I had the pleasure of seeing Kill at its world premier during the Toronto International Film Festival, as part of a Midnight Madness screening. Kill represents an impressive change of pace for Indian cinema. Yes, action movies continue to be a mainstay of the genre, but rarely do Indian films feel welcome along their East and Southeast Asian compatriots. If I could best describe this film, think the sincerity and raw emotion of Indian cinema with the quality choreography of The Raid, Oldboy, or any Tony Jaa film.
The Good:
1. The simple storyline. I don't think I've seen an action movie with as pure and straightforward a storyline like this in a while. It's to the film's benefit, because it better highlights the action and makes the film essentially understandable to any audience member (As long as they aren't squeamish). There's also something about Indian cinema, where the stories don't need to be complex, but the emotions - as displayed - can be, and that more than picks up the slack.
2. The performances. I'm surprised to highlight the performances for an action film, but yes, even the non-action performances are FANTASTIC in this movie. Laksh is great, but Raghav Juyal stole the show for me. He plays one of the most purely evil and detestable, yet impossibly likable villains I've seen in a long time, with INCREDIBLE comic timing and screen presence. In fact...
3. The villains. You'd imagine that a movie about bandits on a train, seemingly motivated by nothing but money, would be one-dimensional red shirts. Kill does the exact opposite, giving these goons a real sense of humanity. I can't recall the last time I've seen villains GRIEVE their fallen brothers like they do in this movie. It almost makes you feel bad for them. There's also a great array of what I like to call sub-bosses (those villains who aren't quite the main guy, but have enough screen time and cool moments to be considered a step below), like the giant Siddhi and the conniving Uncle.
4. The self-awareness. There are several moments in this film, towards the beginning, where I wasn't sure if it was deliberately lampooning Bollywood and its overuse of sentimentality and music. The audience was howling, so I'm going to assume yes, which is awesome. The idea of this movie starting like a typical "boy-loves-girl-but-she-can't-love-him-back" and transforming into this bloodbath was hilarious.
5. The action. How could I have forgotten the best part? Kill gives us some truly claustrophobic, intense, gory, exhilarating action sequences. Not for the faint of heart.
The Bad:
- The first act. While I didn't dislike it overall, I think the first act suffers from some pacing issues that took me out of the film. It sorta gets started from the get go and I tend to prefer films that slowly lead us into the narrative.
I heard this sentiment amongst the audience too, but we all agreed...there is a certain point when it's clear the first act is over where...let's just say, the movie gets CONSIDERABLY better. (Also, *that moment* was accompanied by an absolute ROAR from the crowd).
- Tiluka. I know, I know. The love interest isn't the main part of this movie, and while I found her and our hero's relationship sweet for what it was trying to be, I couldn't help but feel her and him were a bit underwritten.
