spidey 3

So I finally managed to sneek out Saturday with the kids to go watch Spidey. This after successfully convincing the rest of the adults and the baby to drive north towards a more religious evening. Hmm… I am getting good at this!

Warning – There could be spoilers ahead.

So Spidey.
The hall is packed as was the parking lot, and the kids are already worried that we’d be sitting right upfront, and as we hurry in we are bumping into kids reaching our knees. The place is packed with them and the board announces that the next 3 shows in all 3 screens are booked – for Shrek!
So we settle down with our bags of popcorn and soda and watch what I’d describe it as a ‘kick-ass’ movie. The kids loved it, I liked it and I think everyone else in the hall liked it. It was long, but there’s enough going on to keep you entertained.

There are 2 things that hit you right away. At least they hit me.

1. You can’t but notice how awesomely good looking the main characters are. Serious.

Peter Parker – Toby’s has matured gracefully. That’s well put. I think. Not like my tween daughter who blurted out -“Toby looks so old!” – and she speaketh for the bulk of that age group right there! My son had his own lofty comment ” this guy dresses like a nerd, sweater vests and all?!” – moving on..
Spiderman went through some dark shades and it was a pleasant surprise to see him act ‘cool’ and ‘bad’ – brought an occasional giggle and a guffaw in the audience, but nothing to be ashamed of. The action scenes are quite vicious and easily make you believe that the fight could go either way.

Eddie Brock – Grace plays his part with gusto and brought a nice difference in the script. I would never have guessed he was the same ‘Eric’ in the 70’s show.

Mary Jane – Kirsten looked good. She has the sweet look still on and though I felt there was a constraint in the acting when it came to jealousy or when she had the conflicts between Harry and Peter or even as she struggled with her career, she sailed through fine. I love her eyes.

Sandman – Church was most likely chosen primarily because of his close resemblance for good ol’ Arnie. He had the same square jaw, the stone look, with just a hint of non-android in the eyes, and of course the body. The story around him does make you go ‘aw’ and of course how can one destroy sandman, there’s a loose end right there – maybe for Spiderman 4 sometime?

2. The story line.
It’s a story of flashbacks, burden of revenge on the son, a hero, a hero’s friend, a heroine, with a sidekick of a girlfriend for added drama, a love triangle, oh heck maybe another angle too, an old lady with a sentiment – good prevails over evil, bad guys, more bad guys, bad guy with a change of heart, old friends patching up towards the end, one dying to make way for the other two…

Throw in 1 masala song, 1 duet, 1 sad ballad, and a marriage in the end with them walking into the sunset and you have a good old Bollywood movie.
hmm.. don’t believe me, watch it for yourself!

I believe Spiderman in Hindi/English grossed Rs. 19.7 crores on its opening day in India!