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Players (2012)
Waste of money!
When it comes to Abbas-Mustaan, the duo make great twist movies but they lift it off from Hollywood movies. TO set an example or maybe to avoid possible copyright issues, this time they actually bought the rights to the Italian Job franchise. The Italian Job was already a remake with its own rendition but Players is at times a scene by scene copy of the remake.
Going forward to the movie, I knew that there would be some twists and it would try to be unique more so to stand out from the remake. Yet when I see The Italian Job, I see that it was a much better movie with good camera use and plenty of action. The remake misses the point.
Firstly, there are some scenes which are revealed as twists from the very beginning when it was unnecessary. Abhishek Bachan's entry is revealed that way. Then there are other twists as well but nothing that will blow your mind off. As a matter of fact, you can guess all of the twists, and they themselves make the movie bland as it doesn't need twists.
Secondly, the acting for the most part was standoffish. Sonam Kapoor did not act like a computer expert but rather someone who was more or less a snob. She was the most unlikable of the team and sounded very annoying. Her acting ability was mediocre as she delivered lines for the most part. Abhishek Bachan was neutral as usual. He does not act excited or stressed based on the circumstances but rather does his standard Dhoom performance.
Bipasha Basu and Omi Vadya give their best performances while Neil Nitin Mukesh comes very close. Bipasha conveys emotions with grace but unfortunately the moments where she and Sonam quarrel are ruined by Sonam's snobbish delivery compared to Bipasha's authentic lines. Omi Vadya does his signature Marathi accent and does get to deliver some funny lines. The movie is funny because of him and he does being his role to be a memorable one even though some of his lines were forced. His partner, Anupam Kher's step-son, Sikander Kher gives a standard performance. Nothing that would make him leading actor material though. Neil Nitin Mukesh did try to match up to Edward Norton's performance from the remake and did play a angst-ridden nerd/stylish con-man with style. He has persona and gives a better performance than Abhishek. Vinod Khanna is refreshing after so many years but not enough screen time. Bobby Deol gives a good performance and Aftab does a small cameo. Johnny Lever is witty as usual but his performance is limited to his screen time.
Overall, the movie did not have good editing and some scenes jumped looking more like they cut of scenes in the last moment due to time constraints. One moment the car crashes, next the theme is playing while they are elsewhere. The movie was abrupt with little to no character development, and an unbelievable heist plan which was more about luck than intelligence.
I give it a 1/10 because it's a typical masala movie but bollywood could have done much better. It could have made in the 70's and it would have been entertaining then. It's unwatchable if you have seen The Italian Job and decent if you haven't seen it. Even then, the movie does not make sense and is not for the intelligent viewer. Save your money and go watch Don 2 for a more intelligent, but still not realistic heist movie.
Don 2 (2011)
Not a true following to the first Don.
As much as I awaited for Don 2 and the lines delivered by SRK as well as his facial looks, I was disappointed by Don 2.
Whereas in the first Don, Shah Rukh Khan was menacing, threatening, and downright badass, in the sequel, he is more kinder, and has traits which is reminiscent of Vijay at times.
Overall, I would say watch Don's ending on youtube, and then see this movie's ending. That is enough to say that Don had much more oomph and left you shocked, whereas the sequel was just a heist movie where Don gets caught not once but several times and has a few twists here and there. The twists are nowhere as dramatic or mind boggling as the first movie but rather unnecessary twists like the movie Race.
I wish Farhan would reconsider his choices as his second movie in the franchise is more or less the same seen before. The first one was one of its kind even though it was a remake. In the first, Don was a powerful kingpin but came close to death at one point and met his match with Arjun Rampal's Jasjit while trying to stay out of Roma's vengeful spirit. In this movie, Don faces no challenge. His biggest obstacle is the cops and he simply has no one to feel real danger from.
I give this movie a 6/10 because:
- Don is not as menacing and relies on a heist to make his getaway which is not really as intelligent in his part. - The punch lines are delivered way to many times and in some cases both the punchlines and soundtrack are lifted from the first movie and overused. - Prianka's Roma is nowhere near as vengeful as she was in the first movie. In this movie, she is just a sexy female cop who feels sorry for Don. - Lara Dutta's role much just a tad bit longer than Hrithik Roshan's cameo. That's a shame considering Don's girl is Ayesha and not Roma. - There are no side hero's or powerful performances. Arjun Rampal's presence is missed and sadly Kunal Kapoor is just a smart computer whiz and nothing else. There are no anti-villain or like to take down Don. He simply is a one man show with everyone either supporting him or eventually supporting him. - Don bungee jumping from the tower with a rope seemed more like a publicity stunt rather than an actual choice. It's hard to understand how he would conveniently find the rope to make a leap. Watch MI:GP where Tom Cruise leaps from a tower as well but he had every reason to do so. Don could have taken down the baddie and simply go downstairs but he drops and in the next shot you see a rope holding him. - Boman Irani's lack of enthusiasm or charisma from the first movie, Arjun Rampal's is also missed. He was a willing contender and gave Don a run for his money. In this movie, everyone is equally dumb and helpless except for Don. - (SPOILER ALERT) Don willing to die in Roma's hand and feeling compassion for her and Roma not shooting Don is the biggest reason this movie receives a low rating from me. I wish Bollywood could be original and have a unlikable monster, but Don is more of a hero in this one. (SPOILER END)
+ Hrithik's Roshan's cameo was genuinely nice even though the whole premise of wearing a mask was sort of unrealistic. It did remind me of the first movie with concealing identity. + Don's facial hair and looks are really a big plus considering Bollywood is very lazy when they show passage of time. Hence, SRK's changing looks does give you a sense of passage of time. + The car chase and fight scenes where on par with Hollywood movies and certainly realistic and filled with effort. + Berlin is a riveting, dynamic playground for Don and his actions even though the movie's location could have been anywhere. I say this only because its a heist movie and not one about mafia kinpin and setting up empire in a established location. + Some use of fashionable clothes, cars, gadgets, but none of these props are presented enough for people to want to purchase them. The first movie was a trend setter from the shirt Don wore in Yeh Mera Dil, to his watch, to his Motorola Razr cellphone, Tag Huer watch, sunglasses, Mercedes car, state of the art lazer laptop, etc. In this movie, the props are not as evident and hence I do not expect people to do much more than get the D tattoo or sport facial hair. The props are there bit limited.
Lastly, the remake Don from 2006 showed how committed and dedicated Don was in building his empire. He worked hard for it, and his pace was really fast. Roma and DCP were a threat to him so he played along until he could make his getaway. In this movie, Don is playful with no real goal other than escaping after the heist is over. The real shame is that Don gets caught more than once, returns back to the same place after the heist, and has to fight the bad guys more than once. The movie is nothing you have never seen before, and certainly not as stylish and trendsetting as the remake.
Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji (2011)
A modern day sweet romantic comedy movie which is good for one time watch!
After watching Once Upon A Time In Mumbai, seeing an Ajay-Emraan duo was exhilarating only because of their stellar performances in the previous movie. If you are like me and watch this movie after that, you can notice the significant difference in the acting abilities of Ajay Devgan. With Emraan however, there is a common pattern in his character. He never plays a saint, and his reactions and playboyish charm is almost anticipated. The third guy was great too in his awkwardness and did remind me of the nerd from Three Idiots. Unfortunately, the women are overshadowed by the men in their performances. Still, you cannot detect any mistakes in their part.
Going to the storyline, it is a modern tale of three bachelors who look for love. Even though Ajay is a middle aged divorcée, Emraan is a playboy, and Omi is the naive salesman with no prospect for future, they all follow the same trends of luck and failures around the same time. This is evident as they celebrate together, mourn together, and share together. However, the saving grace of this movie is not the comedy which is barely existing, but rather the sweet day to day lives of average people without love who many can relate to.
Overall, it is a good watch if only you can watch it once. There are some sexual jokes, but nothing that might put you in a position of sheer embarrassment (unless your parents are really intolerant and strongly religious). There are no sex scenes even though there are implications. Emraan himself managed to stay away from any boldness even though he is wooing both mother and daughter at one point. Overall, it is a sweet movie for all the loveless bachelors, but could have benefited with a February 14th release day to really get the spirit flowing. It is a good watch for family too as it is not really as predictable as other Hindi movies. A good watch for a quiet night, but unfortunately nothing out of the ordinary.