Mission Istaanbul: Darr Ke Aagey Jeet Hai!

After "Shootout At Lokhandwala", I was expecting another decent outing from the director Apoorva Lakia. Also, that the movie was shot in Istaanbul made me eager as I hadn't seen any other Indian movie that I can recall which had been shot so extensively in Turkey.

But like it often happens I was disappointed for judging a book (in this case movie) by its cover. A movie on a serious issue like terrorism cannot, just cannot start off with 2 songs in the first 15-20 minutes. That for me killed it. Then some stunts that looked more like an advertisement for a Cola company, made you wonder if actors like Zayed have any future in Bollywood. Even Viveik was way over the top. Shriya Saran has been wasted. The only saving grace is the bad guy-Niketan Dheer. He has to be the smartest villain ever seen in an Indian movie.I was actually rooting for the bad guy!!! Avoid this movie about an Indian Journalist (played by Zayed) getting a job in a Turkish news channel (al-Johara) which is a direct mouthpiece or world's most wanted terrorists. And then how Zayed gets entangled in a web of lies and conspiracies.

In recent times we have seen many movies with "A Great Look", "Lavish Stunts" and giving good vibes before the release. And when we see the movie, it seems to be having no soul with only a good body with branded clothes. Its like a Mannequin, stylishly dressed, standing in the show-window but having no soul, no life in it.

That's how we should describe Mission Istaanbul. Few months back, same was the case with "CASH" & "TASHAN". Director Apporva Lakhia has made films which are always good in parts and are shot brilliantly, but they lack in the scripting department.

In MI also there are only stunts shot lavishly and too many action sequences without any base in the script. The movie revolves around a very thin plot line of a News Agency / Channel which is also the headquarters of the Terrorists activities. And one hero goes out to set them straight with the help of another.

The entire star cast acts as they are featuring in a great action trend setter movie, but i bet they themselves must have guessed after the preview that it was all going to be a disaster.

There is simply nothing to talk about or discuss as a reviewer. The film lacks in most of its departments from scripting stage to the acting. Its just a time pass action flick and that too for the smaller centers. At times these kind of movies make you think that how much resources, efforts and hard work goes in vain when the makers come up with such final products having excellent body but with no life in it.

Its time our filmmakers should move ahead and stop wasting resources on mindless action flicks. Mission Istaanbul is a disappointment for the viewers as it had good promos but no content in the final product.

Schedule being completely packed, i finally got Saturday afternoon off and decided to go and see TDK. As soon as i reached the cinema hall, i was told by my friend that TDK was completely sold out so instead he got the tickets of mission istaanbul. I went in half hearted and as the movie went on i started enjoying it a little. The start was good which made the movie fun for a bit. Vivek's role in the first half of the movie was pretty good as they showed him some mystery man kinda character. They were able to build some suspense at the start, but they dropped the ball in the middle only when the movie turned out to be predictable. Fun was lost before the interval. I think they had rushed in a few scenes which wasn't quiet necessary. I wont spoil anything for you if you wanna really see this movie. End was like a typical Hindi movie which was pretty boring and we all have seen ends like these 1000s of times. Overall acting was average, nothing special. Just an extra ordinary movie. Anyways i am sure, by promos only not many of you may develop high hopes for the movie. Overall i would say start was good, but it went boring after a bit. If you like Hindi action movies and like to see single man taking on 100s of enemies then stop reading this review and go watch the movie.

Did Apoorva Lakhia who directed the reasonable 'Shootout at Lokhandwala' really direct this turkey? It's shocking to see a film where almost nothing works. The concept was good - use current world events to make a thriller on international terrorism. Alas, the execution is terrible. The fight scenes are ludicrous (did anyone even try?) and the acting mostly abysmal. Vivek Oberoi maintains a perpetual smirk on his face. It seems all the money was wasted on boring item-numbers. It feels like and is a complete waste of time. A film to be shunned and forgotten.

Overall 1/10

The story revolves around a talented Indian journalist who lands up in Turkey and a commando on the trail of terrorists. Set predominantly in Istanbul at rubbish locations and it's really hard to tell that it is set in another place other than India. The screenplay is bad and it is about 2 hours and it felt like a 3 hour movie but the last 15 minutes saved the whole film. The casting may not have the top actors in the lead roles but they all acted quite well and it has to be Zayed Khan's best role to date, if he works hard then he can do a good job. He acted well after the bad performance in the garbage movies Cash & Speed. Vivek Oberoi has a very different look e.g. long hair and a darker tone which did suit his character. The film is directed by Apoorva Lakhia who also made Ek Ajnabee & Shootout at Lokhandwala, both of them were good but Mission Istanbul could have been better in so many ways. The soundtrack has different kind of songs for everyone. The best songs are Jo Gumshuda which is very romantic and Mission Mission which rocks. It is the first Bollywood film shot in Turkey but it could have been shot in different and better locations instead of the same place over and over again.