simian_ninja
Joined May 2005
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simian_ninja's rating
Reviews10
simian_ninja's rating
An entertaining enough film that cannot make up it's mind what it wants to be.
First off, the music - as a key ingredient in Bollywood cinema, there is nothing that is too memorable about the soundtrack of 'Don 2'. There is one particular sequence that is supposed to remind the audience of the 2006 remake but doesn't come close to that film's "Main Hoon Don".
One of the biggest peeves I have about this film is the writing, for a professional film that is trying to distance itself away from the usual Bollywood standard and emulate Hollywood - simply falls flat due to twists and turns that are not exciting in any way or form. I cannot say much without revealing spoilers but jaw dropping moments simply become "Meh" shrugging moments.
The direction & cinematography are worthwhile and show the skills of Faran Ahktar (who is probably one of my favorite Bollywood directors) and Jason West. What helps the film work is that the locations aren't simply there to say "Oh look where we are" but work strongly to become apart of the film itself.
The acting. Not a lot to go on this one. Shahrukh sleep walks his way through this one with a confidence that I have yet to see matched by any other actor. He is Don. And it is easy to fall for his charm - you want this Don to win - Vijay is nothing more than a mere distant memory. Priyanka Chopra looks amazing but she's not given enough meat to chew on. Wasted potential. Unfortunately Boman Irani and Om Puri seem like they were a part of the film for a paycheck. It's a shame because both of them are on my favorite actors list.
All in all, Don suffers from not knowing what it wants to be yet carries with it a confidence that knows that people are going to watch it (and of course they would). The film could have been a marathon but doesn't go the mile - I wanted to like it but it simply is not engaging as the first one. Also, the creators are sitting on a Goldmine of ideas - it's a shame that they took an easy way out.
First off, the music - as a key ingredient in Bollywood cinema, there is nothing that is too memorable about the soundtrack of 'Don 2'. There is one particular sequence that is supposed to remind the audience of the 2006 remake but doesn't come close to that film's "Main Hoon Don".
One of the biggest peeves I have about this film is the writing, for a professional film that is trying to distance itself away from the usual Bollywood standard and emulate Hollywood - simply falls flat due to twists and turns that are not exciting in any way or form. I cannot say much without revealing spoilers but jaw dropping moments simply become "Meh" shrugging moments.
The direction & cinematography are worthwhile and show the skills of Faran Ahktar (who is probably one of my favorite Bollywood directors) and Jason West. What helps the film work is that the locations aren't simply there to say "Oh look where we are" but work strongly to become apart of the film itself.
The acting. Not a lot to go on this one. Shahrukh sleep walks his way through this one with a confidence that I have yet to see matched by any other actor. He is Don. And it is easy to fall for his charm - you want this Don to win - Vijay is nothing more than a mere distant memory. Priyanka Chopra looks amazing but she's not given enough meat to chew on. Wasted potential. Unfortunately Boman Irani and Om Puri seem like they were a part of the film for a paycheck. It's a shame because both of them are on my favorite actors list.
All in all, Don suffers from not knowing what it wants to be yet carries with it a confidence that knows that people are going to watch it (and of course they would). The film could have been a marathon but doesn't go the mile - I wanted to like it but it simply is not engaging as the first one. Also, the creators are sitting on a Goldmine of ideas - it's a shame that they took an easy way out.
Just watched the film and I have to say overall this entire film felt like it was Mystic River lite. Like it really wanted to have a riveting twist with an incredibly emotionally moving story but didn't understand how to go along with it.
Acting wise, the only person that seemed to show any emotion was Katie Holmes who was seemingly doing her best to show people that she is not "Mrs. Tom Cruise" and that she did do something called acting before Scientology took over her life. Pacino and Liotta are wasted in what should have been a dynamite combination. The only saving grace in Pacino's performance is that this is possibly the first film I've seen of his in a while where his voice doesn't rage for no reason, it's calm, collected and somewhat nuanced. Channing Tatum works well with what he's given, which is to remain stoic and internal. Tracy Morgan is not quite the revelation that he should be but given time he could possibly develop into a competent dramatic actor.
The music literally falls flat on its face and is overused. A constant repetitive structure that literally begs the audience to notice how serious the tone of it is. Strange to think that it took two composers to come up with it.
Story wise, the film works alright at best. Concerning a cop who receives letters about two unsolved murders some 16 years earlier. As mentioned before, the film wants to emotionally moving and mysteriously engaging but as a viewer there is a sense that the director knew what he wanted to do but not how to execute it. A couple of re-writers and another director might have saved this film.
Overall, not that bad - but not that good considering the film somehow boasts the talent of Pacino, Liotta and Juliette Binoche. 6/10 at best, something worth catching on TV but nothing to run to the video store for.
Acting wise, the only person that seemed to show any emotion was Katie Holmes who was seemingly doing her best to show people that she is not "Mrs. Tom Cruise" and that she did do something called acting before Scientology took over her life. Pacino and Liotta are wasted in what should have been a dynamite combination. The only saving grace in Pacino's performance is that this is possibly the first film I've seen of his in a while where his voice doesn't rage for no reason, it's calm, collected and somewhat nuanced. Channing Tatum works well with what he's given, which is to remain stoic and internal. Tracy Morgan is not quite the revelation that he should be but given time he could possibly develop into a competent dramatic actor.
The music literally falls flat on its face and is overused. A constant repetitive structure that literally begs the audience to notice how serious the tone of it is. Strange to think that it took two composers to come up with it.
Story wise, the film works alright at best. Concerning a cop who receives letters about two unsolved murders some 16 years earlier. As mentioned before, the film wants to emotionally moving and mysteriously engaging but as a viewer there is a sense that the director knew what he wanted to do but not how to execute it. A couple of re-writers and another director might have saved this film.
Overall, not that bad - but not that good considering the film somehow boasts the talent of Pacino, Liotta and Juliette Binoche. 6/10 at best, something worth catching on TV but nothing to run to the video store for.
If familiar with the source material of Scarface, it's pretty hard to understand where exactly Yash Johar and Mukul Anand saw Tony Montana as a tragic hero. Agneepath stands well on it's own but it's inspiration shows direct laziness on account of the filmmakers - they had the story there and could have worked with it without having to include anything to do with Scarface. Once again, this leads to a film that could have been but is shamefully a wannabe.
Acting wise, Amitabh Bachchan steals the film as "Vijay" - a child who grows up to be a gangster seeking to redeem himself in the eyes of his mother. The film's major let down is his co-hort played by Mithun Chakraborty, who gives one of the most insulting stereotypical roles captured on film that is downright infuriating because of his constant smile and jumpiness - one wonders who the hell wrote such a character into a gangster film - regardless if a comic was needed or not. Danny Dezponga (sp?) plays a stereotypical villain by the numbers and doesn't really add anything.
The dialog is the film's key strength, apparently derived from a poem "Agneepath" written by Amitbah's father - the film desperately tries to showcase a man's journey from evil to good. One of the best moments is an injured Vijay carrying his mother to their former home at the end. Perhaps it was the sub-title translation, either way, what was being said and how it was said added buoys to a sinking ship.
Once again, I honestly feel that the producers and writers had a good story with a child's journey into evil and redemption as an adult. They don't need to show the child's journey but they need to in order to showcase why the individual is such as an adult. That is fine, but the lifting of certain scenes and themes from Scarface degrades what could have been a fine film on it's own.
6/10.
Acting wise, Amitabh Bachchan steals the film as "Vijay" - a child who grows up to be a gangster seeking to redeem himself in the eyes of his mother. The film's major let down is his co-hort played by Mithun Chakraborty, who gives one of the most insulting stereotypical roles captured on film that is downright infuriating because of his constant smile and jumpiness - one wonders who the hell wrote such a character into a gangster film - regardless if a comic was needed or not. Danny Dezponga (sp?) plays a stereotypical villain by the numbers and doesn't really add anything.
The dialog is the film's key strength, apparently derived from a poem "Agneepath" written by Amitbah's father - the film desperately tries to showcase a man's journey from evil to good. One of the best moments is an injured Vijay carrying his mother to their former home at the end. Perhaps it was the sub-title translation, either way, what was being said and how it was said added buoys to a sinking ship.
Once again, I honestly feel that the producers and writers had a good story with a child's journey into evil and redemption as an adult. They don't need to show the child's journey but they need to in order to showcase why the individual is such as an adult. That is fine, but the lifting of certain scenes and themes from Scarface degrades what could have been a fine film on it's own.
6/10.