Runtime: 154 minutes
Directed by: Siddharth
Anand
Starring: Hrithrik Roshan,
Tiger Shroff, Vaani Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, Anupriya Goenka
From: Yash Raj Films
There are no Low Riders in this movie, but this Indian product is as zany as I predicted:
Homoeroticism has found its way into Indian cinema.
I have only
viewed little in the way of the output of action movies from India, yet
I already knew-no matter if the language is Hindi, Telugu, Tamil or
something else-what to expect going in:
* Little in the way of subtlety or restraint
* A long runtime... actually, that's for all Indian movies irregardless of genre
* At least one musical number
That is exactly what I got here from this Hindi movie (there are two musical numbers, which were incredibly bombastic yet still well-done) and War (what is it good for?) is incredibly indebted to many Hollywood movies of the past; I won't give specific examples but I can mention a few franchises that were obvious inspiration: James Bond, Mission: Impossible and the Fast & Furious films. This is rather far-fetched even for modern big budget action but I was still gleefully entertained.
The plot is rather simple when you look at a bare bones synopsis: Kabir (Hrithik Roshan) is a great Indian agent who suddenly has gone rogue; Khalid (Tiger Shroff) was trained by Kabir and is tasked with trying to stop the madness he has created. Of course, things aren't as they seem... which actually also applies to the War movie that Jason Statham and Jet Li did years ago, but this is MUCH better than that. I don't lightly bring up the accusation that this is amazingly homoerotic, almost to the point of being A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge... yet I have to because it is. The way the two stars are filmed separately, then together... they seem to be more than friends & colleagues. No exaggeration, when Khalid first meets Kabir, Khalid stares and reacts as if he is sexually aroused!
While the plot is ludicrous, overall this was rather enjoyable for what it was. There are plenty of action scenes and all were filmed in an interesting way, were in settings that were unique to me, had beats that were different than usual, and/or otherwise not filmed badly. There is martial arts, fistfights, shootouts, explosions, automobile chases, & more. Another element that was present and not a shock to me: melodrama. There is some, although not to the degree that I've seen in other movies.
Personally, I do appreciate that for how cheesy and goofy this can get, it at least feels different from the typical modern Hollywood big budget blockbuster action movie; I've complained before how due to studio interference, focus groups and the like, they all seem too much alike or are not bold enough. I am glad I got to see this theatrically, even if the auditorium was freezing cold. Among the locations you get to see in this movie are Morocco, Portugal (this is what I meant when I said there were locations that were uncommon to see on film), Australia... and a setting full of snow & bitter cold, so during those parts of the film it was like a 4D experience.
Oh, and director Siddharth Anand & star Shroff are teaming up again to create... RAMBO, which is not based on any specific movie from the franchise but I know will have plenty of insanity and probably be a gas to watch.
* Little in the way of subtlety or restraint
* A long runtime... actually, that's for all Indian movies irregardless of genre
* At least one musical number
That is exactly what I got here from this Hindi movie (there are two musical numbers, which were incredibly bombastic yet still well-done) and War (what is it good for?) is incredibly indebted to many Hollywood movies of the past; I won't give specific examples but I can mention a few franchises that were obvious inspiration: James Bond, Mission: Impossible and the Fast & Furious films. This is rather far-fetched even for modern big budget action but I was still gleefully entertained.
The plot is rather simple when you look at a bare bones synopsis: Kabir (Hrithik Roshan) is a great Indian agent who suddenly has gone rogue; Khalid (Tiger Shroff) was trained by Kabir and is tasked with trying to stop the madness he has created. Of course, things aren't as they seem... which actually also applies to the War movie that Jason Statham and Jet Li did years ago, but this is MUCH better than that. I don't lightly bring up the accusation that this is amazingly homoerotic, almost to the point of being A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge... yet I have to because it is. The way the two stars are filmed separately, then together... they seem to be more than friends & colleagues. No exaggeration, when Khalid first meets Kabir, Khalid stares and reacts as if he is sexually aroused!
While the plot is ludicrous, overall this was rather enjoyable for what it was. There are plenty of action scenes and all were filmed in an interesting way, were in settings that were unique to me, had beats that were different than usual, and/or otherwise not filmed badly. There is martial arts, fistfights, shootouts, explosions, automobile chases, & more. Another element that was present and not a shock to me: melodrama. There is some, although not to the degree that I've seen in other movies.
Personally, I do appreciate that for how cheesy and goofy this can get, it at least feels different from the typical modern Hollywood big budget blockbuster action movie; I've complained before how due to studio interference, focus groups and the like, they all seem too much alike or are not bold enough. I am glad I got to see this theatrically, even if the auditorium was freezing cold. Among the locations you get to see in this movie are Morocco, Portugal (this is what I meant when I said there were locations that were uncommon to see on film), Australia... and a setting full of snow & bitter cold, so during those parts of the film it was like a 4D experience.
Oh, and director Siddharth Anand & star Shroff are teaming up again to create... RAMBO, which is not based on any specific movie from the franchise but I know will have plenty of insanity and probably be a gas to watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment