An Action Hero (2022) :
Movie Review -
Anirudh Iyer's directorial debut, An Action Hero, sees Ayushmann Khurrana in the action zone for the first time and Jaideep Ahlawat in his regular flow. What Maneesh Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan's "Fan" (2016) and Prithviraj Sukumaran and Suraj Venjaramoodu's "Driving Licence" (2019) missed, An Action Hero got it right - a concrete theory to set up a clash between a star and a local man (here he is a big politician though). However, it goes over the top in the second half to make you believe that at the end it's just a Bollywood film, so the hero has to win. It does go wrong there, and some larger-than-life theories spoil it a little. An unexpected dose of comedy with organic humour is pleasant, whereas unnecessary heroism and grand theories halt it on an average level.
Maanav Khurana (Ayushmann Khurrana) is a film star with the image of an action hero. He has some connections with bad people that involve him in the accidental death of Bhoora's (Jaideep Ahlawat) brother. Maanav flies out of the country to avoid police arrest and investigation, but little does he know that Bhoora is a bigger threat than the cops. The conversation between Maanav and Bhoora takes them on a rollercoaster chase in London, and then there are big surprises in the second half, mentioned above as 'grand theories'. Who is the hero and who's the villain? Or are they both not what they seem? And most importantly, who wins at the end?
Anirudh Iyer's story starts off on a promising note, but it is a faulty script for today's audiences. A hero is nothing without a villain, and in the same way, a villain is useless if there is no hero to oppose him. We all know these basic rules, and that's what millions of mainstream audiences have been watching over the years. An intellectual face-off like "The Dark Knight" (2008) comes once in decades or maybe a millennium. And in Indian cinema, we have hardly managed to match half of that with "Ayyappanum Koshiyum" (2020). Anirudh couldn't grab that creativity while exploring the heroism of the hero and somewhere of the villain as well. His sense of humour in taking a dig at the media and stars is splendid, though (me, being a media person, saying this, can you believe it?). Also, the humour and comedy are far from the mediocrity that our so-called blockbuster films and directors show.
Ayushmann Khurrana has had a dull year, but not as a performer. A couple of years ago, he changed the face of Bollywood with his pathbreaking choices, and all of them became box office hits. Now, in the post-Covid-19 era, things have changed, as has the fate of his films, and the audience has become a little bit more choosy than they were before. An Action Hero gives him a heroic image and does a good job. Jaideep Ahlawat is freaking good, as it seems he is in his own zone, being a powerful politician with a lot of attitude and ego. He looks like a perfect fit for the role, and you'll like his jokes because they have a Haryanavi flavour. The supporting cast adds more to this fun ride, while Akshay Kumar's cameo will surprise you. The two dancing divas, Malaika Arora and Nota Fatehi, appear in two songs, and they set the dance floor on fire with their super sexy looks and brilliant dancing skills.
Talking about the technical aspects, An Action Hero is an enriching experience. The background score is excellent, the cinematography is superb, and the editing is edgy. The screenplay is pacy, excluding the last 20 minutes when you know that you are close to the conclusion and you start predicting the fates of the characters. Director Anirudh Iyer has a great sense of cinema, even though it's his own writing that pulls down An Action Hero. But as a director, he is surprisingly good and damn promising. You'll have to see how he has presented all those action scenes and the face off between Ayushmann and Jaideep. The dialogues are used smartly. He has planned things cleverly, and his knowledge about scene-making is simply too much for a newcomer. If it hadn't been for the writing, An Action Hero would have been a solid debut for him. Nevertheless, it's a decent film that has unnecessarily gone into the exaggeration zone.
RATING - 5/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Anirudh Iyer's directorial debut, An Action Hero, sees Ayushmann Khurrana in the action zone for the first time and Jaideep Ahlawat in his regular flow. What Maneesh Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan's "Fan" (2016) and Prithviraj Sukumaran and Suraj Venjaramoodu's "Driving Licence" (2019) missed, An Action Hero got it right - a concrete theory to set up a clash between a star and a local man (here he is a big politician though). However, it goes over the top in the second half to make you believe that at the end it's just a Bollywood film, so the hero has to win. It does go wrong there, and some larger-than-life theories spoil it a little. An unexpected dose of comedy with organic humour is pleasant, whereas unnecessary heroism and grand theories halt it on an average level.
Maanav Khurana (Ayushmann Khurrana) is a film star with the image of an action hero. He has some connections with bad people that involve him in the accidental death of Bhoora's (Jaideep Ahlawat) brother. Maanav flies out of the country to avoid police arrest and investigation, but little does he know that Bhoora is a bigger threat than the cops. The conversation between Maanav and Bhoora takes them on a rollercoaster chase in London, and then there are big surprises in the second half, mentioned above as 'grand theories'. Who is the hero and who's the villain? Or are they both not what they seem? And most importantly, who wins at the end?
Anirudh Iyer's story starts off on a promising note, but it is a faulty script for today's audiences. A hero is nothing without a villain, and in the same way, a villain is useless if there is no hero to oppose him. We all know these basic rules, and that's what millions of mainstream audiences have been watching over the years. An intellectual face-off like "The Dark Knight" (2008) comes once in decades or maybe a millennium. And in Indian cinema, we have hardly managed to match half of that with "Ayyappanum Koshiyum" (2020). Anirudh couldn't grab that creativity while exploring the heroism of the hero and somewhere of the villain as well. His sense of humour in taking a dig at the media and stars is splendid, though (me, being a media person, saying this, can you believe it?). Also, the humour and comedy are far from the mediocrity that our so-called blockbuster films and directors show.
Ayushmann Khurrana has had a dull year, but not as a performer. A couple of years ago, he changed the face of Bollywood with his pathbreaking choices, and all of them became box office hits. Now, in the post-Covid-19 era, things have changed, as has the fate of his films, and the audience has become a little bit more choosy than they were before. An Action Hero gives him a heroic image and does a good job. Jaideep Ahlawat is freaking good, as it seems he is in his own zone, being a powerful politician with a lot of attitude and ego. He looks like a perfect fit for the role, and you'll like his jokes because they have a Haryanavi flavour. The supporting cast adds more to this fun ride, while Akshay Kumar's cameo will surprise you. The two dancing divas, Malaika Arora and Nota Fatehi, appear in two songs, and they set the dance floor on fire with their super sexy looks and brilliant dancing skills.
Talking about the technical aspects, An Action Hero is an enriching experience. The background score is excellent, the cinematography is superb, and the editing is edgy. The screenplay is pacy, excluding the last 20 minutes when you know that you are close to the conclusion and you start predicting the fates of the characters. Director Anirudh Iyer has a great sense of cinema, even though it's his own writing that pulls down An Action Hero. But as a director, he is surprisingly good and damn promising. You'll have to see how he has presented all those action scenes and the face off between Ayushmann and Jaideep. The dialogues are used smartly. He has planned things cleverly, and his knowledge about scene-making is simply too much for a newcomer. If it hadn't been for the writing, An Action Hero would have been a solid debut for him. Nevertheless, it's a decent film that has unnecessarily gone into the exaggeration zone.
RATING - 5/10*
By - #samthebestest.