The Amazing Spider-Man swung onto store shelves today on Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack. I loved the movie in theaters, and equally enjoyed it on Blu-ray. Directed by Marc Webb, this origin story stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Sally Field, Martin Sheen, and Denis Leary. There are plenty of special features to warrant grabbing this disc up on Blu-ray Combo pack because of the extensive special features included with the disc. Not only are you getting a great movie, but you are getting hours of additional entertainment.
Many were initially annoyed that a remake of the series so soon after Sam Raimi's version, but hopefully you are on board now with the direction this revamping is headed. Webb did a fantastic job with everything on the film. Casting Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone was a smart move and it created a ton of buzz surrounding the project. I have to say that Garfield blows Tobey MaGuire away in the role. The only thing missing from this film is James Franco, but the other supporting cast makes up for that. Rhys Ifans was perfect as the Lizard, and the choice of that villain to start off with was a brave one in my mind.
The special features are so extensive, that there are literally hours of extra entertainment that you will feel like you are trapped in a web of sheer awesomeness. My favorite aspects are the Audio Commentary and the Rite of Passage documentary. The commentary is one of the most extensive detail, and was a joy to listen to. Marc Webb and Producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach discuss everything under the Spider-Man universe. Topics include why specific choices were made in respect to the character development of Peter Parker, the rebooting of the franchise, how the actions scenes went from storyboard to screen, and much more. This is one of the most in-depth commentaries included on a disc. This is worth the price of the disc alone in my opinion.
The Rite of Passage: The Amazing Spider-Man Reborn is over an hour long and includes 7 mini-docs that chronicle the process of bringing a new version of Spider-Man to the screen. One of the most unique features of the disc is the addition of stunt rehearsals. This gives fans an inside peek behind the scenes of the various stunt prep that went into some of the action sequences. Being a fan of art, I liked The Oscorp Archives which is basically a production art gallery, that shows the various concept art from the film.
I am at the point of watching Blu-ray's to wonder why Deleted Scenes are included. The Pre-Visualization is also very very cool. It shows the films storyboards and animated visualization sequences. There are so many other great features that this Blu-ray is a must-own in my mind. Do you plan on picking up The Amazing Spider-Man this weekend?