DVDFile

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 2002, 2004, 2007 / 396 Minutes / PG-13
Street Date: October 30, 2007

The Spider-Man Trilogy stands proudly among Hollywood’s more successful attempts to bring a comic book superhero to cinematic life. And just as with other film series such as Superman, Batman, and X-Men, fans will argue concerning the efficacy of changes made to the comic-strip story and characters and debate about which films in the trilogy are better or worse. Most fans agree that the first two films are better than the third. I’ve got a pretty straightforward opinion: the first film is great, the second film is good, and the third film is lame but worth watching at least once to satisfy your curiosity.

In 2002 Columbia Pictures’ Spider-Man wowed comic fans and general movie-goers alike with its faithfulness to the comic strip and powerful entertainment punch. The film stars Toby Maguire who plays Peter Parker, an awkward high school intellectual with an unrequited crush on the lovely Mary Jane (played by the stunning Kristen Dunst). Peter unsuspectingly acquires super-human (super-spider) powers during a school field trip and his journey into a new world of heroism begins. What is so impressive about this first film in the series is the emotionally involving and unexpectedly believable way that that we as viewer relate to Peter Parker as he struggles with confused feelings of anger, shame, love, and self-realization. Though the outward appearance of villains such as the “Green Goblin” might look cartoon-cliché, the good writing, expert acting, and keen editing of the film combine to create an emotionally gripping tension and leaves the viewer as affected as characters in the film. Even typically weary devices like “good versus evil” take on perplexing shades of grey as the writers and actors compel a more complex view of each character’s inner struggle and motivations. As an action-adventure-sci-fi Spider-Man is an all-out success. But even in the absence of special effects and comic-book allure, the heartfelt story, respectable screenplay, and spot-on acting under girding the razzle-dazzle with a solid filmic base. Make no mistake, Spider-Man is a great movie.

Spider-Man 2 (argued by many to be even better than the first film, though I find the first film better by far) ratchets up an even more intense pulse with bolder, more outlandish special (CGI) effects. This film (presented both in its original theatrical and extended version in this presentation) introduces a new Villain of “Doctor Octopus” who instigates some ferocious fight sequences along an elevated rail car. While this Villain’s motivations steer closer to the traditional “bad guy”, Peter Parker’s depth and sense of growth are some of the key themes of this film which keep it from disintegrating into a CGI effects-fest. The same basic problem of “villain kidnaps Mary Jane who must then be rescued by Spiderman” resurfaces here (and again in the third film). My main criticism of this second film is that the reliance on CGI for so much of the characters’ physical movement often causes the film to look more like an oversized videogame than a feature film. Newsflash: Lucas was wrong. CGI hasn’t attained true “photo realism” yet, especially when it comes to simulating full-body human motion.

This same criticism of “big videogame” extends to the final film in the trilogy augmented by a series of new transgressions such as abandoning plot and character development in favor of randomly assembling all the remaining characters and devices from the comic book to satisfy the fan-base’s need to “see them in the movie” before the series comes to an end. This last film boasts supremely lavish effects and some admittedly engaging action sequences. But the story evaporates into a soap-opera-esque romance saga between Peter Parker and Mary Jane, interspersed with occasional interruptions by Villains such as the Sandman (who never succeeded in frightening me) and the black blob from outer space which seemed like it had great potential but never gets developed. The story (or lack thereof) doesn’t have the weight of the previous films though comic fans will enjoy seeing some additional characters make it to the big screen.

My misgivings about the quality of the third film aside, the Spider-Man Trilogy is a fantastic set of films that merit being a part of any collector of comic, fantasy, action, or sci-fi films. And in what has to be one of the most anticipated high-definition sets released this year, Sony is bundling all three films together in a Blu-ray Disc edition that meet, if not exceed, your expectations. Unless you loath the final film beyond all measure, I’d recommend you acquire the complete set to satisfy completionist demands and that occasional inquiry from a guest to your home theater who insists on seeing the third film. Those who absolutely must do things their own way can buy any of the three films individually on Blu-ray Disc as well.

Note: while I had no problems playing the four discs from this set on my PS3, it’s possible that you may experiencing difficulty playing some discs on your Blu-ray player if your firmware is not up-to-date due the java-powered menus. If you have any difficulty, consult your player’s manufacturer for how to obtain the latest firmware update.


The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

I’m continually amazed by how 1080p high-definition redefines the home-viewing experience. This is especially true regarding films that I’ve grown familiar with on standard-definition DVD… even discs that “look great on DVD already.” Consistent with prior high-definition discs, this 1080p high-definition Spider-Man picture sets an entirely new bar for anyone with a display capable of greater than 480 progressive. The added detail and clarity isn’t just a quantitative gain on a linear scale, it transforms the movie experience and makes it something entirely new. The improved naturalness of movement, the solid and artifact-free backgrounds and textures, the greater realism in facial expressions all conspire to produce a movie-experience that is more emotional, more intense, and more invigorating than anything that DVD can deliver.

Sony has provided all three films using AVC (MPEG-4) video compression at extremely high average bit-rates (sort of a “super bit” approach with Blu-ray Disc if you will… allowing the bit-rate to ride as high as is needed to avoid virtually any image degradation of any kind). Disney and Sony routinely master their Blu-ray Discs this way and (though direct a/b comparisons with lower bit-rate compression is rarely possible) the results appear to benefit from this greater care if we consider that many of their discs represent the best looking 1080p high-definition software available regardless of media type. These films are stunningly film-like, preserve even the finest layer of delicate film-grain, and lack any apparent compression signature or mastering-related artifact (no edge halos). In the case of these three Spider-Man films the source material lacks the ultra-sharp “snap” of the very best dazzling HD content that I’ve seen (such as Seven Years in Tibet). But the preservation of ultra-fine film-grain in key scenes demonstrates that no high-frequency filtering or “roll off” has been applied as is sometimes the case with HD content compressed with bandwidth or bit-bucket limitations in mind (Sony has also stated that they are applying no additional filtering to any of their high-definition Blu-ray Disc masters).

The first film is presented (very slightly letterboxed) in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The latter two films are presented in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The color palette of all three films is skewed toward warm yellow/greens and contrast is often intentionally accentuated to give scenes added pop. Artistic choices like this are cinematic devices that are part of a film’s creative style and shouldn’t be misinterpreted as faults with image accuracy. The same is true for the slightly softened look to some scenes that may be an attempt to blend the CGI and live-action to make the images seem more cohesive.

I carefully evaluated all three film on both 720p and 1080p projection systems and was surprised to find some of my original expectations proved wrong. My biggest and most pleasing surprise was to discover that the first film had, in my opinion, the best image quality of the three; it was utterly film-like with lots of image depth. The color saturation and clean, artifact-free images of all three films are mesmerizing. But for me, the picture presentation of the first film was a cut above. I found this intriguing not only because the first film is my favorite of the series, but also because the first film always had a murky, muddy appearance on standard-definition DVD (the second film’s DVD presentation looks better).

No studio should ever do more than provide you with the most accurate possible representation of the artist’s intended look of the film. And Sony has done exactly that in this Blu-ray Disc presentations.


The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Sony has provided lossless (full quality) audio for all three films. In a new trend for the studio, this includes using Dolby’s TrueHD codec which “losslessly” compresses the original PCM (linear) audio signal for more efficient storage on the disc. Those with Blu-ray hardware not able to full decode TrueHD will enjoy the sound of a traditional Dolby Digital 5.1 lossy signal compressed at the 640 kbps data-rate, and Sony has also provided a linear PCM 5.1 track on the third film in addition to the TrueHD audio.

As you would expect, these sound mixes are exemplary and are absolute show-pieces for lossless 5.1 fidelity and have a silky quality that the lossy 640 kbps “core” stream lacks by comparison. All three films share the same aggressive 5.1 surround in action scenes while also appropriately using the 5.1 speaker array to communicate ambience and subtle acoustic detail during low-action scenes. All of the expected accolades apply: fantastic dynamic range, full-bodied dialogue and end-to-end frequency response.

But I did discover something that concerns me greatly that the studios need to address and correct NOW early in life of TrueHD software: when I compared the PCM uncompressed 5.1 track to the Dolby TrueHD track on the third disc (which contains both types of lossless audio), despite the theory that the two audio tracks should sound identical, the PCM track was audibly superior to the TrueHD and I didn’t have to struggle to hear the difference… it was obvious. The PCM track was more robust, textured, realistic, and also seemed louder (I level-compensated when comparing to make sure I wasn’t being biased by mere level differences). As good as it was, by comparison the Dolby TrueHD track sounded slightly restrained, and “smoothed over”. My suspicion (even though Sony as stated they do not set the dialog normalization flag to engage processing) is that this slightly compromised fidelity of the Dolby TrueHD track is a result of dialogue normalization processing which is applied after the lossless sound file is extracted in the playback hardware’s decoding engine, and effectively re-writes every bit word with a new value as the amplitude of the entire digital waveform is digitally recalculated/reduced. I should point out that my audio gear, while better than the average Circuit-City rack-system, isn’t comprised of out-of-reach esoteric gear; I’m confident that most critical listeners with “good” sound systems will be able to hear the difference between the Dolby TrueHD and PCM soundtrack on the third film without difficulty. Sony and other studios: PLEASE learn how to properly optimize Dolby TrueHD so that it sounds 100% identical to the PCM original. 


Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

The only bonus materials are in the third film’s package; the third film is a two-disc set, and the supplements pertain only to the last film in the trilogy. I’m at a loss for why Sony didn’t provide any bonus material for the first two films (spreading content onto a second disc in each of those packages as well if needed). Whatever the reason, the omission of bonus material for the first two films is a disappointment. However, the material provided for the third film is impressive and is predominantly presented in 1080 high-definition.

On the third film's disc one, there are two commentary tracks, a blooper reel, still frame galleries, and a music video. The two commentary tracks are interesting and offer insights from the filmmaker and various cast members. A lot of behind-the-scenes information is revealed and any fan of the film (or the actors) should investigate. The blooper reel is a typically light-hearted feature presented from rough video (SD) and didn’t grab my interest. The image gallery is nicely presented but typically wastes lots of screen resolution by windowboxing each image into a small area in the center of the screen. The music video, “Signal Fire” by Snow Patrol, is disappointingly non-anamorphic widescreen with audio that is presented in the paltry 192 kbps bit-rate in Dolby Digital 2.0 lossy compression. I can’t understand why with all the space available on Blu-ray Disc the producer couldn’t have at least presented the stereo music in lossless PCM. There are also four trailers for the film presented in glorious 1080 high definition.

Most of the worthwhile bonus features reside on the second disc, and all are presented in 1080 high definition. Grains of Sand (14 minutes) details the concept and execution of the special effects behind the Sandman. Re-Imagining The Goblin (10:30) explores the design of this character as he returns in the final film and the reasons behind some of the changes in costume and behavior. Covered in Black – Creating Venom (15:30) goes into nice detail about the black blob and how the comic's concept was thoughtfully adapted for film.

Hanging On (10 minutes) explores the making of the scene in which Gwen, the fashion model, faces her battle with the out-of-control I-beam. Fighting, Flying, and Driving (19:00) covers the stunts and special effects behind several key action scenes. Tangled Web (9 minutes) embarrassingly talks about how the love drama of the lead characters was explored in the final film (one of the film’s key weaknesses in my opinion). And Wall of Water (7:20) specifically covers the special effects and logistics of the water scene in the sewer when Spider-Man fights the Sandman. Science of Sound (16:20) explores the audio recording for the film, which includes the score and Folly effects and is one of my favorite featurettes. Inside the Editing Room (4 minutes) covers the obvious and NY Rooftops to Streets (13 minutes) and Clevland (6:45) cover on-site filming issues related to each respective location. There is a lot of material here for anyone who’s a fan of the final film. Again, my only real complaint is that bonus material wasn’t also presented for the first two films in this set.


Final Thoughts

A great trilogy has been brought to you in 1080p with lossless audio on this Blu-ray Disc collection. Image and sound qualities are spectacular. Bonus features on the first two films are disappointingly absent, although the transparent presentation of the feature films gives more than enough reason to recommend them. Whether you buy the complete set or chose to purchase your favorite films from the series individually, I encourage you to take the 1080plunge with Blu-ray Disc; it will redefine your experiences with these films.


Here’s a note about the apparent duplicate Buy Guide.  Our I.T. people are hard at work on a large project and have not yet had the time to modify the underlying site database formatting code to accommodate the new 0-to-10 rating scales.  So until they do, for HD on disc, I’ll insert this note and a Buy Guide at the end of the review text and leave the conventional 0-to-5 Buy Guide blank.