Spider:Man? 2 (Special Edition, Widescreen)

Description

Product Description Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) gives up his crime-fighting identity of Spider-Man in a desperate attempt to return to ordinary life and keep the love of MJ (Kirsten Dunst). But a ruthless, terrifying new villain, the multi-tentacled Doc Ock, forces Peter to swing back into action to save everything he holds dear. desertcart.com More than a few critics hailed Spider-Man 2 as "the best superhero movie ever," and there's no compelling reason to argue--thanks to a bigger budget, better special effects, and a dynamic, character-driven plot, it's a notch above Spider-Man in terms of emotional depth and rich comic-book sensibility. Ordinary People Oscar-winner Alvin Sargent received screenplay credit, and celebrated author and comic-book expert Michael Chabon worked on the story, but it's director Sam Raimi's affinity for the material that brings Spidey 2 to vivid life. When a fusion experiment goes terribly wrong, a brilliant physicist (Alfred Molina) is turned into Spidey's newest nemesis, the deranged, mechanically tentacled "Doctor Octopus," obsessed with completing his experiment and killing Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) in the process. Even more compelling is Peter Parker's urgent dilemma: continue his burdensome, lonely life of crime-fighting as Spider-Man, or pursue love and happiness with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst)? Molina's outstanding as a tragic villain controlled by his own invention, and the action sequences are nothing less than breathtaking, but the real success of Spider-Man 2 is its sense of priorities. With all of Hollywood's biggest and best toys at his disposal, Raimi and his writers stay true to the Marvel mythology, honoring Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and setting the bar impressively high for the challenge of Spider-Man 3. --Jeff Shannon DVD Features:The first commentary track is by director Sam Raimi and a self-deprecating Tobey Maguire speaking in tandem, and producer (and Marvel CEO) Avi Arad and coproducer Grant Curtis speaking in tandem. They discuss a number of topics, including Raimi's memory of his excitement over Richard Donner's Superman and how the character of Black Cat had to be dropped from the film. The second commentary is by six members of the Oscar-nominated effects team, and one of their primary focuses is how Doc Ock's arms were achieved by a combination of puppetry and CGI. The centerpiece of the second disc is a massive two-hour documentary that can be viewed all at once or in 12 separate pieces. It covers the development of the story, the visual effects, costumes, stunts, and sound and music. Three shorter featurettes cover Peter Parker's struggle between his personal and hero lives, Doc Ock, and the women in Spider-Man's life, and what's interesting is how they discuss those topics not just in relation to the movies but to the comic books as well. (For example, Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy had a much greater impact in the comics.) There's a scene in which you can toggle among three different camera angles, and a gallery of 17 paintings Alex Ross created for the opening sequence. The sound and picture are spectacular, though only the Superbit edition has DTS. --David HoriuchiMore Spiderman on DVDThe Spiderman Toy StoreThe First FilmSpider Man on the small screenThe SoundtrackGame Boy Advance The BookMore Superheroes on DVDBatmanBladeThe HulkJimmy NeutronJustice LeagueKim PossibleRobocopSpider-ManSupermanWonder WomanX-MenAlso see our Action & Adventure StoreStills from Spider-Man 2 (click for larger image) P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Set Contains: The first commentary track is by director Sam Raimi and a self-deprecating Tobey Maguire speaking in tandem, and producer (and Marvel CEO) Avi Arad and coproducer Grant Curtis speaking in tandem. They discuss a number of topics, including Raimi's memory of his excitement over Richard Donner's Superman and how the character of Black Cat had to be dropped from the film. The second commentary is by six members of the Oscar-nominated effects team, and one of their primary focuses is how Doc Ock's arms were achieved by a combination of puppetry and CGI. The centerpiece of the second disc is a massive two-hour documentary that can be viewed all at once or in 12 separate pieces. It covers the development of the story, the visual effects, costumes, stunts, and sound and music. Three shorter featurettes cover Peter Parker's struggle between his personal and hero lives, Doc Ock, and the women in Spider-Man's life, and what's interesting is how they discuss those topics not just in relation to the movies but to the comic books as well. (For example, Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy had a much greater impact in the comics.) There's a scene in which you can toggle among three different camera angles, and a gallery of 17 paintings Alex Ross created for the opening sequence. The sound and picture are spectacular, though only the Superbit edition has DTS. --David Horiuchi See more Review: Best of the Spidey's So Far... - My 2 year old has been fascinated with the Toby Maguire Spider Man films. She probably spends most of her time watching the first one, but she finds this equally captivating. Really, this is one of the better super hero films out there. Spider Man is an interesting character because he is usually portrayed as a high school teen or a college age kid. What this means is that he doesn't have all the answers, so it's typical for Spidey to do something stupid like think he should deny himself time with the woman he truly loves. In Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man's denial of his love for Mary-Jane Watson manifests in a loss of powers. The first time I watched this film, I thought that plot device was just a gimmick, but after watching this film more than 100 times (because my 2 year old keeps calling for it), the power loss makes sense. Before Dr. Octavius goes bad, he has a line about how "you can't keep something as complicated as love bottled up inside" and that's clearly what Spidey's power loss is meant to represent. Rosemary Harris has the sequence of dialogue that the screenwriter was probably most happy with, and she does a good job delivering it as Aunt May. She has kind of a Morgan Freeman moment with her "I think there's a hero in all of us" speech, and the scene where she is rescued by Spidey is effective. The best part of this film is the revelation of Spidey's identity to Mary-Jane. This is the culmination of two films of heart-ache in the romance between Peter and Mary, and the release that is felt when Mary-Jane realizes the truth is palpable. Actually, that's one of the better screen moments that I can remember. Poor, foolish, noble Spidey has been trying to protect Mary-Jane...but it's true that something as powerful as love can destroy you if you try to bottle it up. The various action sequences are very good. Rami's camera mimics the acceleration and deceleration of a man swinging on a wire, which is probably the only way to shoot spider-man. This one is superior to the first in all aspects except for the lack of Williem Dafoe (he appears in one scene). A must-watch for all superhero fans. Review: Best Picture of 2004 - Director Sam Raimi has raised the comics-to-cinema bar to new heights with SPIDERMAN 2, the highly-acclaimed sequel that has turned out to be a blockbuster in more ways than mere Box Office numbers. Tobey Maguire returns as Peter Parker/Spiderman, now scrambling more than ever to meet his engagements on time. And it's not just Work - his college courses are suffering, even a commitment to see long-time crush Mary Jane in one of her plays ... because someone ALWAYS gets into trouble on the way there. Torn between being 'Spider-man' and plain old Peter (his love for Mary Jane and that less rushed, more ordinary lifestyle), Pete faces a new challenge to his dichotomous identity: Is he any longer cut out to BE Spiderman? Throw into that existential crisis a much-publicized fission experiment gone terribly wrong, a newly potent, tentacled villian who can climb skyscrapers and hurl automobiles like soda cans, as well as a director with a respect both for the genre and for the origins of the story, and you have the makings for a smart and suprisingly well-crafted tale. Spidey-Two is one of those sequels that truly is better than the original. For one thing, on almost every level it is more complex than the first, handling and balancing those complexities as professionally as any movie of its kind. The story itself contains more intricately interrelated elements than did its predecessor. The pacing is careful. The character portraits - most notably that of Peter Parker - are deep and could rival everything else we've seen this year in cinema. Actually, in the two-plus hours that show us his hopes and struggles, Peter Parker became visibly more human than any other put-to-film superhero I've ever seen. And no other superfigure can best Spiderman for sense of moral direction. Also, the action-sequences and visual effects are equally, or more, stunning than in the original. Here we get a much better sense of Spiderman's speed, agility, and even his sheer strength. For a final image we have a hero who is both very much someone with whom we can identify and yet somehow larger than life. As for other cast members, everyone who was anyone in the first movie comes back for the second. Adding to that is the reality, as one critic has said, that those same actors/actresses take their roles with utmost seriousness, making their characters the more believable. Finally, Sam Raimi directs those persons and their crises through some very refreshing plot turns. Chaulked-full of DVD extras (including Commentary by Sam, Tobey, and producers; blooper reel; trivia track; a women-of-Spiderman featurette; 'Doc Ock'-umentary; and much more), SPIDERMAN 2 remains a motion-picture force to be reckoned with - one entirely worthy of the praise it received.