devil.plaything

The problem with the Hollywood studio system is that movies are so tightly bound to the initial script, and very little on-set creativity is allowed. Sometimes this is ok, but usually it's placing far too much trust in the scriptwriter - trust that few scriptwriters deserve, from experience. The Scorpion King is a good example of this - a movie that is in many respects well made, but shackled by a lame cheesy script. But hey, it's a Hollywood action movie... if you go in expecting anything else then you're only suckering yourself.

The flaws in the script are numerous, but best represented by the pointless inclusion of an annoying comedy sidekick and a cute street urchin. These feel like rejects from a Disney movie, and really had no place in this film. Maybe they're what got the movie its PG-13 rating, which I think was actually a poor decision. Scorpion King is a very violent film - people are slaughtered in the hundreds, and 90% of the killings are executed by the good guys. True, you may not see any blood, but the cabbage slicing sound effects fill the role just as well.

But violence is rather unavoidable in an action movie, which is what the movie primarily is. And the action is actually very good by Hollywood standards. The influence of Hong Kong choreography and camerawork is clearly felt, though the action is still dominated by American big muscles and testosterone in the end. Well staged and filmed though, and quite satisfying.

The movie also scores well on production values - the costumes and sets are all very evocative of the time and place in which the movie is set (though some of the CGI used to create certain scenes could have been better). It's a good looking movie, and not just the scenes with Kelly Hu.

Overall verdict, not one to watch over and over, but a pretty good popcorn experience.

I've really enjoyed all the movies I've seen from the Dogme movement, and Mifune is no exception. Stripped down of all the special effects and glitz and glamour that has subverted the movie business in Hollywood, the film makers who adhere to the Dogme principles are able to focus on those elements that really make a film worth watching and memorable - good characters, good acting, good dialogue, tight editing.

All it takes is a small cast and crew and minimal technology to add these things to a movie, and create a work of art that stands unique and challenging. So why is it that George Lucas with his billions of dollars and millions of special effects technicians can't manage to get these fundamental elements right? (To pick one recent prominent example of Hollywood squandering time, money and talent).

Thank goodness there are still places in the world where the cynical marketing dollar doesn't control all, and real movies can still be made!

The back of the DVD case claims that Sarfarosh is the first Hindi movie to take a look at some of the real reasons behind terrorism and insurgency in India. This seems like a fairly radical claim that I doubt they could really defend even though my knowledge of Hindi cinema is still far from complete. DIL SE seemed like a pretty honest examination of the subject to me, and that was several years earlier. I don't want to hold the claims on the DVD case against the movie though, as SARFAROSH is certainly an interesting take on the subject.

Ajay Singh's brother is killed and his father brain damaged by terrorists when Ajay is a small boy, because his father was going to stand up against them in court or something. Ajay takes this to heart (as you would), and as a young adult he devotes himself to becoming a police inspector and fighting against crime, and terrorists in particular. The movie is essentially about one case, where Ajay has to get to the roots of an operation smuggling guns into the country. The operation is backed by a Pakistani general, with the rationale that arming criminals in India is a cheap but effective way of waging war. The movie does push a fairly unbalanced "Pakistan aggressors, India = victims" message, though it is very careful/keen not to equate this with Muslim vs Hindu and turn it into a religious issue.

The movie is fairly serious throughout - although there is a romantic interest (the lovely Sonali Bendre), it's not overplayed and does serve a useful function by building the character of Ajay and putting the case in the context of his life. For the most part though, the movie is focussed on the investigation and the encounters between the police and the criminals as they trace the criminal network closer to its roots. It's quite an action packed movie, and features some of the best action scenes I've seen in an Indian movie. No bullet ballet or kung fu, but quite realistic fights and shootouts that are never-the-less very well choreographed and filmed. The movie bears an 18 rating, because the action does get quite violent. A lot of people die in the course of the movie, and a few of them in quite gruesome ways. One thing I've noticed in quite a lot of Asian movies is that police violence is treated quite sympathetically - even as quite noble. The cops in Sarfarosh don't mess around - if threatening, beating or framing a criminal is the best way to get a result then they don't hesitate to do so. If a criminal happens to get killed in the course of an operation then they don't seem terribly upset either, unless it was somebody they wanted to interrogate .

Ajay Singh is played by Aamir Khan, an actor I haven't come across before. He's not a pretty boy by any means, but he does a very good job with the character. It's a good character too - well developed and believable, honorable without being sanctimonius. The rest of the cast all do a good job too, although Sonali Bendre doesn't have a lot to do except look pretty and dance around in the musical numbers.

The script for the movie is very tight, with both the criminals and the cops operations and motivations seeming quite convincing. The movie does veer a little towards preaching in places, especially towards the end, but this is forgivable. The direction is very confident and focussed, and sound and cinematography throughout are good throughout.

All round, a good movie worth seeking out.