Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor, John
Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandes, Amesha Patel.
Director: Abbas-Mastan
Length : 2.25 hours approximately
Spoon-Feeding in thrillers is something that plays major
spoilsport, but keeping things unanswered doesn’t harm any less. In this week’s
sequel to that excellent 2008 thriller, RACE 2, Abbas-Mustan serves you
entertainment but with hurdles. RACE (2008) was interesting because it had many
twists and turns thrown at regular interval making the pace brisk and keeping
the audience guessing! RACE 2 also offers few twists, although few predictable,
but the pattern of twists is mostly borrowed from the first installment.
Anyhow, nitpickings aside, RACE 2 still has entertainment galore because of its
grandeur, its bizarre and weird elements.
The film takes too much of time to construct its premise and
too much of time is submitted to side characters. The track involving the
fruit-lover Anil Kapoor and his ditsy companion played by Ameesha Patel this
time, only plays comic part and not to the fullest unfortunately. The double
meaning jokes works hilariously but falls flat occasionally. Still there are
few wonderful moments to cherish about. That excellent chase sequence in first
half, from building to building or in middle of busy roads is engaging and
keeps you hooked. Also that thrilling portion, just before intermission, where
too much of story is prevailed and also a smart connection to a character of
Bipasha Basu. Unlike many sequels, RACE 2 doesn’t throw away all the previous
characters. Although two songs in this first half placed almost back to back, takes away the pace irrespective of their wonderful choreography!
The second half gets very engaging with every episode
smartly directed. Although, the writing is too clunked towards the last 20
minutes, but still the second half solves too many blemishes. That heist scene,
though bit out of logic, is one of the best part about the film. That boxing scene
however which is attached with the heist portion doesn’t help much. That boxing
scene plays on for too long for its own good and it doesn’t really pull the
story ahead. The climax of the film in the aero plane is good, but the twists
and turns are not exactly smart! But at the end, RACE 2 is thoroughly enjoyable,
thanks to its gripping second half, despite its filmy clichés.
Pritam’s music is soulful and stays with you even after the
show. All four songs are well choreographed too but they are placed in the
wrong time. The cinematography will leave you asking more of locations. Its an
outstanding work! The writing of the film however doesn’t have that wit and
cleverness which was a major positive of the 2008’s runaway hit. Abbas-Mastan
knows their job well and its displayed in many scenes. The heist scene
specifically will give you all the reasons.
Saif Ali Khan again infuses proper blend of elegance,
expressions and body language. He never misses a single breathe and turns his
character to a dashing devil with incredible ease. Deepika Padukone shines in
her role and her notorious expressions tagged with glamorous look makes up for
a good portrayal! John Abraham has it in him although at times he doesn’t
deliver. Anil Kapoor sadly doesn’t have as much role as much he had in previous
film, still he gives you few good comic bits despite a weak helping hand from
Ameesha Patel who doesn’t leave up-to what Sameera Reddy did in RACE.
Jacqueline Fernandes plays her part decently, but a better performer could have
been better for the film.
In the end, RACE 2 doesn’t match the sheer brilliance of its
first part, but still manages to entertain you for its 2.25 hours of run-time.
The dashing actors, beautiful cinematography, foot-taping music tracks, good
performances from its major cast and several engaging moments with couple of
unpredictable twists is enough for you to buy a ticket. Watch it as just
another film, and you might even love this one!
Rating – 3/5 (Good)
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