This is one Spyder you should really stay away from before it spins a web of confusion around you.
No, I don’t suffer from Arachnophobia and I am not talking about arachnids either.
This much-hyped and much-anticipated AR Murugadoss-Mahesh Babu combination proved just that, much hype and anticipation.
The director seems to have lost sense of direction after the first shot. Touted to have been made at a budget of Rs1.20 billion and released in 800 cinemas across the globe, this spy drama fails to make any impact on the audience.
Here, our hero Shiva is a highly qualified techie who chooses to work in the Intelligence Bureau for a paltry sum to tap phones illegally just because he loves to help people in distress and also to rid the society of those who make lives miserable for others.
Good intentions one would say. But, he goes against the grain to snoop around private phone calls with the help of his software that alerts him to any signs of danger. If only this software was real, then the world would be a much better place in these trying times!
In this self-imposed mission he learns of a cold-blooded mass murderer Bhairava (SJ Surya) who’s planning to create more mayhem.
The narrative takes a roller-coaster ride throwing up several implausible episodes that dwell into the bitter past of the villain who killed people even as a little boy, just to see their suffering and the sorrow of their dear ones with fiendish glee.
He suffers from Sadistic Personality Disorder, we are told.
There are some chilling scenes where the villain plans and executes his killings to terrorise people. And then there are several that simply appear ludicrous such as a 30-feet wide boulder that is rolled down a hill to pulverise people, including schoolchildren — a straight lift from an Indiana Jones movie. But, here the hero succeeds in stopping it with a cargo trailer, after it has run over score of vehicles.
Another silly moment comes when both Shiva and Bhairava are engaged in a fight in a theme park’s dizzying roller coaster without as much as strapping themselves in. And if that’s not enough, a group of housewives tricked with inducement of giving away gifts in the name of a TV contest help out Shiva on a mission of saving a family held captive by Bhairava. Here, they are shown scaling walls and jumping off roofs, despite the lurking danger of being spotted by a psychopathic killer.
One pities Mahesh Babu who is wasted in this bombastic film that fails on several counts. Rakul Preet Singh as female lead has very little screen presence. She gets more footage in song sequences than in her role as a medic in love with the hero.
But it is Surya, Murugadoss’ directorial guru, who steals the show. He looks the villain every bit. albeit his wiry frame.
The movie ends with a message that there is sadism in every one of us, but with varying degrees. That disease is present in all of us. We should not let it spread. Helping a stranger is being human.
Santosh Sivan’s photography is the highlight of the movie. Harris Jayaraj’s background score is praiseworthy, especially in sending chills down the spines of the audience in scenes involving Surya.
Check it out!
Film: Spyder
Cast: Mahesh Babu, Rakul Preet Singh, SJ Surya, Bharath
Director: AR Murugadoss
Running time: 2h 35m
Rating: 2/5
