Spider-Man 2 DVD Review

"SPIDER-MAN 2" reviews

DVD

SPIDER-MAN 2

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-10-26 11:16:33

Provider

DVD Review

When we last saw Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), he'd just defeated the Green Goblin, accepted that "with great power comes great responsibility" and broken Mary-Jane's (Kirsten Dunst) heart into the bargain. Now, two years later, a new menace threatens New York, the mechanically-enhanced Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), a brilliant scientist who stumbles into madness when an experiment goes wrong, killing his wife and fusing four metallic limbs to his spine - but Pete's decided to hang up his costume and live a normal life. Or has he?

One of the great successes of Sam Raimi's first Spidey outing was the vulnerability displayed by so many of the characters. Well, that's the case again as Peter is portrayed as a geek of the highest order, Harry Osbourn (James Franco) reveals how fragile the family psyche is, Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) struggles to cope without the late Uncle Ben and even the evil Ock shows signs of humanity.

The action, meanwhile, surpasses the standard set by the first film, while there's still plenty of humour and a great Bruce Campbell cameo as a snooty usher. And let's not forget the truly wonderful JK Simmons who, as Daily Bugle boss J. Jonah Jameson, has been granted more exposure this time around.

Extra DVD features include audio commentary from the film's director, producer, co-producer and actor Tobey Maguire plus a Spidey Sense trivia track, Blooper reel, four original online featurettes and Making The Amazing - a 12-part documentary from production to the premiere.

DVD

Spider-Man 2.1

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-04-18 15:00:14

Provider

DVD Review

It's been two years since Spidey (Tobey Maguire) defeated the Green Goblin, and accepted that "with great power comes great responsibility". Now a new menace threatens New York, the mechanically-enhanced Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), a brilliant scientist who stumbles into madness when an experiment goes wrong, killing his wife and fusing four metallic limbs to his spine - but Pete's decided to hang up his costume and live a normal life. Will Ock be allowed to take a bite out of the Big Apple, or will the Webbed Wonder come to his senses and save the day?

One of the great successes of Sam Raimi's first Spidey outing was the vulnerability displayed by so many of the characters. Well, that's back in spades here as Peter is portrayed as a geek of the highest order, Harry Osbourn (James Franco) reveals how fragile the family psyche is, Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) struggles to cope without the late Uncle Ben and even the evil Ock shows signs of humanity.

The action, meanwhile, surpasses the standard set by the first film and feels like part of the plot, while there's still plenty of humour to brighten the more serious moments.

Bridging the gap between the 2004 and 2007 sequels comes this 2.1 DVD version which features all new bonus features. Extended Cut is a limited release featuring eight minutes of never-before-seen footage including two brand new scenes, plus an introduction by producers Grant Curtis and Avi Arad, commentary by producer Laura Ziskin and two-time Oscar winning screenwriter Alvin Sargent.

Also included are featurettes Inside Spider-Man 2.1 and the Villains of Spider-Man 3, as well as a sneak peek of Spider-Man 3.