There are a few ingredients in average run-of-the-mill thrillers that are pretty much indispensable. And “Speed” is missing those crucial elements. A main hero who oozes style - sorry, two who don’t ooze style won’t do. Same goes for the villain. Then you need the one-liners - you might roll your eyes when they are said, but you have to agree a thriller is incomplete without them. And most importantly - an engaging plot! See, it’s an average thriller, so we know you are not going to shatter the earth into a zillion pieces. But, at least try to make the ride worthwhile for us - or else we will…we will…call it “below average” .
Again, you are not expecting out-of-this-world performances. Just enough to take you through the story. And that the not-so-stellar cast accomplishes. We could have done with a little less excited Zayed Khan, though. And why on earth was Aftab Shivdasani sporting the Mahendra Dhoni look? It is amazing how Aftab can wear the same expression, no matter who he is made to look like. Am not sure whether I can completely blame the actors for the lack of style completely. I have heard the lamest dialogues in those couple of hours I spend watching the movie. How stylistically can you deliver lousy lines after all?
The plot tries to strike a balance between two main threads, at least two mini-threads, 4 actors and their ladies. That’s a whole lot, and thus the loss of focus and mismanagement of pace is not really a surprise. I really didn’t like the way the motivation of the villains unfolds for us. Too little, too late.
What I did like though, are the action sequences saved for Zayed Khan. They are very-well choreographed and executed.
The songs are dull too - lyrics, music, picturization, choreography, et al. Particularly bad is the one which is supposedly a love scene. People, decide - either be bold enough to show a couple actually making love, or skip it! You are fooling no one by using silly editing techniques to imply that the twosome is actually doing anything.
Another director going from bad to worse. Another movie with actors continuing to do what they do in every other movie. Another story that needed at least another year’s worth of work. Another few songs that the cine-goer could have survived without. Another wannabe entertainer released this Friday.
Rating: Switch channels if it’s on cable!
Rating Scale (best to worst):
• Must see - on the big screen
• Watch for sure, preferably in theatre
• Wait for video release
• Watch if you have nothing better to do
• Switch channels if it’s on cable!
Click on next page to read the details meetu scribbled while watching the movie - this may include spoilers