Dig beyond the surface pleasures, and you’ll see how the film marries our masala sensibilities to the Bond/Bourne action spectacles.
Spoilers ahead…
You can read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/war-movie-review-by-baradwaj-rangan-hrithik-roshan-tiger-shroff
Siddharth Anand’s War is a deeply felt labour of love. It’s the testosteronic equivalent of what Shah Jahan built for Mumtaz Mahal. For generations to come, fans of upper-body sculpting will gaze at Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff in wonder and weep softly at what they wish they had. If I happened to find myself next to Hrithik on a flight, I’d have to politely insist that he stow his biceps in the overhead compartment. Tiger rips his shirt off in the climax, and his torso seems to be making a peace sign. The film is, first and foremost, a monument to male beauty. MF Husain was so floored by Madhuri Dixit in Hum Aapke Hain Koun…! that he watched the film 67 times. The CEO of Talwalkars will have a similar response to War.
Continued at the link above.
Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Jugaado
October 3, 2019
review of Joker?
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brangan
October 3, 2019
JOKER
https://www.filmcompanion.in/joker-movie-review-venice-international-film-festival-2019-joaquin-phoenix-baradwaj-rangan
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brangan
October 3, 2019
Okay, thoda showing off to banta hai 🙂
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
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sanjay
October 3, 2019
@” Even if you want to watch War as a “leave your brains at home” movie, the writing team doesn’t leave its brains at home. They take it seriously, and that’s why War is a defining action movie of our time”
Expect the unexpected from BRangan. Few have left theater 1 hour into this screening. This seems to be two different movies now. Once again, we are left in this subjective and objective debate. Never the twain shall meet.
Essentially descriptors for information or writing that help you decide whether they’re worthwhile sources.
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Prakash Alagarsamy
October 3, 2019
The movie was slow and too long. Dialogue predictable. I honestly thought you will bash the movie. But what do I know. Have to say I am very surprised by your review BR..
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chvs Chaitanya
October 3, 2019
Is it me alone or any one else who see this review as complete satire
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chvs Chaitanya
October 3, 2019
I feel a sense of sarcasm in every sentence
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Rocky
October 3, 2019
Great review BR , agree with most of your points . One point that I somewhat disagree is the Entry scene of Tiger – IMO he just rolls in from the window. Compare this to Hritik’s grand and majestic walk from the helicopter and the subtle nodding to the Colonel. The twists are interesting and will be the reason for repeat audience .
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brangan
October 4, 2019
When I wrote it, I didn’t intend an iota of sarcasm. I hoped some lines would be amusing, yes. Sarcastic? No.
The title line of the review usually indicates what I felt, so…
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Rahini David
October 4, 2019
I guess sometimes people get embarrased by some mild homoerotic fanboying and prefer to see it as satire.
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Kid
October 4, 2019
Terrific piece Sir. Thank you
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anon
October 4, 2019
Gonna go watch War today against my better judgement just for Hrithik. Good to see him do a movie in a genre he does best – the guy was born for this. He must give up aspiring to be known as some great actor and do action masala movies where he dances. That’s all people want from him. I haven’t seen a Hrithik movie since Dhoom and I only saw it because he looked a-mazing. The acting experiment he’s done for most of his career has almost never worked out in his favour. He’s a star – he must accept it although time may already have run out for him. I say this as his well wisher – he’s multi talented and there’s no shame in being a huge star making entertaining movies. Almost all of SRK’s career is total garbage but he still managed to be a huge star. Though I wouldn’t ask Hrithik to make films that are that trashy, he should stay is his strength genre and make one of those once a year.
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badri
October 4, 2019
Clearly you and I have watched two different movies 😛 😛
–Spoilers alert–
The movie I watched had a lot of convenient writing in the second half, where things just happen in accordance with what the good guy thinks! Take for example, the scene where the hero ‘discovers’ that it is he who is going to be poisoned during their out of nowhere lill boat trip….the flashy cars inside the ship in Artic right at the time for them to escape…and a missile, which was supposed to bring a huge destruction, destroyed just a ship, with no effect on the ice stretch which the cars were speeding on…these rnt nitpicking…these are basic logic, rt and flaws in the celebrated writing!
The hero says he hasnt spoken to anybody about the Naina character, so its still unanswered how did that scene turn out, if the informer wasnt the Colonel !
The hero is a fugitive on the run, that too from the Indian intelligence agency, but is happily spending time with kids in open spaces! Either they arnt intelligent enough, or its the writing !
The first half, I agree, had a lot of smart writing…the introduction of the hero character and his ploy…the scene where he meets the traitors son and the subsequent suspicions he had in mind…the comedy element in the action scene at baghdad….and yes, the mom-son-fathers killer scene that followed…
Not nitpicking, but a simple facial plastic surgery could change the vocal cords (oh yes, they give a dumb unconvincing explanation for that), the body, the swag; even his mom couldnt recognize her son; it wouldve been great to see if the big reveal came from the mom to the hero (just like in the past how she turned her husband to law)
Oh, I could go on and on…I am just surprised that you were supportive and appreciative of its shoddy writing ! I agree, to each his own ! But baddy man…you !!!!! 😦
That said, it would be amazing if Yashraj films could get Hrithik and Salman of (Ek Tha Tiger…….Tiger, hmmm) together in one such spy action thriller !
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Rocky
October 4, 2019
Re-The hero says he hasnt spoken to anybody about the Naina character, so its still unanswered how did that scene turn out, if the informer wasnt the Colonel
This was explained later – the Colonel spoke (right after hanging up with Hritik) to the analyst who was Hritik’s first victim.
typo correct and clarified a bit.
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anon
October 5, 2019
Wth BR! What were you thinking when you said this: “Even if you want to watch War as a “leave your brains at home” movie, the writing team doesn’t leave its brains at home.” Went in thinking it would half smart but gave up any pretense of smartness when they started doing comedy with ISIS terrorists.
I went in just to enjoy long slow mo shots of Hrithik but even those were too much and there was altogether too much Tiger. YRF films have zero soul and substance – there’s not one thing believable or engaging or relatable. They HAVE to rip off a 100 other Hollywood spy films and set the protagonists in India with plots that are laughably bad. Don’t we have enough terrorist intrigue right here in India? What need to go to Malta and Iraq and the fucking Arctic circle? Our terrorists only go international enough to get to Pakistan – guess it’s not pc for YRF to go that way, so it has to be tons of European locations. Poor Hrithik deserves better than this. And what’s with Tiger – he’s trying hard you can see but how is he so bereft looking of any human emotion. And the end twist killed whatever residual interest left over. Made zero sense and sitting through that climax ugh!
Pluses: Hrithik, his face, his eyes, his footwork, him being a literal God, some of Tiger’s stunts
Minuses: Everything else.
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Mank fan
October 6, 2019
Hrithik’s twitter acknowledgement of BR is the biggest sign yet of BR going mainstream…
Waiting for our masala film connoisseur’s take on the film, hope he has something fresh to add and not just a ‘WAR’ like tribute to his mentor.
PS- Good to see Tiger in a film worthy of his pyrotechnics
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Rishikesh
October 6, 2019
Glad to know that you enjoyed the Soni Razdan – Tiger Shroff scene as much as I did. That’s what you get when you hire someone of the quality of Abbas Tyrewala, even if it is just for the dialogues. Coming to the movie, I thoroughly enjoyed the build- up and the entire first half. It is one of those rare films that grips your from the opening sequence itself. As an audien, I was as curious as the characters in the film to know the reason why Kabir has gone berserk. Though the reason itself, which we go on to discover, in the second half was weak and predictable. The film does struggle a bit there. I thought SIddharth gave up after an impressive start. But then as you mentioned in the review, just when procedings were looking ordinary and unexciting, the writers hurl a shocker at us, which I thought was nicely concealed. But it is a strictly a film for those who are willing to suspend disbelief. Because once you start analysing the movie from the start, after you have exited the cinemas, some pieces do not seem to fit at all.
Will saurabh do this ( tiger shroff opening sequence), will saurabh do that (shoot out scene). Many issues pop up when you think along those lines. But to the credit of the makers, we do not ask these questions, while we are watching the film.
Also I feel an HR star vehicle is much more interesting than a Salman or even a Shahrukh star vehicle. it could also be because he’s not as big a star as them, yet. HR is not afraid to play roles with grey shades. The trailers had us doubting Kabir, we doubt him through the course of the entire first half, where Khalid is the good guy. HR could have easily hijacked the film, but he gives Tiger the space he deserves and a character which he can be proud of. I was more surprised with his acting skills than his acrobatics.
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brangan
October 6, 2019
Rishikesh: But it is a strictly a film for those who are willing to suspend disbelief.
Huh? Isn’t that a given with this genre?
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Rishikesh
October 6, 2019
I said it with reference to your point ” The writing team doesn’t leave its brains at home”. I would have loved to agree, but there are too many loose ends with respect to the traitor character, which keeps me away from doing so. For the time being, let us be content with the fact that the film didn’t collapse ( like abbas mustan’s race movies) inspite of the multiple twists.
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pagli
October 8, 2019
war was the most fun i had in cinema watching a bollywood after a long long long time, it was so much fun , pure joy ride . I went and watched it second time, like it’s been said in the review, perfect combo of bollywood ethos and hollywood sensibilities
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Shivaay
October 8, 2019
The first half is extremely well written, narrated and played out with perfect Bollywood masala props. Unfortunately, the film like most others suffers from the curse of the second half. Shoddy convenient twists, complete suspension of belief and a gory one on one climatic fight scene straight out of a B grade Prabhu deva flick did not blend in with the first half. It felt like I watched 2 different movies in the pre and post interval period.
Story : 5/10, Strong start but shoddy, silly and laughable second half.
Screenplay : 6/10, holds well for most part till the gory never ending climax that should have been edited.
Performances : 7/10, Superb Hrithik in every way, effective Tiger, Ashutosh and Anupriya. Vaani was a sore and so were the baddies.
Action/Cinematography/Dialogues/Technical Aspects : 7/10, some witty one liners for HR, excellent action sequences barring the climatic one that was good enough to leave a sour taste.
Overall : 6/10, one time watch for the excellent camerawork, locations, actions and HR of course.
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MANK
October 10, 2019
I really liked War. there are some issues with the film, but coming from YRF and Sidharth Anand , these are very minor. Honestly , i never expected the film to be this good. They have got an acceptable mix of masala in to this Hollywood template. But the best thing about the film is that Hrithik is back in form, after some quixotic pursuits to prove himself as a character actor , he’s returned to where he belongs. Some thoughts below
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brangan
October 10, 2019
MANK: I knew, I knew, I knew this film would bring you back 😀
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MANK
October 10, 2019
Ha Ha…. , so predictable eh? 🙂
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Rocky
October 11, 2019
MANK- Maza aa gaya , loved you review .
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An Jo
October 11, 2019
a take on war…
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brangan
October 11, 2019
MANK: I wondered about that Hindu/Muslim angle, too — but wasn’t able to decide if Kabir is Hindu? Isn’t the name both Hindu and Muslim? Or is there a scene where we get an idea of his religion?
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sai16vicky
October 11, 2019
On a lighter note, I get a feeling that Siddharth Anand read the following (before going on to make this movie) :).
“Of course, even the worst Vishal Bhardwaj film is going to be a better movie-going experience than the best Siddharth Anand film. Duh”
Don’t miss the comments thread!
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An Jo
October 11, 2019
BR saab: that;s what I commented in my review – I have been extremely kind to this movie…It was heart-breaking to see you and MANK club it onto masala;.a dumb Muslim angle and a scene lifted straight out of DEEWAR doesn’t quite help this movie break into the club..
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MANK
October 11, 2019
Thanks Rocky
An Jo, don’t break your heart buddy. It just a movie.
I felt it was more than just stealing a scene from here and there, i did feel the filmmakers genuinely attempting to integrate the masala elements and being successful at that. This is not a Dhoom film, which is totally superficial. That was the big problem with Dhoom 3 where the masala elements and superficiality of the rest of the movie never mixed. They remained totally separate like oil and water. Here I felt the emotional connection between the protagonists and the masala echoes in both character and narrative arcs . In Dhoom2, in the confrontation between Hrithik and Abhishek and when later Abhishek flips the coin imititating his dad from Sholay, it is just a cool nod, which we laugh at. But here in the first confrontation scene between tiger and Hrithik, when they are comparing their scars- one’s emotional, the other’s physical- , and talking about their past history, it did hit me emotionally. And I felt that emotional impact throughout their cat and mouse game in the film.
Which is why i believe they made it separately from Dhoom series rather than making it as Dhoom4. This story would not work in Dhoom world
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MANK
October 11, 2019
Brangan, I think the character of Kabir is hindu. When I googled it, his name came up as Kabir Luthra. They didn’t want to overtly state this, otherwise, all the reviews would have been about this Hindu Muslim conflict. It may have gone the Kabir Singh way, this time with religion. Even if he isn’t, I think both of them dancing to Jai Jai shivshankar or the fact that saurabh takes the face of Khalid to be the traitor are all a throwback to that masala ethos.
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anon
October 13, 2019
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An Jo
October 13, 2019
@ MANK:
Haven’t broken my heart at all: But sure as hell am upset at how we are not able to differentiate between masala pointers and actual masala. That is what this movie is, it’s just a middle-path between masala and Hollywood-aping. In that single shot for almost 1 minute where Hrithik pulls up Tiger in the Syria scene, Jason Bourne would have shot 27 rounds and escaped a capture scene. But this as per what I think, is both the strength and weakness; it’s a good marriage, not a very succesfull marriage between masala and Hollywood
As I have mentioned in my review, a couple of scenes where Soni Razdan comes up and tells Tiger to distribute food to everyone on the team, and Hrithik stares, doesn’t constitute masala for me; as well as the DEEWAR scene where Khalid is honored..
Still, as I mentioned, I had a blast uptil the last 30 minutes..
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brangan
October 14, 2019
An Jo: All I am saying is that this is the best (so far) combination of our masala universe and the Bond universe. These two tonalities make for a fire/ice combination and the writing does a fine job of tipping a hat to both.
I am not comparing this film to, say, DEEWAR etc.
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MANK
October 14, 2019
An Jo, what Brangan said . And as I said in my review, it’s a satisfying mix. It’s not possible to have a hundred percent successful mix of both. Even Salim Javed couldn’t do it in Shaan., Though they did much better with Don – as again I mentioned, which is perhaps the most successful marriage of the two
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Madan
October 14, 2019
Now that all three masala experts are conversing in the same thread, can I ask what exactly is masala? I have a sort of vague idea of what it is but what exactly are the must haves that make it masala? Which of these films would you classify as masala and which as not and if so why in either case – Baazigar, Darr and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na?
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Madan
October 14, 2019
Also, is the Tamil definition of masala little different? Methinks if one of at least three sentiments is not there in a film, it is not masala – amma sentiment, annan /thambi sentiment or thangachi sentiment? I don’t remember akka sentiment making a star appearance too often.
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Madan
October 14, 2019
Ayyayyo, I left manaivi sentiment. Also very important.
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Anu Warrier
October 19, 2019
Watched War last weekend, and while the second half had too many loopholes (the missile destroying just the ship with no effect whatsoever to the geography around was laughable even then), I enjoyed the ride. I liked the twists and turns; I liked the unexpected twist and while my mind was still raising questions, the action was fast-paced enough for me to overlook them.
Besides, Hrithik on screen, looking like he does (and not a-quivering with emotion) helped a tonne. I’m so glad that two back to back hits has brought him back into the reckoning. I hope there will be more successes in store for him.
Must say I was also pleasantly surprised by Tiger.
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therag
October 22, 2019
@Madan, welcome to the club.
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Apu
October 22, 2019
Watched War last Saturday, and though I loved that I spend the day before my birthday watching two handsome men fight and dance on screen, I wish the film was at least half hour shorter.
Both of them were good with the material they had, and Hrithik had never looked better!
However, the fight and chase sequences were overdrawn and long, and that made the last fight a drag. I liked that one of the fights had a music score around it, it gave the impression of a choreography in motion.
The sound was unusually loud in our hall too, not sure why.
Some things made sense or took on a different meaning after the last twist on the boat:
– Why Tiger did not ask Hrithik when he got a chance “why” he was doing what he was doing, but “whom he was going to kill next”
– Why Tiger wanted to lead the investigation
etc
Also, the meeting between Tiger and Hrithik in the presence of the little girl takes on a menacing undertone.
Some parts were sloppily written. For eg, the way Khalid explains how he got the issue with his vision – it was OTT.
Also, how could Tiger remember his meeting with his mother in the flashback?
Anyway, good attempt, good show of bod and male beauty, but could have been better edited. And could have had a little more humor like the first fight together as a team.
An Jo:Just because a mother comes to the stage to accept an award, does not make it a Deewar scene. Honoring someone after his death has been a repetitive scene in Hindi movies – recently I saw Force 2 that ended in the same note.
Rishikesh:
“Will saurabh do this ( tiger shroff opening sequence), will saurabh do that (shoot out scene)”
– We have to remember (though Khalid is supposedly the next best thing after Kabir) that all of them were trained the same way and have similar qualities to be allowed into the team.
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MANK
October 23, 2019
Madan, it’s a subject that we have discussed and debated several times in many threads. Dont have time to go into it it very deeply. this might help. straight from the master’s mouth
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Madan
October 24, 2019
MANK: Thanks. I have seen that article (and participated in the thread!) before. It isn’t particularly illuminating either. I guess masala is more a ‘feeling’ than a distinct genre? I don’t see Dangal as masala at all, for instance.
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Paras
October 27, 2019
I fully agree with An Jo and Madan. We are, may be, loosely interpreting the term ‘Masala Movie’ as there is no standard definition to what constitutes a ‘Masala Movie’ but until now I thought atleast I broadly knew what it means. However with this glowing reveiw by BR for this crappy movie, I am equally disappointed like An Jo and Madan.
What I thought is the benchmark of a true Masala Movie is the movie Bahubali. This movie is the gold standard of how a movie-maker ought to skilfully garnish masala elements to make the melodrama palatable to larger audience. The best example I feel of this skill is when Katappa introduces the commoner as none other than the Amarendra Bahubali to shell shocked Devasena and her kingdom. The way Katappa delivers the rousing dialogues about the greatness of Amarendra Bahubali while the outer robe burns away to reveal his armour. That was a superb wolf-whistle moment. I can go on and on as the movie had many such moments. Needless to say, Bahubali also had many scenes which will require the viewer to connect dots on his own with very less exposition done in few plot points.
Coming to the movie WAR, I really didn’t find the need to really connect the dots as every scene and plot point was overtly explained. Too much exposition really. And to say this movie was a good Masala Movie is demeaning the entire genre. Just giving an illogical twist at the end implies poor story conceptualization. That was also the problem with the recent Sahoo where few last-minute-twists made the story manipulative and unworthy of being Masala moments. The WAR movie can at best be regarded as the poor cousin of a good Masala movie along the lines of other so called Masala movies like Housefull, Golmaal and Dhoom franchise.
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Madan
October 28, 2019
Paras: Just to be clear, I have not expressed an opinion on War as I haven’t seen it. I just made a roving enquiry about masala as this discussion brought BR, MANK and AnJo together. As for BR, it is always confusing what kind of masala he specifically likes. Which is good in a way because it is supposed to be subjective.
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Voldemort
October 29, 2019
I’ve had this doubt about what exactly constitutes the masala genre as well, its roots, any other country’s cinema which is similar or is it an India specific genre. Could someone do a write up on this?
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Kay
November 29, 2019
Voldemort- IMO I think movies like The Expendables, The A team, etc can be classified under the masala category.
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Kay
November 29, 2019
SPOILER ALERT
Finally caught the movie on Prime. The story is very predictable except for the Saurabh-Khalid twist. Quite a few loose ends like why would the colonel call Naidu when he knows there’s a mole in RAW? Where does Hrithik get the plane which he uses to attack the second guy? Can colonel send 6 agents out of the country (tickets, visa et al) without informing anyone?
Only positive was watching the Hrithik-Tiger body off.
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Saket
December 18, 2019
When I first read this review, I made a mental note of watching War at my leisure, as going to the theatres to watch a YRF film, that too a big-budget actioner, was a big no-no to me. Those bridges have been burnt, beyond repair, by now. And I’m glad it turned out to be the right decision in the end.
If one looks up the definition of a “wannabe” film, War would qualify in a canter. The film’s Hollywood-inspired action scenes are mostly flat and provide little adrenalin rush, if at all. Worse still, some of them just stretch indefinitely – to the point that one just wishes the ordeal were over, one way or another. In the era of Jason Bourne and Casino Royale, can there be a bigger misfit than a Sidharth Anand /YRF attempt at making a slick actioner for the Indian masses?
To be fair to the plot, there is some (much-needed) relevance to the current political climate – the idea of a “Nationalist Muslim” who is tainted by his father’s betrayal, and is out to restore his family’s honour, does hold some water. The only problem being: this exact plot point was used in Chak De India, which ironically released during a different regime. This makes the whole exercise appear a bit cynical. Jog your memories a few decades back, and lo and behold, the same theme permeates the excellent Kaala Pathar, another YRF creation, although it must be said, the standards used to be much higher back then.
I’ve often argued in the past that old-school masala registers need an upgrade – they need to keep up with the times – but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. The usual YRF (read Adi Chopra)/KJo “trademark” bling is all too visible, to the film’s detriment, of course. The cinematography emphasises bright and sunny hues when the story is anything but; the songs are generic and lacklustre – they even managed to make Hrithik, the dancing sensation, look commonplace in Jai Jai Shiv Shankar. Lesser crimes, in the past, have served as clarion calls for life-imprisonment!! Or calls to move to a neighbouring country.
Speaking of Hrithik, going past the obvious homoerotic tones of his character, which may or may not be intentional, I do think there was an opportunity missed. His character is loath to admit Khalid into his team because he killed his father and now fears revenge. Not because Khalid is a Muslim – a more intelligent script would have hinted at his Islamic-weariness, if not outright Islamophobia. That trait alone would have made his character much more interesting, more real, and the payoff would have been immense – Khalid’s innocence and loyalty winning over Kabir’s bigoted mind would have been the masala upgrade of our times. Rakeysh Mehra made this a very convincing and poignant character arc in Rang De Basanti, for reference.
Finally, the question for you, BR, is this: how is it that a film like War ranks high on your Tomatometer but Son Chiriya doesn’t? And I don’t mean that as an accusation – more of a polite enquiry, even if it doesn’t come across that way. The latter is a far superior film in every conceivable way; it carries a pro-feminist agenda in the times of #MeToo, expands on rural India’s brutal caste-divide, and despite the film’s ode to Polanski’s Chinatown, it’s not gimmicky in the least. War, in contrast, is just tired and old – not old as in “old-school” but old as in “putrid.”
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Odiyan Hater
December 28, 2019
What put me off was that the movie looks like every other yashraj movie in many of the scenes – the same lighting, angles, shots etc.
Many scenes looked like they were out of a rom com, like a lazy sunday afternoon, like a 90s doordarshan show, like a rasna ad, like kuch na kaho…
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KayKay
January 5, 2020
Had me mates over, and over 2 bottles of Macallan, chips and tandoori chicken, we enjoyed the heck outta this!
War is quite simply that perfect “booze and bites” actioner, best enjoyed when some fine single malt is starting to course through your veins.
I say, if you’re gonna fuse the over-the-top physics defying stunts of the Fast &Furious flicks with the twisty plot of a Mission Impossible joint, and spice it up with some Bond-ian exotic locales,John Woo style gun ballet (with a wink to his “Face/Off” to boot) and HK cinema- inspired fights, you go all the way!
Rightly understanding that beefcake-driven action has a hefty chunk of “Man Love” powering it, War ramps up the homo eroticism to levels unseen since Val Kilmer invited Tom Cruise to be his “wingman”.
The script rightly avoids giving both it’s leads sustained love interests, because no gal stands a chance amidst the scorching “bromance” sparking between these 2 perfectly sculpted Adonises (I think I counted 16 packs and estimate a combined body fat of 4.5% between the both of them. The pressure to look as good alone would put most women off). I doubt if any of Hrithik’s heroines ever shot him a glance as warm, tender or loving as the one Tiger gives him at the first sight of Kabir alighting from the chopper.
Hrithik’s obviously having a lot more fun here than his normally constipated performances in love stories or period epics.
It’s so over the top, so silly, but so, so, so,so,so fun!
Masala done right! Let’s have more of this.
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An Jo
January 6, 2020
As usual, great comment from Saket and fine observation from KayKay. Glad you had a great time – albeit with able support from rich scotch.Foreign locales; firing scotch!!
My response to Saket’s comment –
Great comment Saket. But I would think you went in with a really different expectation/s.
There’s no doubt this is a Hollywood wannabe; and on that front, it scores. I did find it offensive and do still that BR equates our Hindi-masala to this film; thematically, perhaps yes, but execution-wise, absolutely no-which-way. Just because you have a Muslim ‘maa-scene’ thrown in, doesn’t make it a masala film. Anyway, the corruption of the masala universe began with the Vijay Mallya of the corruptors, Karan Johan, with his version of Agneepath, PAANIPATH. So for his protege to follow the same path, is no surprise.
I found the bike-sequences very well-done: Technically, this is a superior product from the Hindi-film industry: See, when you have stars like HR and TS, it is easy to make these kind of films, but with star-actors like Abhishek, you can’t sell these films: That’s why, AB was a perfect anti-dote to JA and HR in the DHOOM series. That Sanjay Gadhvi messed up in DHOOM 2 getting greedy with HR’s super-stardom and under-playing and making a joke out of Abhishek in D2 is no secret. But look how D1 captured JA versus AB. Movies are richer whenever there’s an even play-off. Why were the senior AB’S face-offs with Vinod, Shatru, Shashi, Manoj, Amjad, Rishi, so successful? Performance-wise, AB is the stamp of DEEWAR, but line-wise, philosophically, SHASHI’s MERE PAAS MA HAIN, will live-on for centuries..
For my part, I quite enjoyed the film; and frankly, the vibe that I got from this film and that made me enjoy it was ANDAR BAHAAR starring Jackie and Anil. Great fun, great time-pass!
And great to see the Bombay brightness captured after Amit’s Rote Hue…nostalgic!
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ravenus1
April 9, 2020
I finally saw War last night on Prime, after a lot of hemming and hawing, and I’m glad I did.
I thought this movie was good fun – probably the first Siddharth Anand movie meriting that description IMO – and better than the equally mindless but tedious Mission Impossible installment. It captures a lightness of tone that has gone missing from the MI series, and the action, even if heavily borrowed (tell me the bike and car chases aren’t paying obeisance to John Woo), is at least expertly executed.
Hrithik looks very relaxed here, not trying hard to be an ‘actor’, and in the process exudes an effortless cool. I love the lower-pitch gravely tone he uses for his lines and the camera is in love with every inch of him.
I was LOLing when two cars supposed to be racing somewhere in the Arctic Circle crash into a full-fledged cathedral with a glass dome. The Pope must have sanctioned a massive budget for converting the Igloo dwellers.
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Kay
January 25, 2023
Will there be a thread opened to discuss Pathaan?
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Sri Prabhuram
April 5, 2023
I’m not surprised that a sequel was announced. I am surprised that they hired AYAN MUKERJI to direct of all people.
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