spiderman 3

i did not ever read comic books for their action sequences. after al they were merely fragmented disjointed frames with “whams” and “booms” littered across. i read them because i loved – and that meant could relate to the characters behind the masks. the usual tropes being the trauma of having another ‘real’ self- this could be the one within or without the mask; the arch villain that you are constantly in danger of becoming the more you try to beat him; the girlfriend in trouble and all the other loved ones you want to protect. with great power comes great responsibility is not about the power after all – computer graphics will give you all yo9u need- it is about ‘responsibility- what you choose to become. oh- and how i loved all the existential crises that the characters went through. so i don’t mind the indulgent moping that everyone else seems to cringe to. without it, for me, this would be just another hollywood action film- with some great cg. the spiderman films always knew this and the new one does too.

in the film power goes to spideys head and is further exaggerated when he is infected by an alien life form. meanwhile sandman and the goblin return as good guys turned bad looking for salvation and revenge. the only really bad guy is ‘venom’ who really might not be a ‘guy’ after all. mary jane is also going through a hard time losing her job and her boyfriend. the characters dance and sing, friends separate and are reunited and thereis a love triangle too. a hindi film like drama of sacrifice, love, jealousy is played out, punctuated by fantastic action sequences. the cg is brilliant- the movement of spiderman in between the skyscrapers has lost its cut out quality of the first film and this time we are in the thick of the action. my favorite scenes are the creation of sandman in a classic comic book fashion, and peter parkers smooth moves when infected by venom.