up using a cover version done by Johnny Cash's own grandson, and it sound very similar. As for the infamously weird Rhino scream? I had to keep it. I tried it quiet but the scream is actually much better, keeps the Rhino hilarious.