Reviews

Its hard to define 'Animal' in a particular genre. It's a father son story, it has action elements, romantics ones, its supposed to be mass entertainer but it also has this intelligence and class demanded by the script.

Animal's core story is a son seeking his fathers' approval. There is a lot more sub plot apart from this, which elevates it from a simple film to something along the lines of Godfather.

Acting: Ranbir Kapoor is the best nepo kid actor in Bollywood for sure. This is a guy who might have been a superstar even without the Kapoor Lineage. This film has him play a similar dynast and it's a casting match made in heaven. Ranbir and the director takes his character and elevates the whole thing to another level. Ranbir's character Vijay often sprouts American terms since his upbringing has been shown to be in the states. It's a bit similar to Micheal Corleone who is raised up in Italy in the Godfather. Throughout the films various acts Ranbir is beyond rock solid. An acting tour de force. He has surpassed his peers by far.

Anil Kapoor is solid and dependable as always. He plays the stoic no nonsense father figure to perfection and does not miss a beat. Overall his character is a bit similar to the one he played in Dil Dhadkne do, so this is not something entirely different than we have seen him play but whatever material he has been given, he does rather well.

Rashmika Mandana, for me this actor is an eye sore. Neither is her expressions believable, her dialog delivery is pathetic and its actually difficult to make out what she is mumbling most of the time. The internet's trolling of her dialog delivery in the trailer is fully justified. Even during her introduction scene, she speaks like she has paan in her mouth. She definitely brings down the film, I am very curious to know why she has been cast in the first place! She is definitely the weakest link in this film. Any other actress would have been better than her.

Shakti Kapoor has a brief role in the film and is surprisingly solid. His character is not very well defined, but this has to be the most sober role he has done in a while.

The Music: The songs make this film whole. Most movies like Jawan for example have good songs, but the songs are not the life of the film, in this the songs define the movie. Each and every song has its place and is there for a reason. Without them the movie doesn't work.

The Action: The violence in this film when it gets unleashed is on another level for a Indian film. Only Korean films can match this level of violence. So the A rating is justified. I wish to see the longer director's cut of this film and if that has even more gore and violence.

Overall : The start and the end of the film CANNOT be missed. I can understand many missing the start, but how does one miss the ending? Well, most people started to leave when the credits rolled. But like a Marvel film, sit still. The movie doesn't end till the credits are done and then there one more scene. The movie is going in while the credits are rolling so it doesn't get boring. The audience that walked away at the start of the credits, doesn't know what they missed.

So donot miss the ending of the film.

Rating : 9.5/10. The first half of the film is a 10/10 for me. The interval block is beyond amazing. The second half does drag a bit especially Rashmika's scenes. So over the film is a solid 9.5 for me.

I dont like the lead actor, but despite that I decided to see this film as it is about a topic which is close to me. The formation Bangladesh from East Pakistan.

Pippa is competently made, the acting is average. The main point is, the tanks are REAL! Having real tanks in the film is a huge step up from Tejas.

The VFX is mostly well done, some of the enemy tanks look a bit CGI but thats all right.

The film doesn't go into to much of detail about the whole war, stopping it from being an war Epic.

The first song in the film is atrocious and skippable, but there are no more songs after that thankfully.

Do watch the film, its not the best war film, but its a good coming of age war film.

I had liked OMG (2012) a lot. It raised the topics of false god-men, wasteful nature of certain worshiping rituals and many such topics. OMG 2 is an even better film. It raises the topic of Sex education and despite being the most populous country in the word, the act of sexual intercourse and any knowledge regarding the same is a taboo subject.

This film's lead is Pankaj Tripathi and he really shines in the role. He manages to catch the MP local accent and mannerisms perfectly. He is the lead of the film and he is really convincing in his character.

Akshay Kumar as Lord Shiva's Doot (Rolling my eyes as this was a censorship demand) is good in his role but not great. He played Krishna Bhavan a bit more convincingly in OMG. Still he isn't wasted, despite his role being more of a cameo, he guides the storyline and helps out the protagonist and his family in their time of need.

Pawan Malhotra as the judge has done fine work. From being a skeptical and high handed initially to slowly turning more understanding, his comic timing with Pankaj Tripathi is spot on. He manages to generate a lot of laughs without compromising his character or making the judge look ridiculous.

Yami Gautam as the opposing counsel is shown as sharp and manipulative as a good lawyer probably should be. Her character doesn't have a arch but does what is given to her rather competently without being cringe inducting or screechy. She manages to hold the dignity of her character without being a out an out villain.

The songs of the film are decent, but I liked the songs from the first one a lot more.

But all of that aside, the film as a whole is a very important one for Indians. It deals with a topic which is rarely discussed and needs to talked about a lot more openly. As for those crying about how the movie is anti-Hindu. Its not.

It shows Sanatan dharma as one of the very few dharmas which understood the important of Kaam a long time ago and has a lot of antient literature about the same topic. The film shows Sanatan culture is a positive light but people too short sighted might not understand that. Nowhere is there judgement against any Hindu god or goddess in the film. The film is also quite apolitical with no involvement of political entity in the script unlike the first one. The main character is not An Athiest or agnostic, he is shown as a true believer of Lord Shiva. Nothing shown in the film seemed slightly offensive. As for why they don't make such films based on other religions?

Well, this particular film is all about how enlightened our ancestors were thousands of years ago, the same cant be said about the other religions which didn't even exist back then. In fact, Sanatan Dharma is not a religion but a way of life. People often seem to confuse Dharma with Religion.

Rating : I would like to give this film a 9.5/10. This is a movie which is a must watch for everyone, especially Indians.

Overall : This movie is mostly a courtroom drama, but it doesn't get preachy or screechy at any point, nor is their cringe inducing over drama. This is the sort of films we want out Indian Film industry to make, so its important that the audience support such films so we get more of this and less of whatever Adipurush was... (I cant honestly call it a film). I was really happy to see that film which has Pankaj in the lead was totally housefull on a Sunday morning show. Despite clashing with Gadar 2, it seems to be doing well due to good word of mouth. This film really deserves to be seen by one and all.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Movie Review

I had given up on Marvel completely. Even in the future I have no hope that anything they churn out will be worth our time as an audience. With 20+ movies and 10+ shows to keep up with, its not worth the effort. But just this once, with GOTG 3, James Gunn has done the improbable and made an excellent ending to the Guardians Trilogy. Satisfactory in every manner possible, from action to emotions, from comedy to VFX everything is top notch.

The film is a perfect Guardians adventure. It does not stick to one location or premise for too long. For me, the second film got stuck in one location and sort of died out. This one, keeps moving and is equal parts hilarious, entertaining and exhilarating at the same time. That's a perfect GOTG adventure in my book. Having played the game as well, this sort of has a similar tone and feel to that somehow and the game too was an awesome ride.

So, coming back to the film, this movie deals with the fallout of Gamora not quite being the Gamora as the person we knew is dead and this one is a past version with less experience and more trauma to deal with. Peter's reaction to her presence is a film in and of itself. Its not boring, but a silly rom com sort of treatment littered throughout the film. The main plot line is about one of the major Guardian's past and is poignant and tragic.

Its difficult to go into any sort of details about the film without going into spoiler territory. So lets just say, if you liked the first Guardians film and know of their story so far, then this is a must watch film.

Good movies often have short reviews, but there is nothing more to say than, its an amazing film, do go and support it so that Marvel knows what sells and what doesn't.

Rating : 9.5/10. This is as good as or even better than the first one. So do not miss it...

P. S : Went for a regular 3D screening, the 3D wasn't that great. Imax 3d might fare better.

Movies can entertain, they can invoke new ideas and sometimes they can bring about change. Change of thought process, change of perspective etc. This is a movie that changes your perception of the world we live in, especially if you don't know what sort of things are happening around us hidden in plain sight.

This is a movie which is difficult to watch. Not because it is not well made, but because it shows the stark-naked truth in such a simple and devastating manner. Things that happen to the women in this film which is based on real life incidents are not for the weak of stomach. But it's the reality we live in and most would find it convenient to ignore the truth rather than confront it.

As a film, the cinematography is good, the camera work is organic and not overly dramatic. There are some dramatic shots, but those are needed to set the tone of the film. The look and feel of the film seem more real than fictional. This movie feels very authentic in its tonality and stands apart from typical Bollywood films like Kabul Express, Fanaa or Kurbaan.

The narrative of the film is nonlinear. It follows roughly three different timelines of the same person. First one of her being in college, another of her in Afghanistan and the last one of her incarcerated at an UN detention camp. The scenes flow mostly seamlessly from one timeline to the other. Sometimes the shift in tonality from a happy and positive interaction in the past to a rather bleak and grim present is done intentionally to jar the audience and shake them from their slumber (figuratively speaking) of believing all is right in the world just because they can't see such things happening in front of them.

All the songs in the film are either used in montage scenes or in the background. There is no waste of time entertainment dance numbers or anything overtly filmi when it comes to the music. The background score is used sparingly but is effective.

Overall: As a film, this is a very tragic subject matter. It's hard to make it through the movie without some sort of emotional reaction, be it sadness, depression or sheer anger. The movie is meant to evoke such reactions. That's what showing the truth as plainly as possible does to the masses. So be warned, this is a film that is hard hitting and not a fun time pass sort of watch. Don't go in with a bunch of friends expecting to have a good time.

Go see it with friends and family to open their eyes on what is going on and what might happen to someone they know and love if we as a society don't hold the people doing such inhuman acts accountable for their actions. This is a film that every Indian needs to see. Its an absolute must watch.

Rating: 7.5/10.

Conclusion: There are no negatives as such in the film, but maybe due to censor board, scenes that are showing the conversion to radical thought process did feel a bit truncated. Some moments of the film could have lingered a tad bit more to hammer the point home. But those are minor gripes in an otherwise well-made film about a very tragic and intense subject matter.

I cannot believe it has been 13 years since we all saw Avatar in theaters. Not to mention, 25 years since we saw Titanic in theaters!

It's become a trend to hate on Avatar since its blockbuster release. But I loved the film in theaters back then and the many times I have seen it at home it still holds up. For me the first Avatar is one of the best Scf-Fi movies ever made.

So, the sequel of the BEST 3D movie ever is here and I just had to check it out in Imax 3D. No other format can do this film justice.

James Cameron is an amazing director. He has made 7 straight block busters in his career. This is his 8th one. This movie deals with what Jake Sully and his expanded family are doing on Pandora as the people from Earth are back in huge forces.

The story of the film is a bit generic as was the case with the previous film. I think the director has decided that the visual awe and spectacle of these film must come to the forefront and hence he keeps making the plots extremely simple and easy to follow. Its not like Cameron doesn't make complicated plotted films, but Avatar 1 and 2 both are not that. So don't go in expecting twists and turns and mind-bending plot devices. This is not a Nolan film. Some plot devices and points of the first film are re-used in some manner in this one and it doesn't feel repetitive as its not happening to the same characters but it does all too familiar at times.

Instead, this movie is a visual spectacle. I challenge anyone to show a movie better made in the VFX department. The VFX is so good that its very easy to forget that every frame is CGI. The underwater scenes look like they were shot on location. Even the mechs and other technology look absolutely real. This is not a film that can be fully enjoyed at home. Anyone trying to catch it on OTT on their mobile is missing 90% of the films impact. So, this movie is a theatrical experience. Everyone was worried that Marvel movies have raised people's bar for VFX or that VFX have become too common now so people might not enjoy this film. But the breathtaking level of CGI in this film is like nothing that has been seen on screen before. But to see the DETAILS you have to see it on a huge screen.

The acting is motion captured so to have bad performances would be really difficult. Still Neytiri comes across as a bit hysterical and high strung as compared to every other Na'vi and Human character including her children. But then she was like that in the previous film too.

The cinematography (though wholly digital) has to be seen to be believed. The shots are kept simple and there is not much of camera movements or nauseating Shakey camera moments. There are moments where you will feel like you are actually underwater and swimming. I typically HATE underwater films like Aquaman or Waterworld which come across and boring and tedious, but not this film. The underwater scenes are really well done. Plus the action underwater is swift yet clearly visible. It doesn't become a visual mess like Aquaman. The scenes feel like they are really shot with blue Na'vi actors in some real ocean.

The music is adequate but none of the main themes really stuck out to me. But it gets the job done. James Horner the previous music director of the first part has tragically passed away. He will be missed sorely.

Overall : This is a must must watch in theaters. Make sure you have a clean 3D glass and the theater you visit has a good brightness. Seeing this at home is pointless.

Rating : 8/10. I frankly enjoyed the first one a lot more. This part 2 is visually amazing, but I feel the next two sequels might make me reconsider the rating of this film. Even though the story is complete and there is no cliff hanger moment, it does feel a bit incomplete. Its how Empire Strikes Back felt a bit hollow till the next part came out. So I liked the first one more than this one, but this still is a really good film with some great action moments.

The Kashmir Files Movie Review

I have stopped reviewing films for all intents and purposes. I still watch a lot of cinema, but most of it is not worth commenting upon. I even saw The Batman last week and did not bother to review it.

However, The Kashmir Files is not just a film worth seeing, but worth talking about.

This is a difficult movie to review. Since this is more like a case file than a film. Seeing this as just an entertainment piece is not possible. This one movie tries to encapsulate the entire Kashmiri Pandit Genocide the best it can.

Does this movie succeed? Well, yes as a narrative peice. But as a purely cinematic experience, it does falter at times due to technical issues.

On to the positive aspects.

Ever since the falsely marketing film 'Shikara' which the trailers showed like it dealt with the Kashmiri Pandit genocide, but was a love story on the backdrop of the same, The Kashmir Files movie has been on my radar as a must watch film. This same directtor made The Tashkent Files and that was a good film.

Then the trailer of this film came out and it was absolutely shocking.

The trailer wasn't false marketing this time! The movie is totally shocking and eye opening. Most people don't even know about the incidents being referenced in the film. So this is new information for a lot of people, not to mention, a conversation starter on this ignored and over looked genocide which happened in the recent past.

The best way to describe this film is, it's like the Indian Schindler's List without the positive outcome. The displaced Pandits never made it back home. They never truly got justice.

As a film, the story takes place across multiple time periods, but the narrative thread is well knit and the viewer is not confused as to which time period the film has jumped to. The acting is overall quite good, but there are a few mediocre performances in there by the extras. Mithun Da works his magic as someone who is first hand witness to the atrocities that took place as well as the inaction from the then Indian Government.

Darshan Kumaar is shown as a new age rebel JNU student who wants to leave the past behind and move on. Forgive and forget he says. But it turns out he doesnt even know the reality. His acting is decent, nothing path breaking, but believable and sincere.

Pallavi Joshi is still attractive as the typical JNU professor demanding freedom for Kashmir, her role is to showcase the stereo-typical (so called) liberal professor who turns students into activists. Her acting is so realistic, its difficult to separate the actor from her performance.

What this film lacks, is sharpness / attention to detail in direction and acting. The low budget shows at times. Some shocking scenes are shot fine, but the VFX is lacking. The last scene was meant to be shocking, but the acting of the extras keeps it from gaining true masterpiece level.

Plot wise, the current time period story-line has a non-ending as none of those plots can be resolved in real life, so they are left hanging.

But all of that is not important. This film, as I mentioned is more than a just cinema, it's an information piece in the form of a film to tell the world what took place in Kashmir in the recent past. The mass genocide of Indians in their own country which no one talks about, no one outrages about or even mentions.

In that goal, the film succeeds. The narration and pace is brisk, it is not boring or loud. It also shows the point of view of the 'other side' and doesn't treat the audience like fools.

Rating: As a film this is a 7/10. However, this is more than film which is made, directed and produced. This is a voice for those helpless many who never got any headlines, let alone outrage or justice.

As that, this is a 10/10 effort of tell a direct and hard hitting, fact filled retelling of those events.

Overall : This is a film which was eagerly awaited by me and it doesn't disappoint. This is a 100% must watch for all Indians to know the real life incident which happened in our own country and we don't even know it.

As others have already pointed out, the ending of the film is absolutely atrocious. The strange dance inter-cut with the rescue absolutely kills the film.

Not to mention the end summary couldn't even write up the hijackers as terrorists, no they are just people caught in a difficult situation.

This film is frustrating and its only objective is to justify the entire hijacking as some noble mission.

Few sequels surpass their successful first part. Most Sequels come across as needless or a cash grab. But dont listen to the detractors, this is more Terminator 2 of sequels than Speed 2....

Movie buffs will know what I mean, this sequel is bigger, more exciting and has some really innovative concepts.

1. The use of social network by an A. I is a masterful sequence.

2. The use of water effects, is inspired 3. The plot might be a bit loose, but the action and spectacle more than makes up for it.

I dont know why the movie rating is so low.... Its a brilliant film in every way.

2.0 was promised as a semi sequel to 2010's Endhiran (Robot). It's good to see that it's not just a spiritual sequel as it was marketed as but a direct and proper sequel. It just discards Robot's very last scene set in 2030. 2.0's plot line / premise is totally irrelevant to its real genius. The film is a technical marvel right from the very first scene with copious use of 3D to make the audience feel like the film is projecting somewhere between the screen and the viewer's eyes.

The main character in this film is of course Chitti the Robot. He is treated like a superhero here. His entry is matter of fact and now he can pretty much do anything with the only real challenge to Chitti being the rapid way his battery seems to keep discharging. Infact Chitti has no emotional challenges in the film at all. He doesn't have to give up anything major or improve himself in anyway. His 2.0 avatar (the films title character) is just him with the red chip from the last film. The films plot and message is lost in Chitti 2.0's robot antics.

Direction : The film is made by S.Shankar, one of India's most innovative filmmakers. This time around, he has kept the film very tight and has not used any of the typical south overacting, humor or songs. In fact this is the most NON masala film Shankar has ever made. This is all in the pursuit of making this film truly international in look and feel. Having said that, the film is a bit one note and the intensity doesn't jump up or down, its evenly quite intense throughout. This lack of highs and lows can be an issue with the audience who wants to see a complete entertainer. SS Rajamouli avoided this same issue in 2012's Eega (Makkhi).

Acting : With time Rajnikanth is getting more and more tepid in his acting. This film had a lot more for his scientist character to do, who is an intellectual and doesn't have any of the typical Rajni traits. That's not to say his acting is bad, its just gotten a lot more sober and serious. Even the 2.0 chitti who is almost a villain character refrains from truly going overboard. He is always at the edge of madness and never crosses it.

Akshay Kumar is really good in this film. He totally does justice to his casting in the film and in his backstory he plays an ornithologist (someone working on birds) modelled on india's most well known person in this profession 'Salim ali' who is a Padma bhusan winner. His acting both as an ornithologist and as a villain is on point. He is menacing as the birdman character and sympathetic in his backstory. He keeps up with Rajni Sir's acting and performance so that the clash is between equals.

Amy Jackson's turn as a humanoid Robot is perfect casting. Amy's acting is extremely wooden normally, so now that she is playing a robot, she seems adequately robotic. Her character has in place asimov's 3 laws and therefore she is not a killer robot like Chitti. So she has a supporting role of protecting Rajni's scientist character and at times even Chitti. So she isn't there just for eye candy. But speaking of eye candy, Amy looks really good running around in a form fitted robot suit.

This brings us to the sets and art design.

Art Design : The suits and costumes used in the film work great and do not look cheap at the least. Chitti's normal look and his 2.0 look both work well and seem high tech and robotic enough. The art direction is top notch and nothing in the film looks less than any international film. Akshay's different looks and his prosthetics are thoroughly convincing and work well purely on a technical level. Amy's Neela as mentioned earlier looks cute in her robot avatar and is a welcome visual contrast in the mostly male dominated cast.

The labs, sets etc all look very good. A lot of the budget has gone into getting the look right for this film.

Lastly we come to the most talked about and innovative thing about this film.

The visual FX : People on youtube and twitter have both appreciated and made fun of the VFX of this film. Some have said it looks worse than a ps2 video game. This is not true at all. I felt that in 3d the VFX of the film looked very good. There are numerous scenes which have 1000s of cell phones doing impossible things and its animated so well. I have not seen such an idea or execution of such proportions in a Indian or International film till date. The villain is made up of cell phones and that god damn difficult to achieve. Every part of him is an individual mobile phone. The phone is rigid and cannot bend, so I can imagine how difficult animating this must have been.

The VFX is really top notch as far as the budget is concerned. Shankar has an habit of these huge set piece songs in all his films, such as Indian, Nayak, Aparichit, Sivaji and Robot. But this time he refrains from songs in the film at all. the only song in the film is at the very end. I guess this makes the film more tight, less masala and more international. the only song Tu Hi re plays over the end credits.

Now we come to the negatives of the film. As mentioned before, the film is very one note and all emotional parts have been excised in pursuit of technical achievement. Which is fine, but it doesn't give the right stakes to things. The villain's point of view is explained but then made fun of in the end by Chitti 2.0. Therefore, despite this film being technically an achievement not just in Indian cinema, but world cinema, the emotional overtones are missing. Making this a less complete film than its 2010 predecessor. Personally, I still prefer the original over this sequel. Which is not to say that this film is not good.

Rating : This movie could have been a nine for me, but it messes up some key moments. So for Rajni sir's and akshay's acting, the action and awesome vfx and innovative ideas, this movie is an easy 7.5/10 for me.

This movie is, as they say in cricket, a sixer! It hits it right out of the stadium and keeps going! M.S.Dhoni follows the story of India's most successful cricket captain, right from his birth to his victory at the 2011 world cup.

First off, let me say, I am not a big fan of cricket, or follow the sports closely. But despite this, the movie works on a very human level. Even non cricket fans who have a basic idea of how the game works, will be able to enjoy this film. Having said that, this film is an ABSOLUTE treat for cricket fans, they have shown all of dhoni's real matches with the lead actor's face morphed on the real person. So we get shots of the hero being hugged by Tendulkar, Yuvraj singh etc. its quite amazing to watch and it reminds me of similar accomplishment in 1994's Forrest Gump, though this movie is far more extensive in that regards.

As for the film itself, they managed to get most of it right. The Story and plot is based on the real life and hence there is drama but no melodrama or over the top scenes. Lets talk about the acting, Sushant Singh blends into the role of M.S Dhoni perfectly, it feels like we are watching the real person, his attitude, his smile, the way he speaks. The actor gets it perfect.

The rest of the entourage is perfectly casted and acted, the Bengalis in the story LOOK, talk and behave like bongs (I am one, so I can tell if its fake or real). The parents and relatives of Dhoni is done competently and believably.

The art direction in this film is amazing, it feels like a documentary, the sets or locations are SO authentic. Small houses are actually small and claustrophobic. The props are era appropriate. Kudos to the art team.

Now we come to the direction of the film. Neeraj Pandey is one of indias best and often under-rated director. He has the eye for detail, but he doesn't sacrifice the moments for details sake. His direction has subtle humor without any huge laugh out loud moments. One particular scene, when the lead is sitting in pouring rain in the train station, watching his destiny pass him by, it's amazing in cinematography, art and direction wise. Right before this scene, we see the lead actor pass a WORK in Progress sign, thereby explaining why in the middle of the day on a huge junction an entire platform will be empty. That is a director's talent right there. Details and emotions both!

Lastly the music. Right from the trailer, the music was amazing, they use it rather well in the film and the score really sells the film. There are no songs per se, they mostly just accompany the scenes. But this movie wouldn't seem half as good if the music wasn't done SO well.

Cricket fans will obviously go and see this film, but this one manages to reach all audiences, from the smart multiplex audience to the single theaters, there is something for everyone. Make no mistake, this film is already a hit because of the real person's super sports star status. But the film being good will contribute to its sustainability and reaching the non-cricket fan masses too. I personally really like biopics, especially sports ones, which are more uplifting than usual and in doing so, Neeraj Pandey has made a masterpiece.

Rating : 9/10. A masterpiece and rather well made, genuine and uplifting film with an amazing score.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition Review: The Ultimate edition of this year's controversial superhero Flick is now out. This film, released back in march divided a line between fan boys and critics. The critics HATED it, its rated 27% on RT which is way too low for such a mega budget flick. The fan boys rabidly defended the movie including giving death threats to critics who said they didn't like it.

Now a 30 min extended version is out and how does this affect the movie? One of my BIGGEST issue with the movie was, it felt it had been edited by amateurs on a Mac. The pacing was off, the scenes made no sense and in all it was quite a mess.

That whole issue is completely solved in this edit. The extra minutes actually make the film shorter in some ways. There are no huge logic leaps and plots are revealed intricately.

The tone of this edit is very much similar to this director's Watchmen. This also shows a much better directed film than was released in theaters. I don't know whose decision it was to cut out these 30 minutes, but that decision has not only backfired but will haunt them forever.

This 3-hour movie would not have gotten 27% on RT, I dare say it would have been a acceptable 75-78% Easily.

But make no mistake, the huge glaring issues with the movie, such as the Martha scene and Lex's bad acting are still all there, it's just that they are not so glaring anymore. They are much more forgivable due to the movie being quite well made.

In the theatrical cut, the plot flowed so badly, it was so tedious that by the time the ending came, people were just fed up and not in a forgiving or understanding mood.

Every single scene where footage has been added is benefited GREATLY. Some more sub plot is introduced and they balance the movie out.

But even then, this movie has some problems. Other than one scene, this movie doesn't have ANY good action set piece for the first 2 and half hours. It's all drama and setup for the ending. Which would have been fine, it's the same formula from Man of Steel, but this film is much longer and it needs some REALLY good action scenes in between which it doesn't have.

But this 3 hour cut is 100% worth a watch. If this was released theatrically, I would have rated this movie much higher despite the Martha scene and the Lois dong moronic things scene.

Rating: 7.5/10 Fans HAVE to see it, anyone else who hasn't seen the movie yet, this is the version to see.

P.S : Some small easter eggs were very nice additions, like the ending funeral scene has Pete Ross (also seen in Man of Steel) in a brief cameo, its not important, but its good film making.

This movie is going to get bad critical reviews! The previous movie which came out in 1996 wasn't well reviewed either, but it was dumb, fun and eye popping back in the day.

This new sequel takes places 20 years after the original and the aliens are back! It's up to David levinson played by Jeff Goldblum and team to save the day – again.

This movie majorly suffers from Transformer-itis, with a good measure of Blow up the Queen to kill all drones syndrome thrown in for good measure. So is this movie terrible and unwatchable? Not exactly, there's good and bad.

Let's start with the good parts.

It's great to see quite a bit of the old cast coming back. Former president President Whitmore played by Bill Pullman is back. So is previously mentioned David and his Jewish Father. New cast members included Dylan Heller who is Will smith's character's kid from the previous movie. It's good to see them all together again. The plot moves along swiftly and the movie doesn't take too much to pick up and get going. The music is fine, the action is passable and the FX is great.

Also, the film makers are self aware and they know what kind of movie they are making, thats one good thing about the film. It sometimes DOESN'T fall for the cliché. But only at times! Now comes the problematic part. Since the last 20 years visual FX has gotten a LOT easier. So easy, that every director over does it these days. From the new Terminator to Star Wars to this movie, the FX seem TOO much. There is too much going on in the screen, the eye can't focus on any one cool thing. There is 100s of cool things happening on screen! This is where the direction falters. It's the film makers job to direct the eye to something meaningful, rather than have everything blowing up and thrown at your face all at once. This is Michael bay's transformers formulae and this film also suffers from it! Then comes the rather hack job of editing. The first movie was 2 and a half hours long and had great character and human moments in-between all the spectacle. This one is rushed, it feels rushed. There is NO build-up to the alien's arrival. The build-up was the BEST part of the first movie, the anticipation of seeing those shadows covering those cities. They got rid of all of that awesomeness.

There is a sudden school bus full of children thrown in good measure, the whole kids plot line comes out of NO WHERE and it feels like their introductions were left on the editing floor.

There is no time to think in between the action, it's all rushed and going at break neck speeds. They should have spaced out this movie by at least 15 more minutes.

The plot and story is absurd but that is one thing I was expecting all along. They do try to build more mythology about the aliens and their intergalactic war. But it all seems a bit Star Wars-ish.

Some actions or things that happen don't follow logical choices but that is fine, given it's a big dumb movie.

I didn't hate this film, it kept me entertained, but it is far from the brilliant original film.

Fans of the first part will like it, new-comers to the genre might not get it.

Rating : 6/10 . See if you like Sci-Fi, but go in with low expectations and it will be fine! P.S: They left the door open for the next part and I doubt it going to be made

The first movie had a relentless pace and fun magic tricks, some of which, actually worked on the audience! It had charm and a pseudo smartness which fell away when inspected too closely, but that movie disguised it PRETTY well with misdirection and actually followed its own advice, the closer you look, the more you will miss out on. But unfortunately, this sequel is rather by the numbers and has none of the cleverness and charm which the audience were expecting. Just like the previous movie, the four horse men are just patsies in someone else's plan and the whole movie is spent trying to figure out who and why. From the stale opening to the lame first act, this movie drags along. Halfway through, there were more yawns than cheers from the audience. The ending twist / surprise (or the Prestige as Michael Caine himself said in the Nolan movie) Is weak, inconsistent with the previous movie and lacks any kind of punch.

Lizzy Caplan replaces the beautiful Isla Fisher and the movie is all the more awkward for it. The twin role by Woody Harrelson is at times funny, but ultimately it has no pay off and seems like a useless subplot. Michael Caine reprises his role from the sequel and he seems to be tired and not enjoying himself at all. Daniel Radcliff is severely miscast in his role and he comes across as Harry Potter acting like he was megalomaniac. This role need a serious creep factor which Elijah wood brought in for sin City, unfortunately Radcliff fails miserably. This movie is obviously partly produced by china as it involves a lot of its action taking place in Macau and the inclusion of the Chinese actors is a bit jarring. But this seems to be the new trend in Hollywood, co-financed by China. Karate kid, Transformers 4, Iron man 3 all went this route and this film really suffers for it… The plot of such a movie should be so fast paced that the audience has no chance to think and they will just enjoy trick after trick. But this movie miserable fails in that too. It's boring, its clichéd and not enjoyable! I wish this was an amazing sequel, but it sadly falls way below the mark.

Rating: 5/10. No really good reason to see this. Instead see the original again, it was much better! Note to Marketing Team: Next time your film has a great twist about the villain, DON'T reveal it on your marketing POSTER.

Despite the not so great name, this is a GREAT sequel to 1990's Ghayal. I will go so far as to say that this is the BEST sequel I have seen in Bollywood till date. Ours is not a culture of sequels and it is especially difficult to make a sequel to a cult classic & Blockbuster like Ghayal.

When I heard written & directed by Sunny Deol, I was frankly quite alarmed.

I had gone into the film expecting a poorly made masala entertainer with bad acting and clichéd dialog.But This movie turned out to be hugely entertaining. It is anything but a stupidly made cash grab. I can't recommend this movie highly enough.

This is the closest an Indian film has gotten to 'The Dark Knight' type of film. This movie has powerful ruthless villains, innocents to protect, lot of hi-tech gadgetry and chases, thrills and spills more usually seen in Super Hero films from Hollywood.

This film is rather well written. Surprising, but it is. From the heroes to the villains they all make logical sense. The villain is not as strong as Balwant Rai, but he isn't so one dimensional either, this time the Villain is LITERALLY Mukesh ambani type Industrialist with a family. This film has so many layers to this Villain, he isn't a evil man, he is a business tycoon who is shady, which tycoon isn't ?

That makes this movie realistic. A REALISTIC sunny doel film?

From the writing to the action, everything Is now updated to the 2010s and its mostly very real. From the wounds incurred by the heroes while fighting, to the technique of the fights everything is plausible. There is no more super over the top falling from 10 floors and not getting hurt.

The plot has quite a few twists and turns and also has AMAZING sequences straight out of a Hollywood film with hacking, Cameras, surveillance, media corruption and a LOT more. One particular long chase sequence was actually tense enough for the entire theater to stop breathing for a while. There are more writers listed other than Sunny Deol and KUDOS to them… Brilliant job of writing an emotional action thriller. The stunts are very good too. Unlike stupid masala films the hero does fail many times, his car doesn't quite clear a jump, he trys to run away from the goons etc.

Acting wise, the film has a lot of strong performances. Surprisingly major parts of the film is Sunny Deol less and shows his confidence as a director in letting the younger cast have their screen time.

In conclusion, this is a Sequel to a VERY successful film and they managed to make it good. VERY GOOD!

Rating 7.5/10. A MUST watch for action, thriller lovers. Special bonus for Sunny Deol Lovers.

• Rohon Nag

First of, YES the movie is KIND OF like Wall-E. its very similar in the beginning, but then you really understand what is going on.

The story is not 100% predictable, its sort of WOW at times and sort of generic at times. As for the pacing of the movie, the action scenes are very well done but the movie is a bit slow at times.

and lastly, Hurrah for NON 3D... this movie seems to have been made for 3D and then its not... I love that! no hassle of overpriced tickets and big bulky glasses!!!

Acting, tom cruise is as usual solid, olga is nice to look at and does her role competently. Morgan freeman's cameo is too little and too less...

So this movie is out on DVD now. I really expected a very bad movie, which has action scenes which tend to bore you and make you go to sleep. something like Abduction. I know thats the wrong genre. Coming closer to home, Battle For LA, SKYLINE. both have alien invasion plots and both were very boring to me. the action in them did not seem the least bit exciting.

Peter berg has done the impossible, he has turned a board game in a decent movie. its not as good as independence day or Armageddon or even star trek (a movie it shares a lot of similarity to including the you are the captain scene).

With a premise of a battleship board game there was nothing better they could do with the material. this is the absolute best that was possible. The movie is a bit ham fisted, the patriotism is over the top and the alien's motivation is suspect.

But coming down to it, its a good movie and worth a watch!

There is no doubt that this is a bad movie, so why bother writing any more about it? well for on thing, the editing is the worst kind possible, the screen is flickering and flashing ALL the time, not just for special action scenes, but for every scene, the brightness is out of control and the flicker is introduced to make the movie seem interesting and fast...

the editing is also choppy, the cuts are in milli seconds throughout and the comedy track just shoved in forcefully....

vikram has a good look in this movie, but for decent movies in the same genre see, aparichit (vikram), nayak (anil kapoor), hindusthani (kamal hassan) (all the above are by shankar)

After catching the first day first show, this film just isn't worth racing after! (okie sorry for the speed related puns) anyways, the story is full of twists and turns and twists and u-turns... without giving much away lets just say this is the kind of film which desires to be Wild Things... but just somehow can't reach that level...

Overall though the effect isn't bad and won't disappoint completely...

Few things to note though...

1. the first half just meanders all over the place not sure of which direction it needs to go..

2. the action choreography is ATROCIOUS! alan amin... please quit...

other than this, the heroines are HOT, the twists are fast and furious! & the anil kapoor detective is a loony guy...

one time see, other than that.. what can I say, the story has more drifts than Tokyo drift! lol... seriously.. enough of racing jokes..

This is a movie about 5 friends, and in 5 years of their life how it changes and how in the pursuit of happiness they lose sight of life itself.

The story reads out like an Jeffrey Archer Novel, over all the performances were decent, but nothing spectacular, Pity, because the movie script is really ambitious and the epic, yet somehow the movie falls short of its mark, maybe its the 80's type film making, the somewhat melodramatic and weak dialog, hence the complete box office dud. Like Anupam Kher's Om Jai Jagdish before it, this is an unrecognized masterpiece, albeit with flaws.

This is not a Guru, yet it reaches a better conclusion than Guru.