DVD Review: Spider-Man 2

Surprise! :)

Yep, I was able to get my hands on an advance copy of this bad boy, and so I get to present my first exclusive early review of the DVD release of the summer's biggest and best movie (though Shrek grossed more, will anyone stand up and try to argue that it was a better film?). How did I get it a full three days in advance of the release date? Umm....well, if I told you, I'd have to kill you. So, let's not go there, okay? Well, let's get to work...

Da Flick and How It Looks: My copy is, naturally, the widescreen special edition, presented in anamorphic widescreen and with a slew of audio options, including both English and French 5.1 surround sound. The end result, visually, is a terrific transfer, as good as I've ever seen. Sharp visuals, rich colors and no noticeable imperfections or blurry spots, which is especially impressive given how fast the camera moves during the action sequences. In short, the movie looks awesome, about as good as it can get.

The sound may be even more impressive. I can't say I listened to the full French 5.1 or either the Spanish or English 2.0 mixes, but I did go through the whole movie on the 5.1 with our surround sound system, and it was quite a trip, as the movie takes full advantage of all audio channels with a crystal-clear track that balances all elements beautifully. The best comment, I feel, for any audio mix is that the soundtrack does its job without drawing attention to itself - I don't like audio trickery being done for its own sake. In the case of Spidey, the audio track works beautifully at its most important job - furthering the story and supporting the already impressive visuals. In short, everything about the movie's presentation is tip-top.

Da Commentaries and Are They Worth Hearing: I, for one, was massively disappointed with the commentary tracks on the first Spidey DVD. Two audio tracks, one with Sam Raimi, Kirsten Dunst and producers, the other with the SFX crew, and a text track seems like a lot until you actually watch them and reflect how little you actually seemed to be learning about the whole thing. Raimi in and of himself is not a compelling talker - he needs someone to feed off of (like Bruce Campbell in the Evil Dead commentaries) so he'll settle back and enjoy himself, and he never seemed to find that rhythm with Dunst. The crew commentaries seemed surprisingly dry, as well, given how interested I usually am in the technical tracks, and the "Spidey Sense" text commentaries worked too hard to look like comic book sidepanels, and as a result, were often unreadable.

Well, this time around, Columbia's DVD folks apparently set out to address all the criticisms of the first set and have delivered a much more interesting set of commentaries, even though they have basically the same set-up as Spidey 1's release. First up is Raimi, Tobey Maguire, producer Avi Arad and co-producer Grant Curtis in a cast and crew commentary which turns out to be far more lively and entertaining than the one on the first DVD. The four men seem to have been recorded in pairs - Raimi and Maguire in one session, Arad and Curtis in another - and spliced together, and the end result is a far more lively discussion, I suspect, than if all four had been recorded in one sitting, as any dead spots are pretty much filled by simply switching over to the other set of participants. Maguire is a very animated talker, and Sam, as a result, keeps up nicely, which makes their parts very insightful and fun, while Arad and Curtis pop in with more in-depth discussion of the development and characters. All in all, an excellent track.

The technical track also is very enjoyable, with a slew of participants from all stages of the production. Obviously, this track is much more focused on the how of the FX rather than the why, but considering how incredibly in-depth the effects work on both Spidey and Doc Ock were, this is very, very cool, with a ton of fascinating info, and nary a dull moment most of the way. Really good stuff making for two very good audio tracks.

The "Spidey Sense" text commentary is back, too, and much more successful this time around. Instead of the comic-style text boxes popping up all over the frame, this time the commentary is always presented at the bottom of the screen, white text against a blue background, making it much easier to read and follow. The text is more interested in giving background of the actors and comic characters, as well, instead of story and technical information, which means there's very little overlap in information between the three commentaries. Very, very nicely organized, and the result is a very good set of tracks.

Da Extras and How Many Do You Get: Again, the first Spidey set was considered by many to be quite lacking in its extras, which sure looked like a lot of stuff on the back of the box, but in practice mainly consisted of two documentaries made for TV networks (an HBO special and a really cheesy E! special), a bunch of short profiles and screen tests, and a lot of comic-related info. Decent, but definitely less impressive compared to a lot of the other high-end DVD sets out there. Again, Columbia appears to have listened, and the end result is a much-more in-depth set of extras that truly deserves the moniker "special edition."

First, on disc one, in addition to the above commentaries, you get more goodies - first, four of the "Web-i-sodes" from the film's website, featuring some behind-the-scenes footage and interview, each running about 2-3 minutes a piece. Fun but pretty unsubstantial. Then the music video to Train's song "Ordinary," and a pretty funny blooper reel, with a lot of stuff underlining just how hard those tentacles were to get right at times. Disc one closes out with a set of trailers for everything from both Spidey movies to a lot of Columbia's upcoming releases on both DVD and in theatres.

But disc two is where the meat of it all begins. First up is "Making the Amazing," an original documentary divided up into 12 parts, discussing every stage of production from the script to costumes to stunts to effects to the amazing "Spydercam" to the Hollywood premiere, featuring comments from basically everyone involved in the film, cast and crew alike. Each of the 12 sections of the doc can be viewed separately or all at once, and added up they make a TWO-HOUR doc jammed with fascinating material on everything, and loads of behind the scenes footage, as well. Wicked cool stuff, and a tremendously interesting piece. This doc focuses more on the technical side, as well, but that's okay...

...because we also get a set of three featurettes, each running about 15-20 minutes, which delve more into a discussion of character and themes, with a lot more interviews with the creative minds behind Spidey, both in the movies and in comics. First is "Hero in Crisis," a discussion of Peter's struggle with his heroic persona, with comments from the usual suspects, as well as more from the Man himself, Stan Lee. Then there's "Ock-Umentary: 'Eight Arms to Hold You,'" a thorough discussion of Doc Ock from both a character standpoint and a technical one, with loads of footage of the development of the tentacles as characters and the visual evolution of their look, as well as comments from Alfred Molina on their operation and performance. An excellent piece. Finally we get "Interwoven: The Women of Spider-Man," a look at the female characters in Spidey's universe, including extensive discussion (for you purists out there) of Gwen Stacy, why she isn't in the movies, and the effect her character had on Spidey's life. All excellent pieces which feel like additional sections to the main documentary, rather than quick afterthoughts.

And no, we ain't done. Next is "Enter the Web," one of my favorite kinds of features - a true behind-the-scenes piece where the camera is dropped in the middle of the set and shows the filming of a scene in real time. Except, in this case, what we get is the filming of about 5 different scenes, with three different camera angles, which you can toggle between using the angle button on your remote. (There's also a fourth angle which shows a composite of all three shots, plus a fourth window showing what the camera was filming...excellent.) I really dig these set visit kind of things, and it makes for a fascinating feature. Next is an art gallery of the great Alex Ross's work from the title sequences, giving you a nice view of the complete paintings. Finally, you get a short behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Spider-Man 2 game, as well as the trailer for it. You also get a few weblinks via your DVD ROM drive, if you have such a thing (which I don't).

(Note: I've only found one Easter egg so far, but it's a good one - go to the first menu for the "Making the Amazing" documentary, and click down until Doc's top left tentacle is highlighted. Then hit enter and watch the fun. :) )

Final Words and Should You Buy It: After a less-than-well-received set for the first Spidey movie, Columbia has rebounded strong and given fans a much more satisfying collection this time around, with a lot of cool pieces and fascinating material, all accompanying a terrific presentation of the movie. As a lifelong fan of the character, I'm very pleased to see Spidey be given a DVD release worthy of both the quality of the films and the history of the character. Feel no qualms about snatching up this set on Tuesday. Highly recommended.