Elaan

I too thought Elaan was interesting, although the musical songs didn't particularly stand out. The cast were all good-looking -- Arjun Rampal, John Abraham, Lara Dutta, Amisha Patel, and even Rahul Khanna were all nice to look at. As far as the action scenes, some of the stuff was interesting in a "Sword of Gideon" type of way, but it was all over-the-top in a way that's typical of all Indian movies. It was nice to see some of India's best bodies and faces altogether in a scenic European backdrop. Even the mobster guy projected a unique malevolence. I think that a lot of Indian critics typically base their praise or criticism of any movie based on how politically correct it is. If it has any type of politically serious tone to it (eg. anti-terrorism) instead of the usual frivolous fantasy fluff, then there are a lot of left-wing writers who'll pounce to make any nitpick they can. So I'd say it's an entertaining over-the-top action thriller, but don't try to bash it by comparing it to Shakespeare.

While, to an extent, I do believe from reading the comments of other reviewers that the movie lacked a good storyline, and the characters are somewhat unbelievable, I liked this movie for amazing acting, despite the character flaws; I liked it because the tactics used in the movie are amazingly realistic and for the most part, practical. Sure, movies are often exaggerated and this one is no exception, some are exaggerated beyond the realms of acceptable beliefs of reality. This, however, is just within the confines of it. I enjoyed the movie and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys tactical warfare...to the smaller scale. Hope it helped!

Fortunately, I haven't seen any of the other movies that many reviewers state have had bits copied from them in Elaan. So, I didn't think this was a bad film. The multiple location approach made for great scenery (although I had to laugh when they gave the impression that Venice and the Swiss Alps are around the corner from each other) and gave a bit of a 007 air to the story.

What drew me to the movie was the cast. I hadn't seen much of their earlier work, so this was a good chance to see what they could do. Rahul Khanna holds his own as does Arjun Rampal, so hopefully this will lead to more films for both of them. Amisha Patel and Lara Dutta are good enough. It's not their faults if some of their dialog is lame. John Abraham is good at being angry, fighting, and looking sexy in songs, but other than that, he's not believable. Even his voice seemed monotone at times as if he was just reading the lines in the playback. It's really Mithun Chakraborthy who is the star of this film. He nailed his role as the bad guy by showing that fear can be generated without shouting at people all the time. I really believed his character's evil mind. Thank goodness they didn't make him sing and dance...

I just saw this movie on weekend and loved every bit of it !! i don't know whether its going to be a hit commercially but it was fun action packed ride. very few Indian films match upto the technical quality shown in this film, it is heavily inspired by classics like shaan and sholay but the subject of catching a terrorist is treated differently and effectively, critics said the film lacks in content but it was never meant to be a dramatic fare. it lives upto the best in the genre of action thrillers. after "dhoom" this is the best Indian action film. performances were good and good to see mithun back on the big screen after a long time. if u like action movies you will love this one.

8 out of 10.

I hate to downplay a movie specially when the Filmamakers spend enormous amount of money on a foreign location but when they come up with a jalopy action film-it is well deserved. First and foremost is the music or lack of it specially the background music. The Story is as stagnant as the waters of Venice(It appears that Venice has only two cars and both are used by Baba Secunder). The two actors who cannot emote are Lara Dutta and Arjun Rampal and the two who can are Amisha Patel and John Abraham-and the one who really did some acting was Rahul Khanna. As far as Amisha Patel-this square jawed actress with ears as big as Himachal Pradesh looks cute in Anna Singh designed clothes but she has peaked in her acting with "Gadar" and looks with "Humraaz". As far as John Abraham-a good actor under state of confusion.Mithun Chakraborty--fits the bill as a Hindi Villain, since he is tall,dark,has long sideburns (or freshly painted)), and his voice comes across as strong and mean for ransom demands on Board room speaker phones!. I can't fathom a director in the caliber of Vikram Bhatt (Raaz) directing this "junk Bond" film. The song breaks and the "personal narration" that breaks into a song interludes are the only break from the monotony of endless gunfire when the ammo runs out a lifeless character is doneaway. The movie has nothing to offer in the way of entertainment or action-a disappointment coming from Vikram Bhatt.