Phantom

Rating: 15 strong violence Genre: Drama Action Thriller Directed By: Kabir Khan Run: 2hrs 16 minutes Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Rajesh Tailang The title speaks for itself and so does the tag line! Phantom = Not true - illusory and 'A story you wish were true'. Bollywood does it again... another below average churn out. Based on the book 'Mumbai Avengers' penned by Hussain Zaidi, the response has been surprisingly debatable. Personal interest for me because this was the last Bollywood movie I worked on last summer as a Supporting Artist. I have to say I had more fun working on Phantom than I did watching it! But as usual, I ended upon the cutting floor, not even a view of my shoulder could be seen! But, I had more excitement spotting my fellow thespians than the actual plot of the movie. I won't bore you with details of the plot or synopsis but it's nothing you haven't seen in past from 24, Spooks, James Bond. Mission Impossible or Fury, only Phantom, was lacking in alertness, inactive. Both lead characters had no charisma - it was apparent their heart & soul was not in it. It's hard to comprehend that Kabir Khan released two movies in the space of a month that can be from extreme to another. Bajrangi Bhaijaan gives the message of hope between two international waters, peace and brotherhood and then you have Phantom that just ruins the concept of a novel by making it a predictable cliché. If Phantom does not encourage hatred between two countries I don't know what will. As I said earlier Bollywood churns out movie's like there is no tomorrow. There is no commitment to quality of the end product, from the actors, to the action, to the story line. But, then again that's 95% of Bollywood movies ingredient!! Ms Safirah Irani Twitter@Safirah63

The Director Kabir Khan has done a wonderful job to narrate the movie. The performance of Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif and other co stars have been good. Even though, the director could have done it better if he has kept the flow proper instead of the flashbacks and he could show the father-son relation little more deeply.

The movie starts with a narration about Mumbai attack on 26/11 and the movie shows the approach taken by Indian Govt officials and how politicians managed to avoid it.

This is not a entertainer movie but it will not be a boar as well. The director has tried to involve the realistic situations of terrorism in countries like India, Pakistan and Syria.

As I would say this movie is a must watch for the people who is patriotic.

I was a little apprehensive about watching this given its low rating. Then i checked some of the reviews and decided to give it a go. This is a reasonably good movie. It reminded me of the TV Show 24. Parts of the movie had that type of suspense and kept you on the edge.

Definitely not the best acting or script. Saif doesn't quite fit the role, nor does Katrina. Neither do they do anything to develop a strong character. Some parts are a bit cheesy or predictable. But then again you get the same with Jack Bauer and 24.

Don't trust the low rating. Its much better than that. Perhaps people who didn't like the plot dragged the score down by rating 0s.

This is for sure the best Indian movie ever, everything was Perfect, The way kabir khan present the story we wish was true is commendable, and performances of Katrina Kaif and saif ali khan surely deserves national award, katrina once again proved that she is most underrated actress of bollywood whereas she is most natural actress in bollywood, 1st half was full on action thriller, keeping you on your seats edge but when u think its like a Hollywood thriller and then 2nd half comes as surprise, the pace slows down, you get time to relax, it pours feelings in you slowly, climax will definitely bring tears in your eyes and you will feel patriotic, not a single moment when u loose interest in it, and if saif shines in 1st half, its Katrina kaif who will outshine everyone else in 2nd half, brilliant piece of performances with eye pleasing sequences, plus a total roller coaster ride.

Tackling the easy part of the review first: looking strictly technically, this movie is very well-made. The suspense is gripping, and the thrills keep you on the edge of your seat. I felt my heart beat faster during the climax! The action scenes are awesome as is the cinematography with so many diverse locales captured so aesthetically around the world. The chaos shown in war-torn Syria is very well-depicted. Direction is also on par with some good performances.

The story is very gripping. Films based on books (Mumbai Avengers) are almost always better than those copied off other films (which unfortunately seems to happen a majority of the time in Bollywood). The machinations behind murders, sequence of events surrounding each incident, and the plot in general is very clever. The final two scenes really pull at your heartstrings and are very powerful.

Phantom brings many disturbing truths to the surface. Most shocking to me is the U.S.'s harboring of terrorists within its borders and using refugee camps as an excuse to supply weapons to jihadists. However, honestly, I am not surprised as the U.S. government is known to spread more violence throughout the world than any other country to profit from the business of bloodshed, and I know the American government gave birth to the Taliban during the Cold War in an effort to crush Russia. It's something that makes me ashamed of being an American.

It must be apparent now that I am not an advocate of war, violence, or hatred. I am a Gandhian and fully believe in the fact that "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." Given that, I do not support the path of vigilante "justice" proposed in Phantom. Bloodshed only gives birth to more terrorists, even if the person dying deserves to be killed. I never supported America's "War on Terrorism" (some paradox that is) nor would I support India carrying out something of this sort. The film raises the point, "If America can do it, why can't we?" My answer to that is, "Two wrongs don't make a right."

In conclusion, the movie is very well-made with a great story and plot. You do cheer for the protagonist--after all he is trying to kill the masterminds of the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai--something very painfully close to all of our hearts. How can one not want to see them die? However, putting aside the passion invoked in the heat of the action scenes, I do not support the message delivered--one that promotes hatred, violence, and revenge. We've had enough of such movies going back to the highly provocative Gadar and all the J.P. Dutta films. Through movies like Bajrangi Bhaijaan, we need to build a peaceful world for future generations.