By Kit-Kat

I have yet to be as impressed with a comic/cartoon movie adaptation as I was with the Spider-Man movies. X-Men started out with a bang but the characters seemed to loose their spark down the road. The latest one was not as emblazoned and I hoped a Phoenix movie would be. Fantastic Four was alright, but it seemed to try too hard to me. And there are a slew of others, some down right horrible, some okay and a few that were pretty good however, none seemed to succeed as multiple releases quite like Spidey.

The casting in all of the films has been excellent. Kirsten Dunst has definitely improved over the film span along with James Franco. And Tobey I think was spot on for an excellent Spider-Man / Peter Parker character. You cannot beat Willem Dafoe for Goblin or Alfred Molina as Doc Ock. I can even understand their 'take' on Venom in relation for the film (boy were there rumblings on the net over having Venom be about the same size as Spider-Man) and think they pulled it off exceptionally. Thomas Haden Church was phenomenal as Sandman and I admit that I was a bit taken back by Topher Grace being cast as Venom. Though after seeing him in the role I cannot imagine anyone else, he made an excellent movie adapted version of Venom. The third (I won't say final since geez... you just never know these days and I for one sure hope to see more!) installment lived up to my expectations even with those occasional corny lines. If anything, Spider-Man 3 had so much going on how you could only see it once is just beyond me. And I guarantee I'm not the only one who was chomping at the bit for the DVD release! Well I'm not even going to tell you how many times I've perused the DVD for Spider-Man 3 already, and each time I find something new.

Definitely nab the 2 Disc Special Edition over the single DVD. There are quite a lot of features to enjoy, and the extra goodies give you a much deeper appreciation for the movie that you just cannot get without specifics. Obviously I am recommending (heck, insisting!) that this is a MUST for all Spider-Man genre fans (and even those few that aren't- Hey! Get your collection started with this gem and work your way back - either way you won't be disappointed. The opening sequence sums up the first two beautifully). With the 2 Disc Special Edition you not only get the fantastic movie to enjoy but also 6 hours of features from bloopers, animation, stunts and more.

Enough of my raving - on to the features!

Disc One gives you the most excellent movie and has squeezed in some extra features for you to enjoy. For Commentary you have a choice of two - one with director and cast or another with the filmmakers. The Blooper Reel had some chuckles and gave you a glimpse into the clowning around done on set (I had to laugh at the Sandman's snack). The Gallery is full of several sub sections for sketches (amazing), paintings, sculptures, special effects, and director / cast images. Then there is a music video "Signal Fire" performed by Snow Patrol which was adorable! I just loved the kid skit with the original Spider-Man. Rounding off Disc One is a plethora of Sony movie and DVD previews and a sneak peek at the Action Command Spider-Man.

Disc Two is loaded with featurettes, so many you keep paging through the menu to read them all (I so would've like a complete listing on one menu). I definitely recommend the Play All right off of the bat rather than digging through everything. The featurettes started out with Grains of Sand: Building a Sandman - quite impressive, you really gain a total appreciation for the complexity of what was accomplished with this character. Re-imagining the Goblin gives great insight into Franco's character Harry and how the reasoning behind the appearance changes for the second Goblin. Covered in Black Creating Venom explains the reasoning behind the variances for the movie version of Venom over the comic/cartoon. I think they did a great job considering how hard it would've been to compress Venom's true history into a few moments. You certainly learn a new appreciation for goo. Hanging on: Gwen Stacey and the Collapsing Floor - gives you an inside look at what it takes for such a complex scene and Bryce Dallas Howard discusses her role. Tangled Web gives you a comprehensive view of the various love triangles that tangle in the movie and the reasons behind them. Rounding off Disc Two brings the more technical aspects to light, including Inside the Editing Room, the Science of Sound, On Location New York - From Rooftops to Backstreets and On Location Cleveland - The Chase on Euclid Ave.

You are also given a plethora of Trailers and TV Spots for Spider-Man 3 to cap off the second disc. With all this goodness it was a shock that there were no deleted scenes. I can only surmise that perhaps another version may appear (as we all know they do) down the road with hopefully some deleted goodies in there. You know how those are my favorites and even in the glow of the great two disc set, I was missing those babies!

So, on the whole you are definitely given a lot for your viewing pleasure and all the features certainly complement the movie. A must own as I said before and I for one cannot wait until I have enough free time to kick back and have a Spider-Man movie fest watching all three! Go Spidey Go!