Spyder Movie Review

Cast: Mahesh Babu, Rakul Preet, SJ Suryah, Bharath, RJ Balaji, Jayaprakash & others

Cinematography: Santosh Sivan

Music: Harris Jayaraj

Editing: Sreekar Prasad

Stunts: Peter Hein

Production Designer – Rupin Suchak

Written & Directed by: AR Murugadoss

Produced by: NV Prasad & Tagore Madhu

Banner: NVR Cinema

Distribution: Lyca Productions

Release Date: 27-09-2017

Run Time: 02:25:00

Mahesh Babu makes a solid debut in Tamil film industry with Spyder, which is a watchable commercial outing for audiences. Director AR Murugadoss has given a nice launchpad for Mahesh Babu in the film, which (mostly) focuses more on the story than the star power.

The story revolves around a simple plot. A compassionate intelligence operative Shiva (Mahesh Babu) is on a hunt for a serial killer Sudalai (SJ Suryah).

The first half moves at a swift pace, thanks to AR Murugadoss who once again keeps up to his reputation of delivering solid flashback sequences with a dark yet superbly staged segment here. The kid who plays SJ Suryah in the flashback portion deserves special mention. His eyes remarkably put forth the definition of sadism in each frame. Except for the annoying romance track, which has become habitual now in Murugadoss films, the first half is excellent with a terrific interval block that builds the conflict between SJ Suryah and Mahesh Babu brilliantly.

SJ Suryah steals the show effortlessly with his inimitable dialogue delivery, idiosyncratic expressions and highly enjoyable antics. Such a formidable performer he has truly turned out to be. AR Murugadoss has managed to extract the best out of him for this role of a psychopathic killer on a rampage.

Mahesh Babu aces the role of Shiva with a subtle yet impressive performance. He emotes in the right scenes and makes his Tamil debut memorable with a flawless pronunciation of his lines.

The second half has a finely executed (although a little farfetched) portion which involves tv soaps-obsessed housewives. The screenplay gradually begins to falter in the last half an hour, which is made worse by a weak confrontation between SJS and Mahesh and a frustrating climax ‘message’ for audiences, which comes totally out of the blue. The tacky VFX portions make crucial sequences in the film unexciting.

The real letdown of Spyder is the complete lack of emotional connect in the film. Murugadoss is known to connect with audiences and make them invest in his emotions. That strength of ARM has gone kaput here, making the third-act a little underwhelming. And, AR Murugadoss seriously needs to reinvent his character arcs for lead heroines. From boring, it’s become quite annoying now.

Overall, Spyder is a decent action thriller powered by Mahesh Babu and SJ Suryah’s assured performances.

Spyder Movie Review Rating: 3/5

Also, read our other Tamil Movie Reviews