Of politicians and spandex tights

Last Fri I attended a talk by a visiting VVIP. Not the most inspiring or riveting of speeches, but heck at least I was treated (technically) to a free meal and a movie. His hour-long speech can be succinctly summarised in just 2 points:

1. Come back to Malaysia to work once you graduate
2. His political party is the best

What movie do you ask? The new Spider-Man 3 of course! Maybe I went in with expectations set too high, but I certainly feel that on the whole, perhaps Spidey 2 was better. So here's a quick review of the newest sequel.

Pros:
+ Amazing SFX, truly worth every $258 million spent (love the fluidity of the Sandman).
+ Great performances by James Franco and J. K. Simmons (as always).
+ Spidey's new black symbiotic suit is sleek and way cool.
+++ A good measure of eye-popping action.

Cons:
- Running time is too long. Some sections seemed a bit draggy.
- MJ's character is once again reduced to being your standard-issue damsel in distress (Gwen too) and an emotional plot device.
- The changed cocky-Peter gets annoying after a while. Think bad greasy hair and pulling 70s disco moves on girls on the street.
- Soundtrack didn't make an impact on me. In fact, I hardly noticed much new material other than the Sandman theme and a rehashed version of the Spidey Suite.

Overall, I'd give it about 60-70%.

While I'm on the topic of comic book heroes, check this out. It's a perfectly logical and scientific rumination on a big 'what if' in another superhero's life.

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