Spidey spins world web in Tokyo
2007-04-16 17:16
Tokyo - Spiderman 3 landed from the rainy Tokyo sky on Monday for his world premiere, and the Japanese moviegoers went wild.
Fans used cell phone cameras to capture their hero in action and waved red and black spiderman gloves in air as "Spiderman" in signature blue-and-red suit slid along a rope from the ceiling of the arena for the opening ceremony.
The film character was there to reward Japan for being the world's largest market for the Spiderman series outside the United States.
The movie cast also appeared walking the red carpet before hundreds of Japanese fans in Tokyo's fashionable Roppongi Hills shopping and arts complex.
Miki Yoshika, 28, left work early for the occasion to see the Hollywood actors and to get the first taste of the yet-to-be- released film.
"I like the storyline about the superhero because he is far from ordinary people like us," Yoshika said.
Other fans, such as Akiko Sato, like the human side of Spiderman. The latest instalment in the series, she said, showed more emotional conflict in the superhero.
"It had the dirty, vengeful and jealous side of Spiderman and that's what I liked," the 22-year-old Tokyoite said. "A movie can get old and monotonous after three instalments, but Spiderman 3 managed to present very different aspect from the first two."
Masaki Shimada, a 22-year-old university student, also liked the human side of Spiderman.
"I can sympathise with him and share the same feeling. His charm is that he is just like the rest of us," he said.
In Spiderman 3, Peter Parker is affected by mysterious black substances that that turns his signature blue-and-red suit black, and with it brings out his darker side.
Keeping a balance between the dark and good sides challenging
Gaining more power from the black suit, starts to lose himself in anger toward the murderer of his uncle and slowly transforms into a more vengeful, egotistical being.
Hollywood actor Toby Maguire, who plays Spiderman, has said that the most difficult part in playing the new character was to keep the balance between the dark and good sides of the superhero.
Actress Kirsten Dunst, who plays Spiderman's love interest Mary Jane Watson in the films, accompanied Maguire to the premiere. She expressed excitement at the warm welcome by the Japanese fans, calling it "a great celebration."
Maguire concurred saying Tokyo was the perfect city in which to premiere Spiderman, Maguire said.
Tokyo has opened a Spiderman exhibition at the Roppongi Hills complex for the event.
Visitors can walk through more than 100 displays of original sketches and photographs. Life-size mannequins of previous movie characters such as Doc Ock and Green Goblin greet the visitors in full movie gear, tentacles and all. The exhibition runs until May 20.
- SAPA