Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara review

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif, Kalki Koechlin
Directed by Zoya Akhtar
Rating: ***


Films dealing with life-altering epiphanies are always shot in stunning locations. And Hindi films dealing with the same, need a stunning cast as well. A possible rationale: beautiful places relieve stress and bring things into perspective. And beautiful people experiencing divine realizations can hold your perspective on the screen, often resulting in a 'ka-ching' sound at the box office. 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' (ZNMD) is one such film.
In true 'Hangover' meets Vikas-Krishna-Barcelona spirit, the film deals with a bachelor adventure marinated with stories of finding, losing and forgetting love. Kabir (Abhay Deol), an affluent construction tycoon is about to take the marital plunge. But not before he completes a much-postponed trip with school buddies, investment banker (and constantly grumpy) Arjun (Hrithik Roshan) and freestyle flirt Imraan (Farhan Akhtar).
So, the boys with biceps shoot off to Spain, a land where sunny means a summery glow and not sweaty and stinky, much like an AC studio in Mahalaxmi. Now, the deal is that each would pick a secret adventure sport and the others would have to join him at it.
The problem arises when Kabir's fiancé, poisonously possessive Natasha (Kalki Koechlin) lands up in Spain suspecting a wild orgy (don't get your hopes up, there aren't any). Soon, Kabir takes over as grumpy and Arjun finds hope underwater, as spunky skiing instructor Laila (Katrina Kaif) shows him corals and also offers morals like 'seize the day' and 'live in the moment for you could die tomorrow'. These prophetic pearls of wisdom (from the rough draft of Guzaarish 2?) pierce through Kabir and he realizes how he cherishes things besides money. On Arjun's exaggerated revelations, Imraan remarks, "Ek hi dubki mein zindagi ke saarein raaz khul gaye? Tujhe toh underwater hi rehna chahiye." But then Imraan only spends his screen presence saying and doing things that would be considered unacceptable or just down-right silly in adult society.
The film isn't as simplistic as it seems and each character has a back story and internal conflicts that surface intermittently between thrill-seeking stunts, sugary love, drunk talking and some seriously childish pranks. What is aesthetic in this film apart from the charming Spanish countryside is that scenes which would usually be served with heightened melodrama are quite well contained and subtle, yet convey the emotion.
The music is hummable but the choreography usually finds Abay Deol playing the part of 'Senorita'. Farhan's comic timing is immaculate but his shayari is cocaine-infused and like a soft murmuring background score it could lull you to sleep. Kalki is deliciously annoying as her character required her to be and Katrina's performance doesn't make or break this film. The film's overall humour quotient is not very high and is mostly situational and there are usually more people laughing on the screen than in the audience.
In a tasteful manner, ZNMD has managed to do for Spain, what 'Dil Chahta Hai' did for Goa, beautifully selling the beaches, babes, tomatoes, tortillas and thrilling adventure sports. Spaniards should only be cautious that this tourism AV doesn't do to their country what the malls did to the mills of Lower Parel. Do I hear McTacos?

Green Lantern (2011) Reviews

It's not easy being green, according to Kermit the Frog, and it's not easy watching a green movie either, let me tell you. Green Lantern throws a bucketload of icy cold, moldy green-colored water on the summer blockbusters of 2011, completely failing to find the fun of telling a Green Lantern origin story. Oh, it tries. Ryan Reynolds occasionally gets to show a little spark and get in a witty turn of phrase, but ultimately Green Lantern just barely makes it into the 'okay' category and is certainly nothing for the summer's other superhero/action/sci-fi/comedies to turn green with envy over.

There are a couple of decent action sequences, but to get to them you have to sit through dialogue and exposition that not too far into the film becomes just a sea of white noise. Green Lantern Corps, will, fear, rings, Parallax, yellow, guardians, blah, blah, blah... This tale of a dying alien's gift of a powerful ring to a human being is just boring.

The Story

When Hal Jordan (Reynolds) was just a kid he watched the father he idolized die a horrible, fiery death. Still, Hal chose to follow in his test pilot father's footsteps and is now a cocky hot-shot pilot who takes chances in the air when not sharing his bed with a bevy of women. Hal works for his childhood friend's company, although after a stunt in which he nearly loses the company a major contract his employment situation is put in jeopardy. It's only through the unwavering support of Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), daughter of the founder of the company and one of the firm's executives, that Hal continues to draw a paycheck.
Hal's an irresponsible cad who once had a fling with Carol (who still apparently thinks he's the cat's meow). But for some reason he's the one human on the planet who's capable of joining an elite group of intergalactic protectors known as the Green Lantern Corps. Green Lantern Corps member Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison) was fatally wounded in a battle with a floating, pulsing mass of evil energy known as Parallax (voiced by Clancy Brown). Parallax, it should be said now because we wouldn't want to leave out this important plot point, feeds on fear which manifests itself as the color yellow.
Anyway, Abin Sur crash lands on Earth. There, he sends his Green Lantern Corps ring out to find a human worthy of joining the Corps. The ring picks Hal, even though he of course will have to go through a period of feeling totally unworthy of the job. But once he does decide to chant the magical Green Lantern Corps mantra, he shoulders the responsibility of taking on the seemingly insurmountable task of saving our planet from Parallax and from the huge-headed Hector Hammond whose storyline is so uninteresting I almost forgot to include it in this brief synopsis. (Seriously, I typed the last half of the last sentence as a complete afterthought.)

The Acting

Chris Hemsworth was perfect as Thor and Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy as Erik Lensherr and Charles Xavier were first class in X-Men: First Class. We've seen origin films this summer that work well because the casting is spot-on, the effects are fresh and not recycled, and the stories are engaging and just plain fun. None of that can be said about Green Lantern. Ryan Reynolds is handcuffed by a script that doesn't let him connect with the audience. Blake Lively is fine as Carol, and it's terrific to see a strong female character as one of the leads in a comic book film, but many of her scenes drag down the pacing of the film (not her fault, she's just playing it how it was written). Mark Strong's Sinestro comes and goes but never really does much of anything. And as unimpressed as I was with the character's involvement in the story, Peter Sarsgaard does do a terrific job as Hector Hammond.

The Bottom Line

The green ring allows Hal Jordan to conjure up anything he can think of, but what's frustrating is that much of what the filmmakers dream up for Hal to conjure are items that are just silly. Hal saves dozens of lives - including Carol's - by turning a crashing helicopter into a race car and spinning it around on a race track. And because it's just downright ridiculous, one of the film's big action scenes is squandered and what could have been a powerful, dynamic demonstration of Hal's new powers turns into something akin to a childish-looking prank.
Another prime example of an opportunity squandered comes when Hal journeys to the Green Lantern Corps command center on the planet Oa. Hal's powers are brand new, yet we see just a few minutes of him actually doing any training (during which he's treated as though he should have all these skills mastered). Also failing to impress is the actual creature design of the Guardians. I'm not a Green Lantern comic book reader, so if they look exactly as they do in the comics, then I apologize for believing they're knock-offs of the aliens in Mars Attacks!.

Ryan Reynolds in 'Green Lantern'

For a film that spends an inordinate amount of time setting things up, the crucial pieces of info those of us who've never read a Green Lantern comic would probably like to learn are glossed over or ignored. The ring is powered by will, but everything it creates is green (that's not explained) and quickly disappears. Why does Hector Hammond hate his father enough to want to kill him and why does he turn into the Elephant Man when contaminated with alien goo? Why doesn't anyone really care that there's a hunky man wearing a neon-green suit saving people by creating flashy green machine guns and other items out of thin air? Oh sure, we see someone shoot his helicopter/race car rescue on a cell phone, but then nothing comes of it. And are Parallax and Hector Hammond really the most interesting villains in the Green Lantern universe? Because if they are, then there's no reason for a sequel as there can't possibly be a villain worthy of another Green Lantern film.
In the Green Lantern universe green = will and yellow = fear. I'm adding a few new colors to the mix: Red = what you'll see after sitting through this generic big-budget sci-fi action film. Blue = how you'll feel knowing you've forked over your hard-earned cash instead of waiting for it on cable.

GRADE: C

Green Lantern was directed by Martin Campbell and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action.
Theatrical Release: June 17, 2011

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