BANG BANG - MOVIE REVIEW

Let this be said that the release of Bang Bang alongside Haider has seriously dampened the chances of a marvellous film to perform well. Mediocrity is here to prevail, yet again. And not very frequently is the word mediocre associated with a Hrithik Roshan film. But Bang Bang is a sheer waste of time and money. (Both on the account of the producer and the audience)

Flagging off as an official remake of the Hollywood Blockbuster Knight and Day, Bang Bang does not even match up or come close to be at least at par with the former, let alone be better.

The borefest that it turned out to be highlights the fact that the film makers CANNOT package something brilliantly whilst having a below average product at their disposal. Yes it might sell initially in the market but the recall value and the brand equity go for a toss.

The cinematography is extremely shabby. The shot takings are amateurish. Bang Bang has some of the most granulated and pixelated landscape shots of picturesque locations you'll ever see in a film! And for some reason or rhyme, there are far too many close up shots and they are pretty long shots as well.

Yes both the lead actors are stupendously good looking but it doesn’t mean the camera can stick on their faces for its own merry time. It felt claustrophobic after a point of time due to the tight shots (I was least interested in counting Katrina’s teeth; let alone counting Hrithik’s nasal hair) despite there being ample scope and opportunity to explore the wide angle shots which would have not only given a more relaxed look to the film but also a better canvas to lay the shots on.  

Bang Bang has some of the worst stock shots (majority of them being of a sleeping Katrina Kaif) that have been used for continuity purposes. Promoted as a slick action film, Bang Bang is excruciatingly long at a run time of over 155 minutes, and out of those 155+ minutes, more than 30 are spent just to set up a backdrop for the adapted screenplay to make the movie suitable for Indian audiences!

It is high time that our filmmakers realize that BHAI BHAI KA PYAR and stupidly arranged, Television-isqe family drama emotions no longer bring a lump in the throat. On a lighter note, Bang Bang looks like an updated IPhone model; it promises a lot but does not have genuinely much to offer from what is already available.

Time and again we have studied in our Marketing lectures that in-film advertising is a great option for the companies, it increases brand visibility et al. but from an audience point of view, it turns out to be the most horrible thing to bear. So in Bang Bang you have granulated stock shots of snow covered Shimla landscape where in a MACROMAN hoarding stands tall. Mountain Dew, Pizza Hut (Try the Pan Pizza sir, suggests the waiter), Jhonson Tiles etc etc.

If you are able to ignore all of the stuff mentioned above, steady yourself to witness Katrina Kaif’s rubbish performance. Playing the character of a regular bank employee (Katrina insists it’s a B-A-N-Q-U-E) who is forcibly made to realize that she has to find a lover because she doesn’t have one; her Dadi insists that she finds her true love, Modernization folks! She single handedly brings down the entire energy level that the film acquires rather rarely with much ease! So what if she looks beautiful, Bang Bang isn’t 150 minutes of a ramp walk!

Siddharth Anand (directed forgetful films like Ta Ra Rum Pum, Anjana-Anjani, Bachna-e-Haseeno) clearly lacks vision while adapting a film based on such a huge canvas. As a result, the characters (except Hrithik’s) have no graph. They just appear and disappear conveniently.

The scenes are not engaging. Sample the scene when an opening shot in Shimla appears, devoid of snow, brightly lit by sun rays and in the immediately followed outdoor scene, with about an hour into the movie’s timeline, Shimla is shown covered in snow! 

Another way in which the director could have judiciously used the run time was to develop on Hrithik’s character apart from that borrowed from Knight and Day. (Probably show how Roshan gets away with everything with exemplary ease!)

Another technical department which disallows the film from delivering the desired impact is the shabby editing. Scenes stretch, jump cuts are plenty and overall it is not a neatly packaged product.

Coming to the genuine good points about the film, the action sequences are just MIND BLOWING.

Hrithik probably performed lesser stunts in Krrish! Give it up for the wonderfully executed chase sequences and death defying stunts.

The film definitely manages to deliver Goosebumps while the action unfolds, be it the Seaplane scene, jumping from the rooftops in Shimla or riding a F1 car on the streets of Dubai. Such sequences are never seen before in BOLLYWOOD.

The action sequences serve as a real boost to the screenplay and lift it up from its shabbiness.

For any reason that this film can be watched is HRITHIK ROSHAN. He owns this film like a boss. He performs all the stunts like a pro, makes them look extremely believable and shines in the role of Rajveer Nanda.

He dances like a dream, looks like an artistic creation and makes jaw drop rather frequently. It would be fair to say that he sleepwalked through the film but delivered exactly what was sought from him. It is only by the end you realize that Bang Bang as a film does injustice to Roshan’s talent, who, visibly has given more than a 100% to this film. He is the only one who looks at ease with all the mess that’s been happening around and YES IT IS DIFFICULT to look away when he is performing.

The tribute to MJ was special.

Music helps this film a lot as the songs included are hummable and never dampen the pace of the film. Vishal-Shekhar deliver an album filled with their signature tunes and do a lot of good in terms of adding slick to the otherwise shabby film.

I had huge expectations from Bang Bang. They are shattered. My worst fear of Hrithik Roshan delving into the zone of the big-bad-budgeted commercial arena of films has come true. I hope it is a one off film.

Yes this film will earn crores of currency but that does not make it an inherently well made film. There are flaws, far too many. There are loopholes, glaringly evident. But then there is Hrithik Roshan, the single reason to bear 150 minutes of BANG BANG.

**2 STARS**