Spider-Man 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Spider-Man 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Sony's 2012 individual Blu-ray release of 2004's 'Spider-Man 2' contains a bevy of supplemental content not previously available on the 2007 boxed set. Video appears to be identical to the 2007 release but Sony has switched up the audio to a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Read on for more on what's new.

Spider-Man 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For a full video review, please click here. Note that the score in this review reflects the overall video score awarded to the 2007 release.

Spider-Man 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As mentioned above, Spider-Man 2 contains a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack rather than the original Blu-ray's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. This is seemingly the same track found on the "Mastered in 4K" disc. Please see that review for more.

Spider-Man 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Spider-Man 2 contains a bevy of supplemental content, which includes a trio of audio commentary tracks and a number of high quality featurettes. Also included is a (now expired) digital copy code. This release also includes two cuts of the film: Theatrical (2:07:28) and Extended (2:15:48).

• Audio Commentary: Actor Tobey Maguire, Director Sam Raimi, Producer Avi Arad, Co-Producer Grant Curtis, recorded in July 2004, discuss the movie in varied and comprehensive detail from a number of unique perspectives, beginning with the Marvel logo and title sequence and moving on to cover a wealth of content, including, but not limited to, story structure, characters, performances, themes, sets, the excised Black Cat storyline, visual effects, and much more. This is a solid, well-rounded track. Available on the film's theatrical cut only.
• Audio Commentary: Steve Johnson from Edge FX, Puppet Master Eric Hayden, Visual Effects Designer John Dykstra, Animation Supervisor Anthony LaMolinara, Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Stokdyk, and Visual Effects Producer Lydia Bottegoni deliver a much more complex, in-depth, technical commentary that explores the film's visuals from a fairly unique perspective beyond the usual banter about digital creation and implementation. The track may not interest everyone, but for those more technically curious the track certainly offers a wealth of fascinating content. Available on the film's theatrical cut only.
• Audio Commentary: Producer Laura Ziskin and Writer Alvin Sargent deliver the most intimate of the tracks. It encompass the participants' experiences in the franchise beyond this film, with emphasis on the "2.1" version of the film. It's a bit choppy and slow at times, but still contains some wonderful insight into story, locations, characters, and more. It's for the hardcore Spider-Man fan. Available only on the extended version of the film.
• Making The Amazing (480i): A 12-part feature that offers a comprehensive look into the making of the movie, broken down by category that makes each one fairly self-explanatory. Included are the introductory Greater Power, Greater Responsibility (6:38), Story and Character (8:51), Visual Design (12:03), Costume Design (13:10), Direction (14:28), The Spydercam (7:18), Stunts (12:13), Practical Effects (7:46), Editing (10:50), Visual Effects (13:22), Sound and Music (16:32), and Lessons Learned (5:02).
• Hero in Crisis (480i, 14:50): A deeper look into the Peter Parker/Spider-Man character, including interviews with cast and crew (notably Tobey Maguire and Stan Lee).
• Ock-umentary: Eight Arms to Hold You (480i, 22:10): Stan Lee and the film's cast and crew discuss the Doctor Octopus character, both in comics and in the film.
• Blooper Reel (480i, 7:31): Funny moments from the shoot.
• Visual Effects Breakdown (480i, 32:38 total runtime): A comprehensive breakdown of building the film's visual effects. Divided into five parts.
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.

Spider-Man 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Spider-Man 2 is the best of the original trilogy, the finest film of all (current) six films that feature the character in the lead, and one of the all-time great Superhero films. This 2012 Blu-ray offers strong picture and sound along with plenty of new-to-Blu-ray bonus content. This is no longer the definitive version considering all that's available in the new UHD set. That said, it does add supplements not previously included in 2007 but lacks the picture quality from the "Mastered in 4K" discs. Note that this same disc is included in the 2013 trilogy boxed set.