'Stranger Things 3' gets back to its roots and delivers with a healthy dose of '80s nostalgia, exhilarating evil and riveting action
'Stranger Things' season 3 came with a list of pointers that were to not be divulged and relax Netflix! We've kept up our word. This review is spoiler-free.
'Stranger Things' season 3 is a delight to watch. Straight up. Compared to the damp squib that season 2 was, the Duffer brothers seem to have ironed out the creases and dish out what is probably the best season yet. When it premiered, It was 2016 for us, but it's still November 1983 in Hawkins, Indiana. Apart from the fact that there was evil lurking in town, what the story did, was capture the zeitgeist of the early 1980s. There were some great nostalgia grabs and references that also got older generations streaming the American science fiction-horror.
Three science nerds, a girl with telekinesis, a cynical Chief of Police, some exhilarating evil, and a dash of a budding romance with splashes of comedy headlined season 1. And these ingredients stirred with some tightly interwoven narrative did the trick.
But the second, however, bogged down with the weight of expectations and some predictable plotlines. 'Stranger Things 3' goes back to the first season and picks out the pointers that made it a huge success. Season 3 is tighter, a bit more fast-paced than its predecessors and thrusts unexpected characters into the limelight and that makes it a treat to watch as everyone gets their chance of making an impression.
So, it's the summer of 1985 now. There's no whiff of evil in Hawkins and all the kids have hit that stage where the famous game of DnD (Dungeons & Dragons), and discussion of nerdy trivia has taken a back seat. The focus is on the girls and the brand new mall in town. Natalia Dyer's Nancy Wheeler and Charlie Heaton's Jonathan Byers are spending their summer as interns at the local paper. Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) is scooping up some vibrant -looking ice cream with Robin (Maya Hawke) at the at Starcourt mall, Hawkins' latest attraction.
Cary Elwes plays slimy Mayor Kline and the cynical Jim Hopper (David Harbour) has first world problems with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) as he tires of Mike Wheeler and her, dating. Plus, he has a rule when the duo are in the room together; "Keep the door three inches open at all costs!"
Now for what to expect from season 3. The final battles between the kids and the evil forces have always been inventive and the mall is a perfect location to be the final battleground. Moving on to the characters, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) is the teen who's got something close to Peter's tingle to warn him each time evil is lurking close by and when he's trying his level best to steer his pals Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin ), away from their girlfriends.
'Stranger Things' season 3 reminds of you heroes who are split into different teams and carry out their investigations with different degrees of success. The most notable must-watch this time around is the funny-yet moving chemistry Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and Hopper share. Priah Ferguson steals the show as Erica, Lucas' younger sister and her one-liners are a treat to listen to.
But here's what makes Keery's Steve a fan-favorite - a character who has some impeccable comic timing, he is one of the guys you can't get enough of. Well, that's technically all we can speak of, but two episodes in, it is easy to deduce this installment is the best by far.
The third season of 'Stranger Things will hit Netflix on July 4.
