After saving Gwen Stacy from certain death in a runaway crane accident, Spidey finally gets a little adoration from his fans and ends up sharing his "special" upside-down kiss with her for a publicity shot. Our clueless web-slinging friend doesn't consider how Mary Jane will feel about him sharing their special kiss with another woman; let's just say she doesn't take it too well. This causes problems between Mary Jane and Peter Parker, giving Harry Osborne an opening to try to take Mary Jane away from Peter. Add in the effects of the black symbiote suit on Peter's psyche, and you get a dark, brooding, "emo" Peter Parker, and a darker, power-drunk, blood-thirsty version of everyone's (previously) friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. In my opinion, the "emo" aspects of the symbiote's effects came off as a bit corny in the film. This wasn't helped much by a scene where Peter uses his heightened reflexes and dexterity to perform a show-stopping dance with Gwen Stacy... at a restaurant where the down-on-her-luck actress/waitress Mary Jane was working, just to make Mary Jane jealous. This was a side of Peter Parker I would have preferred not to see, and that goes double for the dance, itself.
As for a couple of to-be-expected cameos, yes, both Bruce Campbell and Stan Lee make appearances in Spider-Man 3. Bruce Campbell plays a snobby Maître d' at an upscale restaurant where Peter Parker plans to pop the question to Mary Jane in a particularly funny and star-crossed scene. Stan Lee plays a guy in Times Square who talks to Peter and says that one person can change the world, referring to Spider-Man, of course.
But, truthfully, the movie itself is not the only reason to get the 2-Disc Special Edition of Spider-Man 3; the reason to pick this version up is for the special features. The movie, itself, is approximately 139 minutes; that's just over 2 hours. The special features, on the other hand, add over six additional hours of Spidey goodness. If you're a fan of Spider-Man, this Special Edition will answer pretty much any questions you may have had about the making of the movie... and quite possibly several you didn't realize you didn't know. The quality of the visuals in Spider-Man 3 makes the Blu-ray version a must-have. The computer graphics really come alive in 1080p high definition video. Even the special features are in high definition, although they're in 1080i, rather than 1080p.
Each of Spidey's foes get their own "making of" featurettes which explain how the special effects were created and how characters were cast for these pivotal parts. Another featurette shows how the stunts were filmed in both New York and Cleveland; it seems that some stunts simply couldn't be filmed in New York, due to the traffic, and Cleveland turned out to be similar enough in appearance and willing to work with the production company a great bit. There are also featurettes that show just how intense some of the stunts in Spider-Man 3 really were. I was surprised to find that some of the special effects which I had assumed were computer graphics were, in fact, actually really cool stunts. Those interested in how stunts are put together will find these featurettes to be really interesting; I know I sure did.
Spider-Man 3 on Blu-ray has all of the trailers that the DVD version has, but, in addition, it has "TV Spots Around the World." This appropriately named special feature has TV spots from: Japan, Spain, Germany, Italy, Chile, Russia, Brazil and the United Kingdom. It was neat to see the difference in presentation each spot had; especially the United Kingdom spot, which replaces the moody orchestral music for an upbeat, uplifting rock song, giving the ad a much different feel than those of the other countries. Additionally, there is a secret bonus featurette of the making of the score used for the "Bloopers" featurette. This is a short featurette, but it shows Vic Mizzy in the studio as he is recording the "Outtakes Music," a jazzy and somewhat whimsical piece that really creates a comedic feel for the blooper reel.
Overall, Spider-Man 3 belongs in any Spidey fan's collection and if you are all about the background info, then definitely pick up the Spider-Man 3: 2-Disc Special Edition for all the extra goodies. If you have the hardware to support the high definition, there's no question about which version to buy; Spider-Man 3 puts the high quality of Blu-ray to good use. 'Nuff said.
