Spider-Man 3... a definite MUST-WATCH!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DWAYNE "THE ROCK" JOHNSON
WAHAHAHAHA!!! What can I say... the movie ROCKED!!!

I went to meet up with Wandi at Khatib MRT station at around , and together we took a train to Woodlands MRT station... meeting up with Wandi's old schoolmate Jeff there outside Causeway Point and trying to buy tickets for the show... only to find out that ALL TIX FOR THE AFTERNOON SHOWS WERE SOLD OUT. So we decided to try our luck at Yishun Cineplex... indeed we managed to get 3 tickets for the 1820 hrs show, and we had lunch at KFC soon after. We hung around Popular for abt 30 minutes, played at the LAN center for 2 hours, went for early dinner at a Halal food center, then headed back to the cineplex... (many many smiles!!)

I shan't provide any spoilers abt the filmhere... except to say that there won't be any disappointing scene, except maybe the fact that Venom appears only in the last part of the film (even worse, he appears for only one night in the film timeline, though Topher Grace does get sufficient screentime prior to the merger with the symbiote). The themes on forgiveness and revenge, as well as the never-ending battle between good and evil (be it with one self or with an adversary), have been strongly portrayed here. Even Aunt May gets to provide words of wisdom to Peter (whose secret identity she may have known from the second film, though this was never really made explicit)...

1) "Revenge is like a poison... it can take us over... and before you know it, it can turn you into something ugly."

2) "You start by doing the hardest thing... you forgive yourself. I know you're a good person, and that you will find the way to make things right."

It's amazing how Sam Raimi could cram so many sub-plots into 2.75 hrs and yet manage toj keep the story on track... messy yes it may be, but all these stories make good storytelling. Also, a big thumbs up for the animation process on Sandman's rebirth... indeed that was a very difficult thing to do, mixing various kinds of sand particles and requiring Thomas Haden Church to feel a little limp and disjointed when he emerges from the test site. And what do we know abt Harry Osborn learning the truth behind his father's demise? It's always a good thing to have a faithful butler as an observant witness (though it would have been better for good ol Bernard to tell the truth a little earlier).

Most importantly, I like how Sam Raimi cleverly exploits Peter's weaker side after he puts on the black symbiote suit... while the black goo makes him faster, stronger and more lethal, it also corrupts his ego greatly... turning him into a flashy and arrogant brat who cares only for himself and hurts those he loves dearly. This dreadful theme on battling the forces of darkness is really quite similar to the fall of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode 3... except that Peter manages to come to his senses before it's too late (and the conversion from good to evil as seen in Brock, who was already quite a tortred soul, is more subtle and not so complicating). And geting rid of the symbiote in a church with your arch-nemesis (whose future you had destroyed by getting him fired and stealing his girlfriend) inside is definitely not the best idea.

So good this film is... I am definitely going to wach it again sometime next week!! :-)