Rating - 9/10 (absolute) .. 10/10 (for a Bond movie)
Daniel Craig – Potrays perfectly the transformation from a rough-edged rookie into the perfect suave, cold-blooded spy.
Plot – Engrossing. Despite apprehensions, the Poker game was quite engaging.
Style Quotient – Departs from the gadgets, girls and cars formula of the previous Bond movies. Instead, we see a darker, grittier potrayal of 007. In short, amazingly stylistic in a new direction.
Dialogues – Definitely above average.
Bond Girl – Eva Green plays a different kind of Bond girl. Finally we know why Bond never bonds with anyone anymore. “You don’t trust anyone, do you?” “No.”
Direction – Finally, a Bond movie that can stand on it own without needing any support from the 007 brand. Brilliantly directed. Almost at par with the giants of the year.
New Urge – Keep a close eye on the rest of the Daniel Craig movies. Especially Bond-22, Bond-23 etc.
Locations – Gooooood. Good. Gooooood.
Overall view – Finally, the first chapter in the life of Agent 007 is brought to the silver screen. Dark and gritty, it shows the steely loner transform into the refined, suave gentleman. For the first time, he is more than the sum of his parts (which include mostly gadgets and cars). We see why he is Agent 007, the best agent MI6 has. I never used to be a big fan of the Bond movies. Thanks to Daniel Craig, now I am (I can’t say why I liked Daniel Craig so much without giving out spoilers!)
“Yeh haath humko de de Thakur!!!!”
To this day, the world remembers Gabbar Singh better than it remembers Thakur Baldev Singh, Jai or Veeru. The hero is known by the villains he keeps. Batman has Joker, Superman-Luthor, Wolverine-Sabretooth, and so on. The magical world of cinema has seen many villainous characters immortalized by capable actors. Let’s commemorate some of them.
Doctor Hannibal Lecter
He is, without a doubt, one of the finest villains in movie history. Refined and aristocratic, his charming demeanor hid a diabolical soul. Perhaps, the finest portrayal of this legendary character is by Sir Anthony Hopkins. Those eyes! Those eyes would send chills down anyone’s spine. Despite being on screen for only 16 minutes, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role. And despite having seen only a few scenes, his eyes have won him the foremost spot in my list of movie villains.
Gabbar Singh
There would be very few people in India who don’t know it’s most (in)famous movie villain. Often lauded as the greatest movie villain to grace the Indian silver screen, the character’s ruthlessness and cruelty have been ably portrayed by Amjad Khan. Rather, it was Amjad Khan who immortalized a character which could have easily lapsed into mediocrity in the hands of another.
Don
“Don ko pakadna mushkil nahin, naa mumkin hain”
I am sure many would be scandalized by my inclusion of Shah Rukh Khan’s Don in my list of memorable movie villains. However, I was quite impressed by SRK’s take on the character already immortalized by Amitabh Bachchan. The new Don is stylistic, cunning and deadly. A skilled hand-to-hand combatant, his fighting prowess is only surpassed by his presence of mind and resourcefulness. Once again, the eyes add a lot of menace to the character. I never though I would like any role by SRK after seeing KANK but I must admit that King Khan can still deliver the goods.
Hector Barbossa
As with the other entries here, it is the actor who saved this role from mediocrity and immortalized it with subtle nuances that may well have been ruined by someone else. Geoffrey Rush play the part of the dreaded pirate Hector Barbossa. Seemingly crude and unrefined, Barbossa is in fact quite civilized and well-read. An excellent swordsman, he can hold his own against Jack Sparrow and Norrington, Will Turner being the only one who could possibly beat him. His prowess as a exemplary swordsman is further highlighted in the scene where his crew almost turns on him. Despite outnumbering him one to twenty or more, they were hesitant to attack him, quite aware of his skill with the cutlass. His passion for apples is highlighted in many scenes and Geoffrey Rush conveys it well without going over the top. Another memorable moment was the scene when Elizabeth first comes aboard the Black Pearl. After having claimed to be a “humble pirate” who can’t understand “long words”, he shoots down Elizabeth’s request to “negotiate the cessation of hostilities against Port Royal” with “I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request. Means no.”
Keerikkadan Jose
I doubt if there is any movie-going Malayali who hasn’t seen Kireedam. The movie is an intense character study both of a young man whose bright future deteriorates before his very eyes and of a father who is forced to watch helplessly as it happens. Drawn into a conflict with the goons of the locality where he has newly moved to with his family, his life is shattered when, in a fit of rage, he attacks and nearly kills Keerikkadan Jose, the most dreaded rowdy in the village, who had attacked his father. This leads to a blood vendetta between the two which culminates in the death of Keerikkadan Jose at his hands. Many a movie has tried to recreate the fearsomeness of this archetypal bad guy, but none can compare to the brilliant and terrifying portrayal of Keerikkadan Jose by Mohan Raj.
I am sure there are many great movie villains whom I have missed here. However, for me, these would be some of the greatest movie villains who have graced the silver screen, and would be remembered always.
Yesterday, I lost 3.5 hours of my life in one of the most horrible ways imaginable – by watching one of the most pathetic movies of my life. I left the cinema hall feeling thoroughly disgusted with the movie and it’s director. The saddest and most depressing part is, this movie is gonna make a lot of money, thus encouraging the director to churn out more rubbish like this.
To be fair, the theme of the plot was good. Well, not good good, but decent enough. The characters were good. They were believably real, to an extent. No superhuman heroes here – just plain, flawed human beings. Almost everything else about the movie was dismal. The only saving grace were the songs, which Radio Mirchi had drilled into my brain, and the Bs. Big B and Little B were the only ones worth watching, especially Little B. His character had a emotional depth that resonated well with me, and he actually managed to provide some respite in, what is otherwise, the most horrible movie I have ever seen.
I was slightly affronted by the almost-trivialized potrayal of the institution of marriage, though I must admit that the alternative climax would have been too cliched to bear.
This movie does carry a very VERY powerful message. In fact, two of them.
1. Karan Johar must not be allowed to direct anymore. His repeated “successes” with movies like this, will forever cripple the movie industry and prevent it from providing us with more gems along the lines of Swades (don’t get me started on Swades losing out to Veer-Zara at the awards)
2. Move over ‘King Khan’, Abhishek ‘Lallan’ Bachchan is here.
There was one more high point in the movie, or rather, before the movie. The trailer for D2. I had loved Dhoom and was looking forward to the sequel, and judging from the trailer, it’s gonna rock – John Woo style!!!!!!!
Sam: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo: What are we holding on to Sam?
Sam: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.
Sam: I wonder if we’ll ever be put into songs or tales.
Frodo: What?
Sam: I wonder if people will ever say, ‘let’s hear about Frodo and the Ring.’
And they’ll say, ‘yes, that’s one of my favorite stories. Frodo was really courageous, wasn’t he, dad.’
‘Yes, my boy, the most famousest of hobbits. And that’s saying a lot.’
Frodo: You left out one of the chief characters. ‘Samwise the Brave. I want to hear more about Sam. Frodo wouldn’t have got far without Sam.’
Sam: Now Mr. Frodo, you shouldn’t make fun. I was being serious.
Frodo: So was I.
Elrond: If Aragorn survives this war, you will still be parted. If Sauron is defeated and Aragorn made king and all that you hope for comes true… you will still have to taste the bitterness of mortality. Whether by the sword or the slow decay of time, Aragorn will die. And there will be no comfort for you, no comfort to ease the pain of his passing. He will come to death. An image of the splendor of the kings of men in glory, undimmed before the breaking of the world. But you, my daughter, you will linger on, in darkness and in doubt. As nightfall winter that comes without a star. Here you will dwell, bound to you grief, under the fading trees, until all the world has changed and the long years of your life are utterly spent. Arwen… there is nothing for you here, only death.
Theoden: Where is the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? They have passed like rain on the mountain, like wind in the meadow. The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow. How did it come to this?
Théoden: So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?
Aragorn: Ride out with me. Ride out and meet them.
Théoden: For death and glory.
Aragorn: For Rohan. For your people.
Gimli: The sun is rising.
(Flashback Voiceover) Gandalf: Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn look to the East.
Théoden: Yes.. Yes! The Horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the Deep one last time.
Gimli: Yes!
Théoden: Let this be the hour when we draw swords together. Fell deeds awake. Now for wrath. Now for ruin. And the red dawn!
Théoden: Forth Eorlingas!
Gandalf: Théoden-king stands alone.
Éomer: Not alone. Rohirrim!
Théoden: Éomer!
Éomer: To the king!
Aragorn: Hold your ground, hold your ground. Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day. This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!
Aragorn: For Frodo.
Sam: Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It’ll be spring soon. And the orchards will be in blossom. And the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket. And they’ll be sowing the summer barley in the lower fields… and eating the first of the strawberries with cream. Do you remember the taste of strawberries?
Frodo: No, Sam. I can’t recall the taste of food… nor the sound of water… nor the touch of grass. I’m… naked in the dark. There’s… There’s nothing. No veil between me and the wheel of fire. I can see him… with my waking eyes.
Sam: Then let us be rid of it… once and for all. Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you… but I can carry you.
Gimli: Never thought I’d die fighting side by side with an Elf.
Legolas: What about side by side with a friend?
Gimli: Aye. I could do that.
Aragorn: My friends, you bow to no one.
I see in your eyes, the same fear, that would take the heart of me
A day may come when the courage of men fails,
When we forsake our friends and break all bonds of Fellowship
But it is not this day…
An hour of wolves and shattered steel when the age of men comes crashing down,
But it.. is.. not.. this day..
This day we fight. For all that you hold dear on this good earth,
I bid you.. Stand..
Men…Of…The West….
“There are no rights and wrongs. Only power…”
Sarkar touches heights of brilliance that few Indian cinema have managed to attain. With a stunning cast, brilliant music and excellent camera work, RGV has managed to elevate his directorial skills to deliver one of the most captivating movies I have ever seen. Both Bachans scintillate but its Bachan Jr who stood out, giving an almost perfect performance. I especially loved his last line, the “that’s what i want too..” one. Also commendable is the performance of Ravi Kale as the Sarkar’s lieutenant, Chander. The scene in which he and his goons beat up the college guy in the beginning of the movie, totally took my breath away. The flow of the movie was also good, not once boring the audience and yet without falling into any cliches. The realism with which the entire movie is potrayed is highly praiseworthy and takes the viewer on an emotional roller coaster ride, as we see the fall and the subsequent rise of Sarkar (oops! spoiler!).
This movie is a major achievement for RGV and the Indian movie industry as a whole and proves that we do have good movies among the Veer Zaras and Kya Kool Hai Hums.