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Reviews
Kshatriya (1993)
A True Indian Epic!
In my humble opinion, this is one of India's greatest films of the 1990s. The wealth on talent on show has never been equalled in any other indian film.
The story is basically about two warring families in Rajisthan, and how various members of each family try to end this feud. The film climaxes with a brilliantly choreographed fight sequence between Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt. The scenery and musical score during this fight is magnificent, as it is during most of the duration of the movie. My only gripe is the slightly corny scenes set in the UK.
Considering the epic storyline being told over two generations, and the large number of characters involved, I get the feeling that the version I saw (which runs for about 180 minutes) had been edited significantly to reduce it to a sensible running time. I would love to see the full version as it would help to flesh out some of the characters.
All in all, its another brilliant movie from one of my favourite directors, J P Dutta.
Shaan (1980)
One of the best Indian films ever made!
I consider Shaan to be one of the best Indian films ever made. It looks like a very professionally made film, which is quite rare in Indian Cinema.
The fight sequences are very good. Mr Sippy (the director) wisely chose to use the same style as in his previous blockbuster, Sholay. This adds a touch of realism to the fights, as opposed to the norm in Indian films, where we get to see the hero beat-up about 20 guys on his own.
Another highlight of the film was the music. Sippy had an original music soundtrack created for this film, as opposed to stealing bits and pieces from other films. This really does help to increase your enjoyment of the movie. I don't generally like the songs in Indian films, but they were quite good in this film.
The cast is excellent, with everyone performing well in their roles. I find that a lot of films with all-star casts suffer problems as the director tries to give everyone equal screen-time to the detriment of the plot. However, in this film, the whole cast gels. Shatrughan Sinha's character is wisely introduced half-way through the story, thus avoiding trying to introduce too many lead-characters at the start od the film. Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor play well off each other as always. As usual, the female characters don't have much to do in the film, with the possible exception of Rakhee Gulzar.
The villain is brilliantly played by Kulbushan Kharbanda. It's blatantly obvious that this character (Shakal) is modelled on Blofeld from the James Bond movies, as is much of the film itself. One gets the feeling that the Sippy was trying to create a villain that would be remembered in Indian Cinematic history in the same way as his earlier creation, Gabbar Singh. Although Shakal is not remembered as fondly as Gabbar Singh by many people, he's still one of Indian Cinema's more memborable villains.
The plot of the movie is sometimes a bit silly (for example, we get the heroes dancing with their girlfriends in a bus soon after they discover that one their family members has been murdered). However, this is a minor criticism in an otherwise brilliant film.
If you like Indian films, Shaan is essential viewing. I'd give it 10 out of 10.
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Bond needs to return to the style of GoldenEye
I went to see this film on its opening weekend and I have to say that I was slighty disappointed. I thought GoldenEye was a brilliant return to form for the franchise after the lacklustre Licence To Kill. However, I thought Tomorrow Never Dies was only just above average. I would have to say that The World Is Not Enough is no better than Tomorrow Never Dies.
The pre-credit action sequence was very good and the opening credits were quite good as well. I heard the Garbage theme a few weeks ago on the radio and didn't think much of it - but when watched with the movie, it seemed OK.
Some of the the subsequent action sequences were a bit of a let down, such as the ski chase. Even the film's finale (Bond in hand-to-hand combat with Renard aboard a submarine) was a bit of a let down. You'd have thought that the film-makers would have had a chance to create a class punch-up scene (like in From Russia With Love), especially with the villain's special gimmick of not being able to feel pain. That brings me nicely on to subject of Robert Carlyle, who played Renard. He might be a fine actor, but he just wasn't tall enough to play Renard. Director, Michael Apted had to use various tricks with the camera during the finale, to make sure that the audience didn't notice how much taller Bond was than Renard. Even Sophie Marceau was taller than Renard, making their scenes of intimacy seem a bit silly.
Denise Richards looked absolutlely gorgeous in her role as Christmas Jones, although she didn't have much to do. Why the hell would she accept such an insignificant role after starring in films such as Starship Troopers and Wild Things.
Sophie Marceau was OK in her role, Bond himself was quite good. Pierce Brosnan has grown into the role quite well. One of GoldenEye's few flaws was the fact that Pierce Brosnan looked a bit to thin for the role. But in this movie, as in Tomorrow Never Dies, he has put on a bit of weight, which lends a bit of credibility during the action sequences.
To sum up, not a bad Bond movie, but nowhere near the best in the franchise. I'd give it 7 out of 10.