MR-9: Do or Die

Of course I opted to sit down and watch "MR-9: Do or Die", as I happened to stumble upon it by random luck here in 2024. It was an action thriller with Frank Grillo and Michael Jai White on the cast list, so of course I sat down to watch it. Sure, I had never heard about the movie before, but that hardly mattered.

The storyline in "MR-9: Do or Die" wasn't exactly interesting or captivating. And it was a constant struggle to maintain interest in the movie, because it made very little sense, and there just wasn't anything overly enjoyable happening throughout the course of the mundane and long 106 minutes that the movie trotted on for.

It was rather impressive that a collective three writers could manage to conjure up something this weak and disappointing. Writers Asif Akbar, Nazim Ud Daula and Abdul Aziz delivered something that felt like something that would happen if you ordered James Bond from Wish.

The acting performances in the movie were, for the most part, rather rigid and devoid of life and emotion, and that made sitting through the movie all the more painful. And I have to say that this movie was definitely not the finest moments in the careers of Frank Grillo and Michael Jai White, the only two familiar faces on the cast list. Grillo and White were like fish out of water in this movie. Leading actor Abm Sumon, playing MR-9 Masud Rana, was not a particularly good actor, and that sort of shunted the movie.

The music in the movie was so over-dramatic that is quickly became a nuisance to listen to. And I really wish that I had the option to turn off the music, because it was seriously ruining the movie.

The blood effects from the gunshots was just laughably bad to look at. No one buys into those God awful sprays of red CGI mist as being blood from gunshot wounds. It just looking atrocious and gave a low budget and amateurish atmosphere to the movie.

"MR-9: Do or Die" is definitely not a movie that I would recommend you waste 106 minutes of your life on watching. Some of us suffered through it and took one for the team, so you don't have to; you're quite welcome. Nor is it a movie that will ever find its way back to my screen a second time, as it was difficult enough to sit through it the first time.

My rating of director Asif Akbar's 2023 action thriller "MR-9: Do or Die" lands on a very, very generous three out of ten stars.

Utter Disaster!!!

A miserable attempt at copying Hollywood. Everything from acting to direction to editing was disgusting.

If you want to show yourself off as James Bond on the big screens, please learn how to hold a gun first. And that applies to almost all characters of the film. Even seasoned actors like Frank Grillo and Michael Jai White looked like a fool at times. This goes to show that it was due to some horrible direction / editing.

Did you enjoy seeing the technologies straight out of the 1960s movies, like the rolling sky background when they jumped out of the aircraft, or the fake looking gears that were provided to MR-9 when he started the mission?

Rest in peace, Kazi Anowar Hossain, glad you didn't have to watch this.

A very poor work. I don't know who appointed the director to direct a film of this legendary character. Masud Rana never looked like a secret agent in the film. His movement, expression, dialogue delivery everything looked like nothing more than a Bodyguard. Story was also very weak. Acting was immature by most of the actors. Very poorly executed film as per the production house claims the budget. There was no climax in the whole movie. A secret agent's film should have been more intense. No way the film met the standard of the original character of the book. If same director directs the second part, then that will be a disaster like this one.

Disappointed!!!

Where do I even begin with MR9: Do or Die? This movie is a prime example of everything that can go horribly wrong in film making. From the brick faced acting to the childish scripts, this cinematic disaster is a painful experience that should be avoided at all costs.

Let's start with the plot-or lack thereof. It's as if the writers threw a bunch of random ideas into a hat, pulled them out one by one, and decided to mash them together into a supposed "story." The result is a convoluted mess that leaves the audience scratching their heads in confusion.

The acting is a whole other level of awful. It's almost impressive how consistently terrible the performances are across the board. The lead actor delivers lines with all the emotion of a cardboard cutout, and the supporting cast doesn't fare any better. It's clear that acting lessons were nowhere to be found during the production of this train wreck.

And let's not forget the cringe-worthy dialogue that plagues every scene. It's as if the script writer was a student of primary school, learning new English from 10 minutes school.

The special effects are equally atrocious. The CGI looks like it was done by a first-year graphic design student who just discovered Photoshop. The "spilling blood" effects were so poorly executed that doesn't seem near to be realistic and the "gun shots" are so poorly executed that they border on comical.

Even the soundtrack seems to be in on the joke, as it switches between inappropriate genres with reckless abandon. One moment, we're subjected to a dramatic orchestral score during a supposedly intense action scene, and the next, we're treated to a jaunty polka tune during a somber moment. It's like the filmmakers took a random playlist and hit shuffle.

In conclusion, MR9: Do or Die is an absolute disaster from start to finish. It's a painful reminder that not every idea deserves to be turned into a movie, and not every movie should see the light of day. Save yourself the agony and stay far, far away from this cinematic catastrophe. Your brain cells will thank you.

This is one of the worst movies I have ever watched. Right from the storyline to action sequences, from acting to cinematography, there is not a single aspect of this movie that had anything positive about it. Most action set pieces looked like they have picked some random people with big bodies from street, handed them some fake firearms and asked them to play tag. The production value is extremely poor and resembles that of the Kanti Shah movies. Let alone the Bollywood spy movies of the Jitendra era, this could not even match the semi B-grade spy movies of Mithun.

If only stuck to the original storyline this could have been a much more compelling movie. Kabir Khan, was an iconic villain in the Masud Rana universe. They reduced him to a caricature at best.

Please save yourself from headache and avoid watching this movie.