Dhoom 2

Dhoom 2 (2006)

Runtime: 151 minutes

Directed by: Sanjay Gadhvi

Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Bipasha Basu

From: Yash Raj Films

It is time for me to catch up. I saw nothing on Sunday night but this was my Saturday night entertainment. In a few hours, what I saw Monday night: 

As typical, a messageboard post inspired me to check out Dhoom 2- it was a general discussion of wacky Indian cinema that sparked me to finally give this a whirl on Prime. Almost six years ago I experienced the first Dhoom, and “experience” is the right term. It was an even goofier riff on the original The Fast & the Furious where a criminal has to team up with a rigid cop to take out even worse criminals. It had absurd action and so much slow-motion/wind blowing through the cast's hair, Michael Bay likely would watch it with his pants off! The formula did not change in this second installment.

In general, the two leads return and this time they go after a master thief who is always in disguise and is only known as A. The detailed plot, I wouldn't even know where to begin so I won't really start. It's a rather preposterous tale where the last half takes in Rio. Unlike Fast Five there's a dialogue scene at a carnival, a dance scene at a carnival, and another dance scene at the base of the Christ the Redeemer statue. There's also the presence of the lady now known as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan; then and now, rather fetching. Then again, some may prefer another lovely dame, Bipasha Basu.

It's a movie that-naturally for Indian cinema-mixes in various genres. The humor aspect doesn't really work... at least the intentional stuff. Of course I howled with laughter at all the unintended laughs. I mean, c'mon... this has:

* Someone who somehow is on a jet ski underwater jumps out of the water high as if he was a dolphin.

* An important conversation happens... at a theatrical screening of Cars; yes, footage from Cars is seen.

* An even more important conversation happens... outdoors on a basketball court as they're in a 1 on 1 game while it's artfully pouring rain?! Yes. That was the most absurd moment, honestly.

* Perhaps the funniest “someone gets shot multiple times” moment I've ever seen.

* Someone out of nowhere is shown to have a twin; this is mainly done for romantic purposes.

* The clothing: there is some incredible mid 2000's fashion on display.

* The villain uses gravity gloves; Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol was not the first time such an idea was presented in cinema.

I could go on and on, but instead the review will be wrapped up now. The story and how its told is technically not good... in fact it's all over the place. However, I was never bored by its wackiness and naturally, the action scenes are OOT. Even when there is a LONG stretch at one point between them, the zaniness kept my attention. That said, I do prefer the original to this overall. It won't be another 6 years before I give Dhoom 3 a shot... and I have heard recent rumors that there will be a Dhoom 4 eventually.