Die-hard comic-book fans no doubt have plenty to discuss when talking about the merits of Spider-Man 2, but for viewers who aren't intimately familiar with the Marvel universe, how does the film stack up? Quite well, and in fact I'd say better than the first Spider-Man film. It's a fun romp, a big-budget blockbuster that lives up to its promise of two hours of entertainment.

As Spider-Man 2 opens, we find that Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is struggling with balancing his secret identity as Spider-Man with the rest of his life: he's having trouble at work, his grades are suffering at college, and he's having a hard time figuring out his relationship with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). That's a story element that will extend over the full course of the film, as Peter faces up to his responsibilities and tries to find out where his own dreams will fit in.

No super-hero film would be complete without a super-villain, of course, and here Spider-Man 2 improves dramatically on the first film. After an experiment that goes hideously wrong (do experiments ever go as planned in the Marvel universe?) Dr. Otto Octavius finds himself with four robotic, semi-sentient arms fused into his spine, and under their influence he becomes obsessed with re-creating his experiment at any cost. The choice of Alfred Molina as Octavius / "Doc Ock" is outstanding: he's genuinely believable as a scientist, he's likable as a character, and he does an excellent job balancing the "evil villain" part of his character with the remnants of his humanity.

The CGI for Doc Ock's arms is superb, and it's smoothly integrated into the film in every way, including sound: the sounds that the tentacles make as they move is creepy and effective. Spidey himself, surprisingly, doesn't come off as well: the CGI is well done, but unlike with Doc Ock, it's easily identifiable as being computer-generated rather than real.

Spider-Man 2 works best as a story when we enter into its story world, one that's very similar but not identical to our own universe. Otherwise, our suspension of disbelief would swiftly shatter when faced with the basic premises of the plot; for instance, in the real world, inventing a direct neural link to control robotic arms would earn Dr. Octavius a Nobel Prize just by itself, and he wouldn't need to mess around with fusion experiments (which, of course, he can whip up in a converted apartment building with just one or two assistants). Fortunately, it's not hard to slip into the story world of Spider-Man 2, since for the most part, the story does unfold in a intelligent manner.

In fact, it's not the occasional illogical element in the plot that threatens our engagement with the film, but some specific references to the "real world." For instance, we get one scene in which Peter runs across a rooftop to test his ability to do a super-jump, and it's shot in such a way as to look just like the scene with Neo in The Matrix. Now, to be fair, it's a funny reference... but by reminding us of a character in another film from the real world, it serves to draw us out of the story and remind us that we're watching a film about fictional characters. In another scene, there's a reference to eBay by a character in the office of the Daily Bugle, which in every other way is set up to evoke a 1950s newsroom, not a modern one. The attempt to link up the non-specific time and place of the Spider-Man 2 story to the modern day is jarring; better that Spider-Man should stay in his world that's almost but not quite our own world.

Overall, Spider-Man 2 does a nice job of telling an entertaining story. There's a recurring touch of humor, which is never over-done, and the pacing of the action story is handled well, so there really aren't any soft spots there. Certainly the choice of villain is a high point, as I think Doc Ock makes a much more compelling antagonist than the Green Goblin. (There's a hint at the end of the film of who the villain will be in the next film, and unfortunately I'm not too enthused by the prospect.) Tobey Maguire continues to show that he was a good choice for the title role, as his Spider-Man is believable and sympathetic. All in all, Spider-Man 2 is a fun popcorn flick that you can watch without having to turn your brain off completely.

The DVD

As a Superbit DVD, this Spider-Man release is bare-bones so that (in theory at least) the full capacity of the disc can be devoted to superior audio and video quality. The content on the disc fills approximately 6.8 GB, so it's clear that the transfer is making full use of the dual-layer capacity of the disc. There's still some space left over (about 1 GB), so it's clear that a few special features could have been put on the disc without impacting the quality of the transfer in the slightest... making it clear that the ultra-bare-bones Superbit style is basically a marketing technique.

Video

I'm not one to automatically assume that just because a DVD is part of the Superbit line, it's going to have a great transfer: I've reviewed enough Superbits to know better. In this case, though, the Superbit transfer of Spider-Man 2 does live up to its billing, offering a really outstanding video presentation.

The dominant feature of the Spider-Man 2 transfer is how clean and crisp it is. There's no edge enhancement as far as I could see, even in very challenging scenes with high contrast. The print is clean and clear, with no noise or flaws of any kind. (That's what I'd expect from a very recent film, but it's not always borne out in practice.) Colors are robust and natural-looking. Contrast is handled very well throughout the film, with the black areas looking deeply black in dark scenes. At times I thought that the picture tended a little bit toward the too-dark side, but it's a close call, since it never drowns out the important details of even a fairly dark scene.

Spider-Man 2 appears in its original widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and is anamorphically enhanced.

Audio

Two audio tracks are presented: a DTS and a Dolby 5.1. With its additional depth and richness, the DTS is the track that you'll want to select if you can, but the 5.1 is a solid track as well. The DTS offers a clean, crisp audio track that provides a robust, appealing audio experience. Dialogue is always clear and easy to understand, and the action sequences are impressive without being deafening.

Extras

None. Not even a trailer, which would have fit on the disc without impacting the transfer quality (see above).

Final thoughts

Spider-Man 2 is a fun super-hero movie, one that offers an entertaining and polished, if light-weight, story. I liked it better than the first Spider-Man film, and certainly if you really enjoyed the first one, you'll find the sequel to be great fun. The video and audio quality here is excellent, and this Superbit release boasts a DTS track that the earlier Special Edition release doesn't have... though it also lacks the extensive slate of extras. Spider-Man 2 is certainly worth watching, so the only question is Superbit or Special Edition? That's a choice you'll have to make based on how much you care about getting the utmost in transfer quality vs. special features. I'll stay on the fence and give this release a "recommended" rating.