One of the best movies ever

Rating: 6/10 (29 August 2008)

SPIDER-MAN 2 is one of the best movies ever, in my opinion--lots of heart, great characters, great writing, great action, great moral to the story, great performances and special effects! So I am a little disappointed with this 2007 DVD release of the 2.1 version. This review is for the 2.1 DVD version of SPIDER-MAN 2. It is INFERIOR to the original DVD/theaterical version because the 8 minutes of new footage often REPLACES original scenes, (not just adds new footage), and the replaced footage is always best the original way! The new footage rates okay to great, as long as it does not replace any original scenes, in my opinion. So this 2.1 version of SPIDER-MAN 2 is interesting, if you really know the original version, then you can try to catch what is different. Sometimes it is just an added line of dialogue, sometimes it is a complete scene. This is all good until they start pulling out the original scenes choices and replace it with this "new" footage. The original scenes were better. I think they also monkeyed with the timing of many scenes, which now feel too rushed. The best stuff on this 2.1 DVD is the ADDED stuff (not the REPLACEMENT stuff). You get a scene with MJ talking with her friend about marrying the astronaut, and the perfect kiss from her fantasy man (as seen in SPIDER-MAN 1, and referenced again in SPIDER-MAN 3). There is a brief scene when J. Jonah Jameson puts on the found Spider-man costume and pretends in his office. There are 11 extra seconds of the Doc Ock fight with Aunt May at stake, where Spidey and Doc Ock break through a window and pound on each other while a woman watches in fear. There are also many more brief additions of minor dialogue and brief footage. My favorite is when they first show Peter Parker hanging his tired head in his dumpy apartment. In the original version the scene stops there--depressing surroundings, but in the 2.1 version, they briefly end the scene with Peter reaching to turn on his police scanner radio, to monitor for some criminal action for Spidey to get busy with! This changes the tone of the scene immensely, in that being Spider-man is saving him from the dreariness! I like the added police scanner shot, and it also appears again, more often, in SPIDER-MAN 3! Cool! A strange piece of dialogue added is when MJ and Peter are talking in Aunt May's backyard, and MJ says she is seeing someone now. In the original, Peter asks if it is like a boyfriend, but in the 2.1 version, first he asks if it is therapy, then he asks if it is a boyfriend. This is cool because you get more without losing the original, though it is a strange comment! Sometimes things seem rushed and the timing is off, or small, little things are replaced. A major scene that ANYBODY will recognize as being completely REPLACED (and not as good as the original) is the scene on the elevator, when Spider-man meets the guy walking his dog. This is a completely different conversation, more dumb than funny, and you completely lose the original conversation which actually was funny. The Director's Commentary is with producer Laura Ziskin and writer Alvin Sargent. (NOTE: Kirsten Dunst in NOT included in the Director's Commentary, though some information online says she is). This Director's Commentary is pretty interesting, with some fun trivia and insight into the writing and production, despite the absence of the actual director and any actor from the film. The bonus disk is okay. Not too long, not too short. If you like Making Of documentary stuff, then here is about an hour's worth. If you have never seen SPIDER-MAN 2, then get the original version on DVD before getting this 2.1 version! But, if you already own and love the original version, then get this 2.1 version and watch it with a friend, and have fun pointing out and finding the new stuff.