Showing posts with label spiderman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spiderman. Show all posts

Tuesday, 4 January 2022

Be careful what you wish for!

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Director: Jon Watts

I was under the impression that the Universe moves along and things happen along its path. Whether events occur by pre-determined means or just by chance, for example, by a mere flutter of the butterfly wings, is anybody's guess. Everything goes on with a pre-set sequence despite all the randomness and the chaotic soup it portrays. 

The question is whether everything is pre-determined or it can be changed willfully. If events were pre-determined, nothing we can do changes Nature's course. So why bother to pray and hope that God will change things. A minor change in the complex order would just cause everything to crumble like dominos. If something can be altered at will, then the next course of events should be intelligence, not prayers.

One is reminded of the battleship dilemma here. A sea battle needs battleships. Tomorrow, there will not be a battle if the Admiral does not send a battleship. So, the question of whether a sea battle will take place tomorrow cannot be fate. The grand finale results from multiple 'what-ifs' and 'choices' made along the way that culminated in the showdown. 

"Shit happens all the time; deal with it. It's not the shit we face that defines us; it's how we deal with it." said a wise person.

In this outing, Spiderman finds out that his secret identity is revealed. The public is furious with the damage he had caused during his crime-busting activities. Specifically, Spiderman @ Peter Parker and MJ are vilified by the Daily Bugle and J. Jonah Jameson. On top of all that, Parker, MJ and his friend, Ned, all fail to gain entrance to MIT. Hoping to change all these, Spiderman approaches the mystic, Dr Strange. Change did not happen but not without consequences. It opened the floodgates of many multiverses and villains of those multiple alternative universes. To confuse things further, Spidermen of those universes also got drawn in. The rest of the story is about maintaining order after curtailing all those villains and their nefarious ambitions.

The lesson learnt here is that nothing just happens out of the blues. They are the combined effects of actions and inactions. Like they say about the proof of the pudding is in the eating, the testimony of one's resolute is in how he deals with adversities.

Monday, 22 July 2019

Only for the die-hard!

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

It may be a thrilling experience for a diehard MCU fan. For an average viewer, however, it may just be another a superhero movie of a young boy with too much raw power in his hands. How many times have we been confronted with a superhero with the dilemma of doing the correct thing with the unique ability that he had been conferred? And in how many outings have we seen Spidey's wooing of his beau, Mary Jane? This time around, the story writers had taken us to a time when Peter Parker was still in school before his stint as a part-time journalist with the Daily Bugle and his daily tiff with his editor J. Jonah Jameson. 

In keeping with the sensitivities of the times, MJ is no more the blue-eyed, high cheek-boned orthodontist-treated wannabe blonde actress but a fellow classmate of the member of the minority group. For good measure, the producers had resorted to race-swapping to pacify all quarter. A hijab-clad fellow student and an Oriental-looking sidekick are the cast.

To spur comic enthusiasts, in every little part of the movie, the possible sequelae of the story is slowly teased. The writers try to put its timeline as happening after Avengers: Endgame, with Iron Man dead. After Stark's demise, Parker is honoured with the possession of his glasses - a Google-glass-like contraption with AI capacities (EDITH) which controls Iron Man's satellite and weaponry. Along come Nick Fury and Maria Hill (whom we later realise maybe appearance-altering Krulls who could have fallen to the ploy of Mysterio, the villain), to hint that Spiderman may be taking over as the head of MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).

Now that Disney has acquired the rights of Marvel Studio, it looks like Disney is trying to incorporate an earthy character like Spiderman into their intergalactic superheroes adventure. To get the interest going, the studio seems to tease its fanbase with clues of what may be in store for the next MCU adventure. The shrewd devotee picks up these cues like they were matters of fact. He sees licence plates that appear on the screen as references to the specific comic editions where information about that scene can be found. These Easter Eggs include #616 (where Mysterio appears), #883 (Earth proper where Marvel adventures happen), #199996 (the fictional Marvel Cinematic Universe) and many more.

One confusing thing that is obvious in this film is that Peter Parker does not need to hide his identity. It seems that everybody knows him, including Mary Jane. Perhaps the writers are just want to keep with the trend these days. Nobody can hide anything from anybody anymore. Nobody reads newspapers anymore; hence, the daily bugle has a webpage as seen on an advertisement banner. J. Jonah Jameson is seen here like an Alex Jones type of a filthy loudmouth rather than a cigar-chomping one. In another city-ad bill, there is a suggestion that maybe Fanstatic-4 may join the next line-up in the upcoming movie. 

I miss Uncle Ben. Apparently, Aunt May is an eye-turning hottie who is still in the market for companionship. She had been widowed sometime now. But wait! What happened to the previous outings where Uncle Ben departed the highly emotional scene after being mortally wounded by robbers? - The one after famously uttering pearls of wisdom about how 'with great powers come great responsibilities'? All is not lost. There is a reference to him in a scene. A briefcase is shown with initials B.F.P. - who else but Ben Jefferson Parker!

Verdict: Nothing new. It is just a tale of teenyboppers of the 21st century with raging hormones caught in a psychedelic display of make-believe illusions. Only the die-hards would appreciate... 




“Be afraid. Be very afraid.”*