Race 2

I wasn't expecting much from the director duo after "Players." But, since Race was a very good watch, I watched Race 2 and was disappointed.

It starts with fabulous action sequences in great locations and as you try and perceive what it will be all about in the remaining 2 hours, a twist awaits you and the total number of twists we have here is colossal and that is why I gave it 5 stars. It is surely a thriller, I guarantee that. But too much of style and Bollywood punches ruined this broth.

But, as a cinemaholic, I felt the plot was saggy, the performances by the cast wasn't up to the mark. Saif is cool, John is beast and lacks character depth, the lead girls act dumb and try VERY hard to be killers. Anil Kapoor has disappointed me the most with his not-so-witty jokes along with emcee voluptuous Amisha! And it also demands total attention or else, you will lose your way into this maze.

Direction is sweet; the screenplay sucks and the story, which has to be a foundation of such high-octane flicks is feeble, fickle and sometimes even super-fly. Music is like... good - but the songs - film- makers were forced to slide them in.

Race 2 is not a red-lounge-reclining seat movie, but looking at the 2013 releases, it is better than Matru but feebler than Table No. 21.

Bottom Line: Some Race 2 sequences will make you whine and swear, but the rest MAY... I repeat, MAY make you happy. It is a type of movie where different people will have different verdicts. And my verdict is it is a preposterous caper where no only a couple of rich Indians run the town. It is like hue & saturation. You can go for it if you haven't anything to do this three- day weekend! It will entertain you to some extent, but if you are a serious cinema-goer (and critic) and aspire logic, Race 2 cannot be compared with its predecessor or with any action flick for that matter.

Some pivotal plot points have been copied from Nicholas Cage starrer National Treasure & certain Hollywood spy movies.

WATCH OUT FOR: Saif, explosions, ridiculous stunt scenes, numerous plot turns, expected ending, cheesy dialogues and a useless wrestling sequence.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Language: Clean | Sex: No | Foreplay: No | Violence: Strong | Gore: Very Mild | Alcohol: Strong | Nudity: Medium | Smoking: No

Revenge is a dish, best served cold. Abbas-Mustan is back with their patented ingredient of Suspense Thriller(More of thriller this time) & they serve it cold. It is a action-packed entertainer. It is a type of movie where different people will have different opinion. First half is very good with excellently shot chase scene(first of its kind in Bollywood), twist & turns(not like Race), action(fist fight in 2nd half), grey shades characters, glamor and of course countless money. But in 2nd half their is no suspense like Race(2008) with lots of loopholes . Climax Plane scene is not effective as expected. Be ready for RACE 3 as story is left open. Direction is good. Cinematography in awesome. Script is not as tight as expected. Except Ameesha, everyone is perfect in their roles. This time Saif outperform Abraham with mature dialogue delivery. Abraham Both girl looks really stylish & charming. Anil justifies his role completely. Last Word: Go for crazy action & thrill, not for twist & suspense.

"Race" was truly an classy thriller loaded with serpentine twists. A benchmark so high that warranted the makers to surpass if not match. Sadly the franchise clearly is out for the money that can be milked and therefore loses its steam.

For starters instead of taking the linear continuation, the franchise should have been independent in its own right. Too many references to "Race" spoil the proceedings.

Anil Kapoor sadly resorted to gawdy adult jokes. Ameesha Patel, the bimbo secretary was a stocking filler for Sameera Reddy which I am sure nobody cared. Saif reprised his role and look from the first one. Bipasha has a two-minute cameo. Jacqueline & Deepika attempted to fill the void of Katrina and failed miserably. On that note, Jacqueline has the looks and the style to carry it off - sadly lacks in acting department. John Abraham seems to reprising his role from "Dhoom" only this time around steals bits and pieces from "Force" to showcase his chiseled body in the match sequences. Aditya Pancholi is passable.

Pritam has done full justice to the music and is in line with the first "Race". And thats the only saving grace about this sequel.

Race 2 is about a smart hero and a dumb villain and that should have been the end of the story, but it continues. Saif is sleek as a knife and John is dumber than Ameesha 'the dumb girl' (who is supposed to act dumb). The script is plain with little twists, no turns and bad jokes that just fails to follow the trails of Race. Deepika is oozing steam but Jacqueline fails to look hot and vicious at the same time. The action scenes are way over the top, too Bollywood, or just scuffles (in fact, I was more impressed with the actions in the trailer of Commando). Just for a hint, one of the bigger villain says, "TUM BOH CHORI KARNE KI BAAT KAR RAHE HO JO AAJ TAK Hollywood MOVIES MAIN BHI NAHI HUA HAI".

Race 2 is a blunt and pompous movie with a villain made (by the script) and act so dumb that the hero finishes the race without any scratch, with one of the lady (keep guessing) in an 'audi flying with parachutes' out of a chartered plane with everything else falling behind.

Race 2 directed by Abbas-Mustan is a sheer disappointment.

Except for some few exceptional performances and beautiful cinematography,nothing else works.

Clichéd screenplay,lack of surprising twist and turns,addition of unwanted characters,slow-pacing and unwanted songs.

The first half of the movie was a bit interesting,but the second half turns out to be more painful,thanks to the hackneyed writing.

The twists and turns in the second half,is the same twist and turns we saw in its predecessor,Race! Even there are so many songs in the movie.After every 10-15 minutes of some action sequences or some laughable dialogs,there appears song.

Story: Ranvir (Saif Ali Khan) treads through the world of the Indian mafia in Turkey as he looks to avenge the death of his lover and partner in crime.

The direction is terrible.

The writing is half-baked.

The action sequences is average.

The music is fairly okay."Allah Duhai Hai" is the best of all.

The cinematography by Ravi Yadav is excellent.The scenic beauty of Cyprus and Istanbul has been captured very well and is a treat to the eye for the viewer.

Performances:

John Abraham's performance is the best of all.He acts the evil part with perfection.Saif Ali Khan is average.Anil Kapoor is good.

Deepika Padukone looks gorgeous and acts well.Jacqueline Fernandez looks appealing but acts appalling!

Ameesha Patel,Aditya Pancholi,Bipasha Basu and Rajesh Khattar are all wasted.

All in all,Race 2 is bad successor to Race.I am giving it a three on ten.Colossal Disappointment!