Movie Review: X-Men Apocalypse..spells irredeemable doom for the franchise

The circle of woe is now complete. What started off as a remarkably fresh and invigorating take on a franchise that has had its share of hits and misses, ends in utter catastrophe, and that’s not half due to its doomsday focused storyline. For fans who thought that The Last Stand was bad (personally I felt it was at least fun and coherent), with Apocalypse you’ll hit a new low, that you didn’t even realize was possible.

The warning signs came with Days of Future Past I suppose. An overly complex plot had past, present and future all melded together – but at least the plotline had a defined sense of flow to the proceedings. The way Apocalypse starts you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’d walked into an alternate production of The Mummy and it goes further downhill from thereon. The pacing slows down to a crawl, as the pitiably shallow plotline is put in place.

Mr. Singer has a thing for flying stuff – debris, cars, gravel and sand I suppose. He used it liberally in The Last Stand, Days of the Future Past and its back in all its supposed glory with Apocalypse. None of it works. There is no sense of underlying tension – the action is either thick and fast or non-existent.  There are some moments of humor, that keep you moderately interested but these too don’t last long enough to make an impact. If the build up is bad, the climax is laughably pathetic – leaving you to wonder if there was any time spent in putting together this script at all. The dialogue delivery is so predictable that you'll be completing the characters' dialogues before they've said them, on more than one occasion.

The star cast tries its best to prop up a weak script. Fassbender and MacAvoy reprise roles that were made memorable by First Class but the beautifully complex relationship they share is given little screentime.  All the ‘past’ X Men make an appearance and new faces like Sophie Turner (better known as Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones fame) Evan Peters and Tye Sheridan set up the characters of Jean Grey, Quicksilver and Scott Summers. There’s even a decent surprise that lasts a few moments but all of this is not enough to give Apocalypse an identity of its own. 

In fact, there is enough evidence, that the movie is so weak that it needs to prop itself against flashes from its singular gem, First Class, every now and then. Somebody had remarked that 20 minutes of the movie are really great. I have a feeling they referred to the numerous flashbacks we see of First Class when they made that statement. Apocalypse, of its own, has not a single worthy moment. There are two ‘Ahas’ to be had, if you will, but they will pass you in such a cataclysm of other banality, that even they wouldn’t stand out as much. There is absolutely nothing about Apocalypse that I can recommend.

I had alluded in my previous post, to the fact that if this franchise is to have any hope at all, Matthew Vaughn needs to be back in the driver seat. Well, Apocalypse with Singer at the helm, extinguishes any hope of resurrecting the glory days of X-Men that First Class gave any glimmer of. I can only wonder where this franchise is headed next since there’s ample evidence, complete with a painstakingly late end-credits scene that confirms that this is far from the end of the saga – if anything, its only set up now for more installments. One can only hope, that some more thought goes into the next one that would inevitably follow. For now though I think its about time we said RIP to the legacy of First Class. What a pity...

Movie Review: Captain America Civil War...not just petty in-fighting

Civil War is not your average extension to a franchise that worked wonders with its origin movie and seemed to take a nosedive with its hurried sequel. Oh wait..we are not talking about the Avengers..this is supposed to be Captain America..right?...Right??

Whatever you call it finally, Civil War is the new direction for this universe. Marvel is treading dangerous new ground and I'd applaud the effort. Its not just about superheroes taking potshots at each other and coming together to overcome a formidable enemy. Nor is it the struggle to find the next big thing the Avengers can assemble for again, to save the universe.

Don't go expecting another Avengers - its not. In some ways, its something more and in many others, it falls really short as well. In parts, Civil War is a more mature and refined Marvel with a director duo who knows how to set up their action pieces and a philosophical premise with equal panache. On the other hand, they spend much time in conversations and build up - so much so that it affects the pacing of what is otherwise a very good movie. Hats off to the franchise to at least address the central premise of the film, something another recent superhero movie made an absolute meal of (am looking at you Mr. Snyder). The name Civil War is not just to pique interest - it represents a clash of ideology that needs to be and is well explored through the course of the film. To be fair though, while the movie stays true to its theme and the 'Civil War' as well as the reasons for it seem to fit, it would fall apart if you questioned it beyond a point.

While termed as 'Civil War' the scale is anything but local. Over the course of its run time you'll traverse on a global scale at a pace that could give Phileas Fogg a run for his money. So much so, that you reach a point, where you'd wish they could all just stay in one place and fight it out - whatever the outcome. What continues to work to Marvel's advantage though - is their focus on keeping things fun and light, despite the heaviness that surrounds its theme. Tom Holland and Paul Rudd and their characters are a big part of this.

As for the performances, pretty much the entire cast are in good form. Scarlett Johansson probably finds her best raison d'etre with this one, if you'd been wondering what she was doing still hanging on to this franchise. Iron Man is in a very different avatar than you'd expect him to be and while Robert Downey Jr. does justice again, he is not as much the life of the party that he's been so far. Chris Evans is doing more and more with Cap and as a close friend of Iron Man, its finally beginning to work. There are a score of superheroes who make an appearance and while its a difficult act to maneuver, not one of them feels out of place. Especially, their coming together in any of the action pieces, are a treat to watch. Full credit to the directors for that.

The climax is what you'd find the most controversial - some would argue that its much too tame after the excitement at the airport. We would like nothing more than the airport set piece like fun n games to continue in Avengers'esque fashion - but Marvel clearly shows more perspective with where they are taking the story.

Civil War is easily the strongest film of the Captain America franchise though that's not saying much. Compared to Avengers, it does feel a much closer parallel to the splendid origin film which is a wonderful compliment.  With a little more action, better pacing and an explosive climax, it would've been close to the ideal stand alone movie. However, that would've not done as much for the franchise. To adapt a line from one of my favorite movies - Civil War is the movie this franchise deserves, but not necessarily the one we need right now. All said and done, I am excited about where the Marvel universe moves next and that is proof that Civil War delivers.

Movie Review: The Man Who Knew Infinity…celebrates a beautiful mind

The Man Who Knew Infinity is a sincere attempt to immortalize a genius who we, quite frankly, should know so much more about. For that reason alone, I would encourage you to watch this movie. It is a source of immense pride as well as a touch of sadness that such a legend existed in India and yet we know so little of him (or at least me, at any rate).

I would like to say that the movie itself is magical in its own way, celebrating the wonders of that brilliant mind, unfolding a universe with patterns that created a symphony of their own in the most magnified of views and holds you in awe of this beautiful mind that was capable of so much more than us mere mortals could even conceive. That, however, would be stating what this legend deserved and not exactly what the movie itself offers.

One of the chief problems with this movie, is it isn’t clear what it wants to dwell on – the genius of the Indian mathematician, his personal life, his devotion to religion, a unique equation across a strong bond that was beautiful in its own way – so it ends up giving us a smattering of each of them – never really delving deep enough for us to get engaged and enraptured in anything particular. Pacing is the other challenge. While it moves through time fairly quickly, the pacing is uneven and there isn’t a sense of build-up that you would hope for. The near absence of humor doesn’t make things much better.

On the bright side though, some of the writing is exemplary and there are a lot of subtleties here and there. These do not try to explain themselves but being a celebration of the intellect, expect the audience to catch them on their own. The cinematography is good too, with the shots of Cambridge and its interiors being particularly awe-inspiring.

There are some moments of brilliance – despite the complicated subject of advanced mathematics, the movie smartly explains what the protagonist is trying to achieve and why it is so wondrous. The fact that this is a true story finally has the maximum appeal and the engagement is largely driven by wanting to know the fate and achievements of the protagonist.

With a strong protagonist, the Man Who Knew Infinity could truly have scaled larger heights and counted higher, but as things stand, Dev Patel, much as he tries, simply is too ordinary in his portrayal. Perhaps his character (being the protagonist) could also have been written better. Instead, the focus and much of the limelight goes to Hardy, played by Jeremy Irons, with a wonderful performance that actually gets you to feel some connect, albeit for the wrong person. All others are hardly of note as the film revolves majorly around these two. The side arcs are frankly a distraction.

With a better choice than Dev Patel and better plot structure, The Man Who Knew Infinity could’ve truly got the commemoration he deserves. Though its reverence for his feats are obvious, the movie succeeds only in parts. Still it is a credible and honest attempt at telling the life and times of the great genius and for that alone, it is worth a study.

Movie Review: Jungle Book..a classy re-imagining of the classic

Right from the old world Disney title entry that serves as the opening credits for the new age Jungle Book you get the feeling that you are in for something special..and that feeling stays with you long after you’ve left the theaters.

When I first saw the trailers of the new Jungle Book it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that my jaw dropped. The creativity and thought process itself was astounding. Sure, they’ve been live adaptations of other classic stories like Cinderella but this was a whole different ball game – it features only animals and one kid!! How do you bring that to life without using any actual animals? However much I explain, it won’t suffice. But one look at this movie and you’ll realize the exciting vision of Jon Favreau which quite simply is brought to glorious life.

None of this is real. Its all CGI. Much as you repeat this to yourself, equally you are bound to shake your head in disbelief. Surely this tree, that sunlight, that elephant, Bagheera, Baloo – some of this stuff has to be real. That’s how true to life this movie is and hats off to the director for making this one the way he has.

One of the main reasons this Jungle book is the astounding success it is, apart from its visuals is its frame perfect voice acting – especially Bill Murray as Baloo (who puts energy and life into the shots) and Ben Kingsley as the wise Bagheera. Lupita’s Raksha evokes quite the emotion and Idris Elba’s Sharekhan brings out dread. While a lot of people (reviewers) have picked a bone with Scarlett Johansson’s Kaa, I thought she did a pretty good job for the rather short role she had. Instead, I was more disappointed by Christopher Walken’s King Louie, but that was more to do with his appearance, the song and dance routine and his character, rather than his performance. Neel Sethi puts in a credible performance and his innocent, vulnerable Mowgli is a joy to watch.

If I was to crib (and I am really keen not to so I’ll keep it short) the 3D is not all that much there and after the crowning success of Life of Pi, one feels that was a missed opportunity. Still the visuals are simply gorgeous and while you will come out of the jungle in 2 hours, it’ll stay with you till long after

Despite being a children’s classic, am not sure if this one is for kids though. Some characters can look quite sinister and the perfect background score adds to the dread. Over and above that the atmospheric visuals can paint a pretty scary landscape for a kid.

There is a surprising amount of sub-text and nuance in the storyline with many social causes and lessons being implied.Its not all like the children’s classic and there are fair departures on how the story proceeds. Its still all very predictable of course, but it takes a different turn from the many lighter moments of the original cartoon.

Whether you’ve seen and loved the original Jungle Book or not, this is one Jungle you have to visit. So alluring is its ‘natural’ beauty and charming are its 'occupants' that you would be hypnotized in its spell and tempted to join the pack yourself. Jungle Book just became timeless in a new way, all over again.

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 3..almost delivers a skadoosh

While Kung Fu Panda will always get points for originality, it is Kung Fu Panda 2 that really raised the stakes for this franchise. The quality of it all – moving to the 3D arena, picking up where the story left off, giving such a natural progression to the story line and a formidable villain with superb animation – it gave us hope and belief, that this series would not aim low to just be a money spinner but instead be one of those rare gems that takes time, effort and polish to make it look just right. Resultantly, expectations were high from Kung Fu Panda 3..will it do the impossible and go one better yet again?…

I would have liked nothing better than to say that, in its own way, it does but that would not be stating the whole truth. For a large part of its runtime, it does exactly that but just as it begins to fill you with hope, the movie loses its natural flow and abruptly cuts to a less than thrilling and rather rushed climax. This is really a pity because the movie does so many things right, one wonders what went so wrong for it to make the finale the way it did. It almost felt like that there was another, more measured storyline planned, but it couldn’t be executed due to some constraints and they had to end up going with this one. That’s how out of place the climax feels.

Kung Fu Panda 3 has a beautiful soul. The storyline progresses to its next natural step from the last installment as well. The Furious Five are in great form and even though, Kai is nowhere close to Shen the Peacock, he does just about enough to keep you interested. The animation quality is stellar and yet again the franchise finds new ways of painting the same canvas in creative ways – some as flashbacks to familiar times, others to tell a new unfamiliar history. The action is fast and engaging. The voice acting is top notch as well and the entire cast, led from the front, by Jack Black as Po is in top form.

The jokes, even though some are repeats, never get old and there is plenty that will have you chuckling every now and then. There are some good lessons as well, but they either seem rushed and forced or too subtle to leave an impact. The coming of age of Po that was the highlight of its sequel, doesn’t seem nearly as convincing in his third outing even though the attempt is made again.

But for its climax, the third installment virtually delivers a skadoosh. There is no denying, despite the disappointment of the climax, this is a trilogy that has delivered at a high bar all throughout and Po and this franchise will go down in history, truly as the dragon warrior they always deserved to be. On the bright side, though, I have heard some talk of this saga originally having 6 chapters and not just 3 so there may be hope after all. For now, though, it brings closure and if you’ve loved part 1 and 2, there’s no reason you should miss this third and seemingly, final installment

Movie Review: Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice..deserved a brighter beginning

For those of you who didn’t ‘get’ the beginning referred to in the title of this blogpost, I am sorry I can’t help you. For those of you who did, that’s exactly what this movie is supposed to be about and everything else is just an incoherent hash of random emotions, dialogues, fists, punches and crashes. Is that a good thing? Most certainly not.

Dawn of Justice begins with a rather unique perspective – though its an ugly reminder of the metal mangled mess that Man of Steel was, it presents proceedings differently and was a refreshingly good idea. Unfortunately, like a lot of other stuff in the movie, its very superficial and doesn’t leave any impact, on you or the plotline (if you could call it that).

I am not one for a superhero face-off – I’d prefer them saving the world rather than bashing each other up. Still, there is potential in such a script, if the motives for each side were clear, you weren’t sure whom to root for and there was a philosophical angle that made neither a white knight. This one fails on all three counts. In fact, the big face-off happens for a laughably bad plot device and it would be hilarious if it weren’t so sad. Speaking of laughter, well there’s none of it – there’s just dull, gloom and despair with plenty of brooding to boot. The best ‘fun’ lines are already covered in the trailers.

Nolan should probably thank Zack Snyder. After the soaring heights he achieved with the Dark Knight, Rises was quite underwhelming as the finale. However, with the Snyder version of the Dark Knight (or rather Bat of Gotham) you get to witness what depths the character could have fallen to and thank your stars that Nolan did it so much better. I wouldn’t blame Affleck – he does what he can, with his poorly written character. Henry Cavill is in no different state. He has shown us what he can do, given the right canvas (if you still haven’t seen The Man from U.N.C.L.E, you are missing something), but if you give him Man of Steel there is precious little that even he can do about it. Eisenberg suffers the same fate, whose Lex Luthor looks retarded instead of a maniac. The only one who looks somewhat sane is Amy Adams, who has a shorter part (than in Man of Steel) and does a decent job.

And then, there is Mr Snyder with his obsession of his original movie Man of Steel. Much as we hate it, he keeps taking us back to it, still failing to prove a point, if any. There is exactly one shock and awe moment and that too dies away in the dust, fumes and smoke. I am at a loss why this movie was made in 3D at all – there is nothing that feels like 3D except perhaps for the maple leaves in the opening credits. Also, I know its Han Zimmer, but that doesn't mean the background score has to start blaring for every single shot.

I would’ve written an even more scathing review, given how things were shaping up around the half way stage, but the latter half of the movie, some what makes up for considerable lost ground and the action depicted towards the end is quite well done. The premise it builds up to excites even more so there may be hope for this franchise still. Wonder Woman (they really shouldn’t have revealed her in the trailers) is perhaps the most refreshing hero on-screen though she has the minimum air time. Even her abilities are just assumed to be understood by the audience and much potential to establish her heroics is squandered away. That said, the ‘super-heroism’ (if there is such a word) is done quite well in the finale and that is probably the best reason to watch this movie. The effects are good, the action is realistic and well shot.


With his latest offering, Mr. Snyder joins my (so far short) list of directors whom I can neither appreciate nor understand (joining Mr. Mendes and Mr. Bhansali for company). Dawn of Justice doesn’t do ‘justice’ to either Batman or Superman..or for that matter the other characters it heralds the beginnings of. Let’s hope they have a better day in the sun - the dawn has cast more of a dark shadow than a bright light on the future of this franchise.

Movie Review: Kapoor & Sons (since 1921)…a moving celebration of family

To be really honest, I wasn’t at all flattered with the movie title. That and the trailer of this movie had me convinced that this one wasn’t going to be worth my time. Despite such misgivings, I still went for it and I don’t regret the decision. I don’t think you would either.

Kapoor & Sons, like the family it portrays is far from perfect. The movie could easily have been 20 minutes shorter, some scenes could definitely have been cut out or at least made more snappier. However, apart from that and the pitiably low quality of music this one has, there is little fault to find with this imperfect family.

The family’s characters have been etched out really well and despite this being a Karan Johar production, there is a significant amount of realism built into the visuals and the character portrayals. Some of the background chatter and one to one conversations may even have you reflecting if this is something you’d encounter in your own home. Of course, its all exaggerated to tell a story, but it doesn’t seem to be set in the make-believe world that Karan Johar movies normally are.

The writing of the movie is surprisingly quite good – that and the sincere performances are what keep you invested throughout. After a long while, Kapoor & Sons brings together a story and characters, where you actually feel the connect, wish the best for them and join in their tears when the mood gets gloomy. While the first half is predictable to a fault, it is no less enjoyable.The second half meanwhile, has quite a few tricks up its sleeve especially if you saw the trailer and made any inferences. The trailer, I might add, is a smart ploy. It gets you thinking about the movie’s story in one direction while it marches in the exact opposite one. The background score compliments the visuals especially towards the climax, and while you can poke holes into how the story progresses, you can’t help but be moved by it as well.

Kapoor & Sons’ well written scripted is lifted by its performances – veterans Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah deliver a wonderfully natural performance – they may well be their characters. Rishi Kapoor has a delightful, albeit one dimensional character and he brings much welcome laughter and mirth to the scenes. That said, while the prosthetics make him look the cute grandfather, there’s not much else to convince that he is that character, in terms of his performance. Amongst the newbies, it is Fawad Khan who is the real revelation with a wonderfully understated and nuanced performance – this guy will be one to watch out for. In an ensemble cast where all the characters have almost equal air time, he manages to stand out. As Tia, firebrand Alia while a refreshing presence on the screen, has little to do, but in one emotional moment, she asserts herself and proves just why she is not just the new kid on the block. Siddharth Malhotra, is perhaps the weakest link, who while he does justice to his character, struggles with the emotional bits, quite visibly.


I have to admit, I am one of those who really liked K3G as well, so maybe such drama gets to me. However, am pretty sure that even if K3G was not up your alley, this particular family will get your approval. Kapoor & Sons, while it deserved a better title, is not just about one big happy family – it delves much deeper into relationships, conversations and emotions and its director Shakun Batra deserves all the applause to knit such complexity together with panache and a generous dose of realism. Don’t get dissuaded by the title like I did, this one definitely deserves a closer look.