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Ghost Canyon

'Spider-man 2.1 - Extended Cut'
(Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, et al / 2-Disc DVD / PG-13 / (2004) 2007 / Sony Pictures)

Overview: Peter Parker's having a rough time. His double life as the superhero Spider-Man is having a devastating impact on his civilian life. Things are so bad he declares that he's quitting, and never putting on the suit again. However, his sense of duty forces him to become a hero again when the brilliant scientist Dr. Otto Octavius is deformed in an accident and becomes Dr. Octopus. With four metal tentacles sticking out of his back, he'll prove to be a more than worthy opponent for Spider-Man.

DVD Verdict: The Spider-Man series is one that I feel is complete and with intergrity. The re-occuring charecters are portrayed by the same actors and actresses in each movie keeping the entertainment value higher than predecessors of other super-hero movies that have changed the casting too much - distracting away from the believability of the charecters' lives. I must commend the Sony studios and producers for that.

However, I was really bothered by this up-coming re-issue of what most Spider-man fans already own (without the extra goodies as this new one). Why must fans have to pay more for what they have already paid for? Why couldn't the studio release the "extended version" with the first release of the Spider-man 2 movie like other movies and studios have done? Why must they make it so tempting for young people and kids to spend money on something that really isn't worth the extra cost? I'm honestly rather bothered by this, but know that it is common business practice also.

But, having watched it anyway (of course, to review it!) it turns out that this is a whole new movie after all! Well, somewhat and in some key places only, of course! A lot of the scenes are totally reworked. The fight scenes are longer and more violent (that is great). The added scenes to the movie actually improves on the theater version. I guess Sam Raimi had a look at his movie and said hey why don't we do that scene we had done in a new way... The closest thing I have ever come across something like this is the Teddy Rawling's Alien 3 Cut. It is a whole new cut and elevates the original movie. Sure it is 8 minutes longer but nearly all the scenes are woven together from a different cut.

The most obvious is the elevator scene. Here the guy who is stuck in the elevator actually knew he was talking to the real spidey. The original cut features him speaking about the spidey outfit to someone he thought was an impostor. Here the elevator guy wanted to sell his marketing plan to the real spidey.

Another example is the first fight with Doc Oct. The extended version shows the fight taking place from the high rise buildings and continues inside an office. It is more violent and more dramatic. The operating scene where Doc Oct was introduce is remade to look like a scene from the "Evil Dead". I have not dwell into the features yet.

I hope this convinces you as much as it convinced me that the Spider-man series is one with its intergrity in tact. I won't tell you more and save the rest for you to find out and savour. But trust me buy this, this is the best thing that came out since Lord of the Rings (Extended, Superman 2 (Richard Donner's Cut), Daredevil (Director's Cut) and Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut). This is a great piece of work! This is a Widescreen Presentation (2.40:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Commentary by: Laura Ziskin & Kirsten Dunst
Features 8 minutes of new footage, including extended action sequences
Sneak Peek of Spider-Man 3
Introduction with Avi Arad and Grant Curtis
Trivia Track with all-new branched video pieces Viewfinders: The Art of Storyboarding
Activision “3” game exclusive trailer & ROM link to demo

www.SonyPictures.com





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