saw this film yesterday, it is excellent… a must see for all action fans!
here is a good review…
Quote:
FIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!
In this age of the metrosexual leading man, the macho hero makes a stylish comeback in an exciting fists-of-fury story.
By Baradwaj Rangan
(C) The New Indian Express - September 18, 2005
Our latest item girl, Riya Sen, in the opening credits sequence of 'James', coos, “Woh hero hai, hero hai, woh hai hero.†She’s not kidding. James (Mohit Ahlawat) is the kind of hero we haven’t seen in our cinema for a while. He has the stature of Amitabh Bachchan, the beefy musculature of Sunny Deol, and the generic face of an Everyman. Can he act? It’s hard to tell from this explosive action movie, as he’s merely required to be a presence –- but based on that hulking, brooding presence, I think it’s safe to say he’s not going to take a dip in a soapy bathtub filled with rose petals anytime soon. One punch from...
... his fist, and the bad guy hits the floor even before the DISHOOM has finished reverberating around the theatre’s speakers. A big thank you to producer Ram Gopal Varma for bringing back the Action Hero.
James is just that –- an Action Hero. He’s not the Angry Young Man, despite director Rohit Jugraj’s references to the Bachchan-hero era, with nods to 'Sholay' (after a failed mission, the villain begins laughing unexpectedly; his sidekicks join in; he suddenly stops and unleashes violence) and 'Coolie'. (Is it my imagination, or does the villain look like Puneet Issar having a bad hair day?) In the really good Bachchan movies, the superhero had a soul. He took on twenty goons all at once, yes, but his biggest fights were with himself. That’s why, when Shashi Kapoor, in 'Deewar', asks his mother what she’s praying for, she replies, “Tumhare liye sukh, aur Vijay ke liye shanti.†That inner torment of the seventies’ -– and even the eighties’ ('Arjun') –- action hero isn’t particularly evident here. Hell, we don’t know anything about this hero; when he launches into his back story, the background music drowns it out. He may be called James, but he’s such a mystery (and such a laconic drifter), he may well be The Man with No Name -– he strays into town, cleans up the bad elements, and walks away.
But if this lack of a human dimension renders James as something of a robot, it’s perhaps only fitting in this 'Terminator'-style narrative of the good guys being chased (and chased, and chased) by the relentless bad guy, a local 'dada' that James rubs the wrong way. (The difference is that James, the good guy, is the Schwarzenegger equivalent; before a brawl, when his girlfriend cowers behind him, her face completely vanishes behind his bicep.) It’s all about the action, action, action –- and even as my outer adult was whining that this is nothing but slickly choreographed violence, my inner 12-year-old was experiencing a terrific adrenaline rush.
The impotence-of-the-System backdrop, the ear-shattering background score, the great supporting cast, the bimbette heroine (Nisha Kothari, apparently wearing Antara Mali’s hand-me-downs from 'Naach') who all but performs a lap dance on her man during what is supposedly a _romantic_ moment, the black humour (someone gets a call while surrounded by killers; his ring tone is the title song of 'Kal Ho Naa Ho', which is his situation at that point) –- these are the things you expect from an RGV production. But just as you’ve settled into the rhythms of an action movie, there’s a jolt of pure emotion thanks to a shocker of a plot development. That’s what makes 'James' really work, that other thing you expect from an RGV production: the unexpected.
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infact, i don't read any film review indian or foreign until after I watch the film. i visit review pages to get an 'overall' view, usually the last paragraph & ***** ratings.
