Kick Movie Review

Rating: 3/5 Stars (Three stars)

Star cast: Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Randeep Hooda, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Mithun Chakraborty, Archana Puran Singh,Saurabh Shukla, Sanjay Mishra, Kavin Dave, Sumona Chakravarti

Director: Sajid Nadiadwala

What’s Good: Salman-Jacqueline’s palpable chemistry and the high octane action pieces that are nothing short of brilliant. Nawazuddin is more fantastic than you expect him to be. If Salman is a superhero, Siddiqui is quite a supervillain. I wish there was more of him in the film.

What’s Bad: The first half drags in places, with the humor drooping the film’s tempo. Not to mention, the film should have been called Dhoom 4 for all the right reasons.

Loo break: Very Few.

Watch or Not?: Kick is an official amalgamation ofDhoom and a bunch of trademark Salman films. To its credit, the film quite achieves what it sets out for: massy trappings. Salman in very few roles genuinely seems to enjoy himself and Kick is one of the sparing few. If you don’t mind paying for massive canvas, high voltage action, chemistry with a tinge of electricity and songs that will get you ecstatic – this is your shot at getting a solid high! Whistle baja time ‘coz this is a Bollywood fillum.

        Devi Lal Singh (Salman Khan) is an accomplished guy but cannot hold on to a job because nothing gives him kick enough. He is always looking for life to give him a high. Coincidence brings him to Shaina (Jacqueline Fernandez) who gives him the high he is looking for at the love front.

       The two part ways initially but meet later in the oddest of circumstances when Shaina is Devi’s only hope in achieving a mission that comes for a bigger cause. Devi is no more the man Shaina had loved but has transformed into Devil.

        Why does Devi walk back into Shaina’s life? What instigated his transformation to Devil? Will the two ever get back? And finally what is the mission that Devi is on and is it right or wrong?

A still from movie ‘Kick’

Kick Review: Script Analysis

        It isn’t a surprise but the film has no story. If you are expecting intellect, I will doubt yours. Devil Lal Singh is a superhero. To make it more believable, the makers even gave a Krrish mask to the man, who has topped every exam he has appeared in and broken every bone that has come his way. You buy no bit of the story, how he falls in love to how they break up to how he turns into Devil. The film’s first half is lukewarm. There is nothing sizzling in it and despite the leading duo’s cutesy chemistry, there is a zing missing from the first half.

        This film isn’t without flaws, but isn’t replete with them as crucial ones have been avoided. A bunch of major logic lapses are present in the film but you can prefer to ignore those. Though after a highly dramatic action scene, Salman’s bus falls into the river and in the next scene he is in Delhi, one wonders what really happened. It is disparate and lacks consistency. The sudden leap doesn’t work. The chemistry between the characters is kept smooth but I could not digest the emotional angle of the film either. Somehow, it seemed Salman was still trying his luck at selling Jai Ho. Bro, let it go. It ain’t gonna happen!

       In the second half, very little time was invested on exploring Salman and Jacqueline’s track. Though time was well spent on Nawazuddin, a little more of him would have helped the film better. Salman and Nawaz’s face off scene in the climax keeps you engaged for the repartee.

          My only issue with the film was its title; it could have been more aptly called Dhoom 4. In most action sequences, when cars were blowing or when Salman was plotting his attack, my mind automatically played Dhoom Dhoom Dhoom (to be specific, the background music of Dhoom 2) The film is a grander version of Dhoom, that almost seems to further the franchise. Too bad, story wasn’t a concern for the writers since they had Salman to endorse the gibberish they had churned out. If this film was made with a different cast, we could have rechristened it ‘Kicked’- by critics. Thriving solely on Bhai’s charisma and its action, the film doesn’t even try its hand at pushing the boundaries of crisply packaged Salman Khan fare.

Kick Review: Star Performances

          Salman Khan is having a blast in the film. Unlike most roles, Khan was seen having some great fun in the film. He says his dialogues with a wicked gusto and plays Devil with an evil flair and brutal swagger.

        Jacqueline Fernandez is not just a pretty face as the actress brings out in her role the desired charm. Her chemistry with Khan has an appealing quality to it that became the sole saving grace of an otherwise boring first half.

       Randeep Hooda is a great actor but he boils himself down to caricaturish mannerisms. He plays Abhishek Bachchan from Dhoom sans improvisations.

       Mithun Chakraborty was a pleasant surprise and despite limited screen space, he brings a fabulous color to his character.

Saurabh Shukla was used too little in the film and hence he doesnt do much to add value.

Kick Review: Direction, Editing and Screenplay

        Sajid Nadiadwala doesn’t make ordinary films and his debut vehicle has enough to convey that. It was a pompous affair where the story was needless but the magnitude of the film scores. Probably it is Sajid who was instrumental in getting Salman to enjoy his work so much. Though the director didn’t insist on improving the script at hand, he did his best in making an opulent film.

          By design, this film is full of Clap traps, action and drama but had Nadiadwala used the melodrama with a better logic, the film would have turned out better. Sajid captured the thrills well but the art of story telling is something the director still needs to get a hang of. It wasn’t difficult to make out this was a débutant’s work. At multiple points in the second half, the film’s energy dropped really low that I was expecting the next slide will feature end credits, when there was a good 20 minutes left to go. Coherence comes with experience and Nadiadwala needs to pick it up over time.

        The film’s music is spectacular. The Devil song’s surprise version rather worked better for me. The film’s cinematography was commendably delivered. But the best part was the action that was sumptuously executed. The magnificece of the action scenes were breathtaking. Arasu’s top notch action added better bling to the film. Rendering thrill, chill and satisfying fun, the superb action gives the desired adrenaline rush, the film’s theme uses in its core.

Kick Review: The Last Word

        Kick isn’t a pile-on, on Salman’s harebrained repertoire. Luckily, it has the thrill in its action parts and the fuzziness in its romantic ones. Salman sinks his teeth in a character that is a blend of his best roles, delivering a film that is a welcome change from his regular formulaic potboilers. Nawazuddin’s performance upped the bar of mainstream villain by manifolds and Jacqueline’s chemistry with Khan is sexy. Kick is noEk Tha Tiger but it is an effectively enjoyable film that crackles enough to gives us bang for our buck! I am going with a generous 3/5. Kick isn’t kickass but gives a delicious rush.

Watch Kick Trailer Here

Kick releases on 25th July, 2014.

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