In the past, I have been somewhat critical of the continual re-releasing of titles on DVD. On one hand, I completely understand the business reason. People tend to buy new releases more than old titles, and with a film like “Spider-Man 2,” there was a big DVD release a few months after the movie was in the theaters. With the impending theatrical release of “Spider-Man 3,” there’s a push to sell more DVDs of the first two films.

I’ve been critical of over-released DVDs mainly because too often studios just use these second and subsequent releases as a means of making money without giving anything new to the fans. So, if the studios are going to re-release a DVD, they should give us something more.

Fortunately, “Spider-Man 2.1” delivers on this. In many ways, “Spider-Man 2.1” is just as much about the revised film with added footage as it is about the original film.

The DVD is advertised with an additional 8 minutes of footage not seen in theaters. Don’t be fooled into thinking you’re going to get eight minutes of straight action added to the theatrical cut. After all, when a big-budget studio film is produced, the money shots are the most scrutinized. These action sequences are usually put together so well for the theatrical release, it’s a bit hard to improve them on DVD.

Rather than 8 minutes of new action, most of the added footage is about the characters, offering more dialogue and development. Oh, there are some added action, and bits and pieces added to existing scenes. However, the most noticeable additions come with extended dialogue scenes that, for the most part, work on DVD.

Still, as in the “Spider-Man” films themselves, J.K. Simmons steals the show with the new footage. He’s the best thing in the added 8 minutes, just as he’s one of the best things in the feature films.

After seeing the film originally in the theater, I thought “Spider-Man 2” was one of the best superhero movies ever made. I even liked it more than the recent films of the DC heroes, which were the comic books I grew up with. Maybe I accepted the changes to the stories and characters better because I didn’t have all that pretext. Whatever the reason, I’ve become a huge Spider-Man fans after these two movies, and I am eagerly awaiting the release of “Spider-Man 3.”

In addition to the extended cut of the film, there’s a special trivia track you can enable while watching the film. This trivia track gives a great overview of the Spider-Man films as well as the character from the original comics. If you haven’t been an avid reader of these books, this is a great way to catch up with the mythology while enjoying the movie again.

The trivia track comes embedded in the film with behind-the-scenes footage that launches as the movie plays. I’ve seen this sort of thing done before in movies, and as a DVD lover, I have always enjoyed this. It’s only to be watched after you’ve seen the film in its full glory because these bits sometimes overrun a good effects sequence, but it’s a great feature nonetheless. The movie also comes with a commentary track.

On the second disc are new featurettes and bonuses. If you forgot how the original theatrical release ran, you can check out “Inside Spider-Man 2.1” for a more detailed discussion of the added footage. There’s a somewhat self-congratulatory featurette about the effects and technical elements of the film.

There’s also a visual effects breakdown, a doco on Danny Elfman’s scoring of the film, trailers and a sneak peak at the best bet summer blockbuster “Spider-Man 3.”

Very rarely does a DVD live up to the hype, offering plenty of extras to push a DVD sale. “Spider-Man 2.1” moves out of the rental category to a must-buy. It’s one of those DVDs that makes the wait for the next film a little more bearable.



Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Widescreen (2.40:1) – Enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Mastered in high-definition. French, Portuguese and Spanish language tracks. French, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.