2000’s “X-Men” helped ignite interest in the comic book genre again and because of it, a multitude of comic book movies are on slate for the next few years. The first of these was this year’s “Spider-Man,” which some hailed as one of the best comic book movies so far.

“Spider-Man” is the story of Peter Parker, a high school nerd who gets bitten by a genetically altered spider. This changes his body and grants him the powers of a spider, such as crawling on walls and forming webs. Just in time for Spider-Man’s arrival into the public, The Green Goblin starts terrorizing the town and pushes Spider-Man to the limits of his abilities.

Although the movie changes some facts here and there, it is a faithful transfer of the overall story. Helmed by self-proclaimed Spidey fan Sam Raimi, the movie has a good mix of action and Spider-Man origin, establishing the mood of the comic well and offering energy to the film. Tobey Maguire does an excellent job as Peter Parker, and the rest of the cast fill out the movie well.

Columbia/Tristar’s transfer on the DVD is rather well done with a mostly clear picture that brings out the vibrant color of the world.

The sound is not as strong as it could be, surprisingly only presented in Dolby 5.1 instead of a DTS track like most blockbuster releases. The sound is still good, however, and parts like the musical score really stand out.

This 2-disc DVD set is packed with extras, but surprisingly, most are not up to par with what you may be expecting. Disc 1 offers a commentary by director Sam Raimi, star Kirsten Dunst and producers Laura Ziskin and Grant Curtis. This commentary has some good moments, especially from Raimi, but also drags in areas.

Also on disc 1 is a second commentary on the special effects, a subtitled fact track, pop-up production notes, trailers and music video — none of which are overly interesting.

Disc 2 is where you would expect to find a lot of good extras, but sadly, it disappoints as well. Divided into two sections, movie and comic, neither section is great, but the comic section is at least somewhat interesting. Offered in the comic section are several Spider-Man history features, including a rogues’ gallery, art, comic book archives and the loves of Spider-Man, all done in a comic book theme.

The best part of the section is the documentary “Spider-Man: The Mythology of the 21st Century,” which offers excellent insight from artists and creators, as well as others associated with the comic book world. At 25 minutes, it is very interesting and a worthwhile watch, even if fans know a lot of the information already.

The movie section is mostly fluff and feels promotional. Profiles on Raimi and Danny Elfman are nothing more than people saying how great they are and the HBO making-of feature and E! Entertainment special feel like pre-movie hype and offer little detail and substance, although the longer E! Special is still decent. Other bits like a gag reel and screen tests sections are good for one viewing but nothing more.

Overall, you will get a decent amount of Spider-Man info, but some material is repeated and other is fluff. Deleted scenes or an in-depth documentary would have complemented this set well, and the lack of such features leaves it a bit dry in the extras department.

Spider-Man is still a highly entertaining movie and well worth having as it is easy to watch multiple times and enjoy it just as much. The lack of quality extras is disappointing, and means we may see a second DVD release, but for Spidey fans who don’t want to wait for that, this set may be good enough.