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| A longer film, and more intensified battles vs. Doc Ock, which was much-missed in 2. Extras are okay. | Only 8 new minutes of additional footage. |
"Before you see Spider-Man 3 in theaters, you have to see the all-new Spider-Man 2.1 ... The All-New Extended Cut DVD!"
- 2.1 DVD Trailer
Before I went to see 2 in theaters back in 2004, I bought the Official Novelization written by Peter David, and based off the screenplay by award-winning author Michael Chabon. That book opened my eyes and thoughts to the potential greatness that could lead to a Spidey film epic. Sadly, though they attempted to bring in some of the additional scenes from that original screenplay (and reflected to in the novel), a lot of them are left out, most likely due to filming schedules and time constraints. I found that some of them were included in 2.1, however, although not that awe-inspiring as the excitement of the second Spidey installment had wore out two years ago, and this DVD was horribly latecoming with its timing. I know why, simply to cash in on the third film, but I don't take sides well with studios.
If you're looking for a completely different film here, don't buy the DVD. It is in no way a Director's Cut, and there are no sub-plots or different paths that the film takes. It is the same exact film, only with extended scenes that were cut from the theatrical version in order to please the studio with a 2h8m time length, such as more in the fight sequences. Case in point: the train fight. Only fans of the original SCRIPT or people who haven't bought Spider-Man 2 yet may want to buy this, however you don't get any of the extras from the 2 DVD, so I suggest if you are going to buy this, buy the original, too.
Not too packed tight full of extras, but that's okay because this is simply a double dip in the case of an extended edition. What we get here is well exceeding what is expected for this type of DVD.
Disc One
Audio Commentary: Laura Ziskin & Alvin Sargent
Not too informative, really, the producer and screenwriter talk about making the new edition in time for Spidey 3 to hit theaters.
Spidey Sense 2.1
Trivia track with pop-ups during key scenes.
Disc Two
Sneak Peek: Spider-Man 3
Inside Spider-Man 2.1 Featurette
Multi-Angle: Danny Elfman's Score
With Great Effort Comes Great Recognition Featurette
VFX Breakdowns: The Visual Effects of 2.1
A latecoming DVD with some scenes drawn out to a considerable length that should have originally been included in the theatrical version, anyway. Why exactly did Raimi shave 8 minutes off the original film, when the reigns were handed to him by Columbia? It's anyone's guess. It plays out well, and Spidey's got some cooler moves during the train fight sequence (check out the double-webbed, front-flip barrel kick, his most awesome move in the whole series). But all in all, I feel like I waited all this time for nothing. These scenes should have been in 2. At just 2h16m, only 8 minutes longer, Raimi was too little, too late.
DVD Release Dates
2 Comments
8 Comments
We'd also go in search of locations from SM1, and then SM3. We weren't as lucky in searching for 3s locations, but we found only a mini construction site that was short with red truss.
I eventually got stuck fighting doc ock on the train and haven't been able to beat him yet. I get so close to finally defeating him and then either my sore fingers give out, or my concentration is broken from the paranoia that someone's gonna disturb my gameplay unknowingly which could throw me off. Though no person ever did, that paranoia however has...a few times too many.
SM2 Game, wow, that takes me back! I was THE MASTER at that game, hahaha!! Yeah I would set the swing mode to manual instead of easy so I could press a ton of buttons, and swing around the buildings with the right trajectory and try to go as fast as I could through the city and not hit a bunch of buildings. Then my friends would take over and just hit the web button a bunch of times, not understanding how to do it, and just throw a bunch of webs out and fall to the street. I would laugh so hard! lol that took me back. I might pop that game in later in my PS2 and play it over...
I recall seeing previews for this DVD and would like to look up that added footage soon. This was by far my favorite of the trilogy, and most likely will remain that after SM4 is released.
Great review.