REVIEW

Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu and ace filmmaker AR Murugadoss have collaborated for the first time in Spyder (Spider). It is a spy thriller in which Tollywood prince plays the role of a suave intelligence agent. He has paired up with hot and happening Rakul Preet Singh. 

Director-turned-actor SJ Suryah plays the antagonist in Spyder and Tamil actor Bharath has also done a negative role in the bilingual film. RJ Balaji, Shaji Chen and a host of other actors are in the supporting roles. It has Santosh Sivan's cinematography, while A Sreekar Prasad has edited the flick. Harris Jayaraj has composed the music.  

Being a multi-lingual release, Spyder is touted to be the next big Telugu release. In fact, it is expected to give a tough run at the box office to Jr NTR’s Jai Lava Kusa, which is doing really well. 

STORY

The protagonist of Spyder, Shiva (Mahesh Babu) is content to work in a job for which he is over-qualified. He wants to help people, even if he isn't acknowledged for it. This is why he is working in the surveillance wing of the intelligence bureau, as part of a team that taps calls. But despite being instructed that listening to and recording the calls of public is illegal, he does so, with his own software, and plays savior to people who need help. And one call that he receives leads him to Sudalai (SJ Suryah), a man who is the exact opposite of him - the very definition of evil, who takes pleasure in the wails of people. 

PERFORMANCE

AR Murugadoss takes some time to set up his story and also spends a few moments on the mandatory romantic track - here, it is Rakul Preet Singh, who plays the director's version of cute girl (while she is a actually another addition to the canon of Loosu Ponnu heroines in Tamil cinema) - but once he has done away with this diversion, the film is gripping. Shiva's methods to track down the killer of a young girl and his friend, and the chilling flashback portion of the antagonist give the film its verve. And the anticipation builds to an altogether another level once Sudalai enters the scene. 

Mahesh Babu and SJ Suryah are brilliant in their respective roles and their conversations and confrontation is the core strength of the film. Full credit to Murugadoss for coming up with a smartly written and well-directed film. 

The film slows down after interval. Scenes start to become far-fetched (an episode involving Shiva using women to save a family held captive by Sudalai) and after a point, totally implausible (Shiva trying to stop a massive boulder from wreaking havoc). And all this happens after a suspenseful scene that shows Shiva trying to save his family using his intelligence! 

Santhosh Sivan lends the necessary gloss to the visuals, but Harris Jayaraj's songs are pretty much speed breakers that only add to the length of the film, and kill whatever tension the battle between Shiva and Sudalai generates. 

Too many cinematic liberties have been taken in Spyder. The technology used looks a bit over the top and is too much in support of the hero. Certain logics like how Surya escapes from jail and plants bombs all over have been missed completely. 

PLUS

Story

Mahesh Babu

SJ Suriya

First Half

Background Score

MINUS

Songs Placement

Rakul Preet

Second Half

Verdict : A Solid Action Entertainer!

Stars : 3/5