Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray delivers truly amazing video and audio in this exceptional Blu-ray release
Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero.
But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his
powers, it transforms Peter as well, bringing out the dark, vengeful side of his personality that he is struggling to
control. Under the influence of the suit, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care
about him most. Forced to choose between the seductive power of the new suit and the compassionate hero he
used to be, Peter must overcome his personal demons as two of the most-feared villains yet, Sandman and
Venom, gather unparalleled power and a thirst for retribution to threaten Peter and everyone he loves.
With heavy studio involvement in Spider-Man 3, the story ballooned to a scale that had the potential for disaster, like many other sequels. The Spidey 3 script addresses a complex love relationship; two major villains new to the series; the resurrection of a third villain who also represents a complex friendship; an arc about letting revenge eat away at the soul; and a director and cast that had fought hard through the previous two films and now faced a grueling production schedule. How could it possibly succeed? The answer turned out to be surprisingly simple--an answer hinted at in the earlier films: the Spider-Man saga does not try to get too heavy for itself. In Spider-Man 3, comic relief is in constant supply and one of Maguire's great gifts as an actor is that he can be self-effacing and nerdy while still maintaining enough strength and character to be a believable super-hero. His portrayal of Parker and Spidey is both sensitive and strong, and littered with moments that are simultaneously humorous and painful. While the story itself is a bit disjointed, pulling in disparate characters and subplots, it maintains its themes and delivers more action than the previous installments. The challenge for successful films is to keep sequels fresh while inheriting some of the unavoidable expectations and demands that come from studios shelling out big bucks for a blockbuster project. While another recent "3" sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, buckled under the weight of its own expectations, Spider-Man 3 managed to stand upright, captivating audiences for nearly two hours and 20 minutes of action, drama and humor. Best of all for the HT crowd, the picture and sound of Sony's two-disc Blu-ray release are top notch.
Spidey (Tobey Maguire) is tested like never before in Spider-Man 3.
Spider-Man 3 picks up where the previous film leaves off, with Peter and Mary Jane finally in a strong relationship and the city of New York showing Spidey the long-overdue appreciation he deserves. But problems quickly crop up. Harry (James Franko) seeks revenge for the death of his father by attacking Peter using all the tricks of the Green Goblin. Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), the criminal who murdered Ben Parker, escapes from jail and develops superhuman capabilities when his body's molecules merge with sand in a particle accelerator. An organic substance from space falls to earth on a meteor, attaches itself to Peter's spidey suit and starts to eat away at his selflessness until he becomes egocentric and vengeful. Peter finally shakes this manifestation of revenge in the bell tower of a church, but the black substance then infects Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) turning him into the criminal, Venom. There is no doubt that the third installment covers the most ground and takes the most chances--not just with the effects but with the complex emotional ties of the characters and the wild humor that keeps the film from taking itself too seriously.
The scope of Spider-Man 3 is perhaps too ambitious, as it addresses three villains and touches on many profound issues such as vengeance, faith and forgiveness, each one of which could have been expanded to fill an entire film itself. The result is that it feels a bit cramped, and the writing is not quite up to par with the focused screenplay of the first two. Nevertheless, Spider-Man 3 has its moments that surpass anything seen in its predecessors. One of the highlights of the trilogy for me was seeing the "egocentric" Peter strut around Manhattan while James Brown's "People Get Up and Drive that Funky Soul" played. Peter then shows up in a jazz club where Mary Jane works. In a farcical cabaret performance, he shows off his skills on piano and his dance moves. Coupled with the outstanding special effects--especially those of Venom and the Sandman--the final installment in the Spider-Man trilogy comes very close to perfect entertainment, while staying true to its comic-book roots.
Action movies rely heavily on dynamic video, and the 1080p presentation of Spider-Man 3 framed in 2.40:1 is essential to view the special effects, stylized colors and costumes. DVD simply cannot do justice to this films. The level of detail and depth on Blu-ray is extraordinary, with tremendous definition in the cityscapes, costumes, special effects and sets. Even microdetail in skin and clothing is extraordinary. For example, in the scene in the skyscraper where the models are posing for the camera, the skin of the women shows remarkable definition in their facial expressions as the horror of a runaway crane quickly unfolds around them. Everywhere in the picture, the detail is apparent.
Watch the way Parker swings through Manhattan like a modern day Tarzan. Every pixel is rendered convincingly to show the detail, speed and power that bursts from the screen during these action sequences. The camera follows Parker closely as buildings, traffic and streets far below sail past with lightning speed. Every bit of the 1080p resolution is required to convincingly pull off this effect. And what a stunning effect it is. I can think of few other BDs to show off the quality of the format as effectively. Usually, CGI-stylized scenes are lacking in depth and other cues of visual realism, but not here.
Scenes with less motion are equally detailed, but the small grain is highly visible, especially in light areas. This was a welcome sight for me. I was afraid some type of digital noise reduction would be used to wipe the video clean. That approach would remove the grain, but also take away some life from the picture. Not so. The video is dynamic, with such definition that facial expressions yield tremendous detail. Watch the scene where James Franko faces off with himself in the mirror. His expressions convey the intensity of his character's emotions, and the 1080p allows us to see Harry's full acting range during his transition into the Green Goblin.
Initially, Sony was including PCM on their newer releases but has since stopped doing that. Yes, I know that Dolby TrueHD is "theoretically" the same as lossless PCM. But in my experience with audio, theory and reality are not best friends. This PCM track is significantly better than most TrueHD tracks I have heard. The soundstage is strong and cohesive with instrumentation, voices and sound effects rendered gorgeously and with heart-stopping dynamics that can go from a whisper to a tremendous crescendo that rocks the floorboards and windows. The spotlighting on certain strings in the orchestral arrangements sounds solid and sweet in the midrange, especially in the more dramatic scenes where the music really is layed on thick. The surround channels and subwoofer are used to very dramatic effect.
Perhaps the greatest feature of the audio is the soundstaging of the 5.1 mix. All sounds have very precise imaging and provide a convincing illusion of the action taking place all around. Within this soundstage, individual voices and sound effects have good tonal characteristics. The original engineering--microphone placement and recording of both voices and other sounds--goes beyond the quality of most films. Voices have a distinct charm and resonance to them. Sam Raimi uses the score very effectively--from sweeping orchestral passages to the aforementioned James Brown track "People Get Up Drive That Funky Soul", which features one of the beafiest horn arrangements ever recorded. Throughout the trilogy, the audio, as much as the actors, sets the mood and complements the drama of each scene. Bottom line: the audio is warm, dynamic and open. Best of all, it images with pinpoint accuracy.
Spider-Man 3 is a two-disc set that has the same bonus features as the DVD. One of the more worthwhile features is in the film commentary itself on Disc 1. I'm not referring to the mostly mindless banter with James Franco, Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Thomas Hayden Church and Bryce Dallas Howard. Instead, listen to the filmmaker's track with producers Avi Arad, Grant Curtis, Laura Ziskin, visual effects supervisor Scott Stokdyk and editor Bob Murawski. Many interesting anecdotes and observations are given to provide some insight into how the film was made. I highly recommend it. Disc 1 of Spider-Man 3 also includes a Snow Patrol music video. But the most entertaining feature is a blooper reel. If you need a good laugh, check it out. Maguire is hilarious. Rounding out the extras on Disc 1 are photo galleries and two video game previews.
The meaty featurettes are on Disc 2, including 11 behind-the-scenes features. "Grains of Sand: Building Sandman" is perhaps the most interesting due to the eye-candy of the villain's special effects. The feature focuses on Stan Lee and shows many instructive behind-the-scenes shots and interviews with effects technicians. A feature on the Green Goblin delivers insight into the goblin's most fearsome weapon, the armband with several retractable, menacing blades. The third villain in Spider-Man 3, Venom, is the focus of "Covered in Black: Creating Venom", which explains the CGI effect of the black substance that first covers Spidey. Yet another worthwhile feature, "Hanging on: Gwen Stacy and the Collapsing Floor", demonstrates the use of specially designed hydraulics to give the effect of a quick drop. It also shows how rubber life-sized furniture models are used to give the illusion of dangerous falling objects.
Other features include "Inside the Editing Room", "The Science of Sound", "Tangled Web: The Love Triangle of Spider-Man 3", "Wall of Water" and a documentary on each of the two shooting locations: New York City and Cleveland. These featurettes provide important insights into budgetary and feasibility factors that are rarely considered by an audience. But it's actually intuitive to realize that location shots will have challenging problems associated with them. The cast and crew describes how they dealt with those challenges, including problematic crowds.
I believe Spider-Man 3 has gotten a bad rap from the press and most viewers. It is nowhere near as dismal as most critics and fans make it sound. In fact, it is first-rate entertainment, not dismal at all. In many ways it has superior action, drama and humor compared to its two predecessors. The story and writing may not be as tight, but the actors do a fine job, the effects are spot on and the Blu-ray production credentials make this an easy recommendation--unless, of course, you already have the Spider-Man 3 BDs as part of the trilogy box. As a side note, I noticed that Spider-Man 3 outlined an important role for faith. One of the subplots of the film addresses the inward struggle within Peter Parker. The story sets him up to deal with issues such as revenge, ego and jealousy, that can eat away at the soul. At Parker's lowest point in the film, he visits a church and it is there that he is able to dispel the blackness that has invaded his character. I found this sequence to be a compelling and wholesome aspect to the film, and a fitting resolution of a complex subplot. The visual effects were cool, too!
Scott Hettrick (HiHD) has revealed the specs for the upcoming two-disc Blu-ray release of 'Spider-Man 3', as well as some additional info about the upcoming 'Spider-Man High Definition Trilogy'. 'Spider-Man 3' will feature all the extras from the 2-disc DVD release, ...
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