Spider-Man 2 [Blu-ray] [2004] [US Import]

Before Spider-Man was created in the early 60's, super heroes tended to be a step down from gods (and some actually WERE gods). They were powerful, morally upright, and unwaivering in their convictions. In other words, it was fun to follow their adventures, but they were a bit hard to relate to.

Stan Lee changed all of that when he created Spider-Man. He decided to make a hero who was an unpopular, nerdy kid who just happened to get stuck with powers he wasn't even sure he wanted. He had everyday problems like dealing with bullies, being uncomfortable around that cute girl he likes, and feeling left out in general. And who hasn't had experiences like these at some point in their life?

I've seen some great comic book adaptations that really got down to the core of a character (Batman), and I've seen movies that simply made me cringe and wonder how they could have been so far off the mark (Daredevil, anyone?). As far as capturing the true essence of it's title character, this movie tops them all.

In a lot of ways, this is THE Spider-Man story. This is Peter Parker's struggle to decide just who he is and what his resposibility is to the world, his family, and himself. And it's not an easy decision to make.

It's been beaten to death a bit by now, but it all boils down to what Uncle Ben told Peter: "With great power comes great responsibility." And Peter rages against this logic for the entire movie. Should he live for himself, enjoy his life, and ignore the powers he's been given? Or should he put the needs of others before his own, essentially sacrificing his personal happiness in lieu of the satisfaction and knowledge that he's made a difference in the world? This is the conflict that is at the very core of this character, and this movie captured that in ways that I'm sure made Stan Lee proud.

To be totally truthful, this movie should probably be called "Peter Parker." If you're looking for mindless action, go buy Terminator 3. This is a movie about a young man trying to find himself--it just so happens that this particular young man has some extraordinary powers.

Don't get me wrong; there are some absolutely amazing action sequences. Doctor Octopus is a visually dynamic (as well as tragic) villain, and he makes for a lot of exciting scenes. And I must say, he's played to perfection by Alfred Molina; I don't have a bad thing to say about his performance. And special effects? I get goosebumps every time I see Spidey swingin' through the concrete jungle. Spectacular!

But at heart, this is a movie about character development. I can't express how grateful I am to Sam Raimi for turning out such a quality film that stays so true to the character. He did an amazing job, mixing drama, action, humor, and just a dash of Evil Dead-like horror into a final product that left me emotionally drained and wanting more. It's gonna be tough to top this one. I'd give it 10 stars if I could.

Not having Spiderman 2 on DVD but having the 1st one I was eager to get this to complete my collection (especially with the new film coming out)...however this new version is basically all about Spiderman 3. I'm more than a little disappointed, especially as I paid a little more for this version, and wish I had opted for the original release instead. There's no denying the quality of the film. It is amazing, however the new scenes are barely recognisable and simply make what was already a fairly long film seem even longer. The artwork for the original release I personally feel is nicer, but that's just a personal choice. My main grievance with this 'new' version is the special features, or lack of. I was incredibly disappointed to find that this doesn't contain any of the special features that were on the original Spiderman 2 DVD and to be honest it looks like those ones are far better. Most of the special features on this release are about Spiderman 3, it doesn't have any of the music videos, blooper reels or featurettes about Spiderman 2 from the original DVD. It seems that this is just a shameless way to exploit more money out of people who bought the original version, making them fork out again. Surely it would have made more sense to re-release this as a special 3 disc edition as they did with Spiderman 1. The first disc doesnt even have any special features and the 2nd disc only has 6 which are mainly trailers and featurettes about Spiderman 3. This is just marketing from the compay with the new film coming out to urge completists to pay more money, it's a shame cos this otherwise could have been a nice collection. As such I'm actually considering selling this version and buying a copy of the original Spiderman 2 release which my brother has and I know for a fact has significantly better special features. If you're the type of person who doesn't watch the special features then this will be great for you cos you get the (slightly) extended film, if however you like to learn about the film this definately isn't for you. If you don't already own a copy of the film I would suggest getting a copy of the original release. Pity, it had the potential to be so good.

Spider-man 2 was great but is it really worth buying the movie again for 8 minutes of new footage when you can easily watch it on youtube? For 5 pounds I'd say it is worth it. The new scenes are:

-Extended conversation with Peter and MJ in the backyard
-Extended part of Peter delivering the pizzas to that woman.
-Extended conversation between Peter and Otto Octavius
-Elevator sequence is different
-Doc Ock and Spidey crash into an office while fighting on the side of the building
-Scene with MJ and her friend, where MJ explains why she's marrying John
-Scene which shows Jonah Jameson trying on the Spider-Man suit
-Added stuff to the train fight like Ock holding Spidey down the side of the train, making him smack his head off sign posts.

There's more but those were just some examples. Spider-man 2 is a very good film and I would definitely get Spider-man 2.1. This used to be about 12 pounds and now it's only 5! Grab yourself a bargain.