The Hindu : New Delhi News : A week with a very special treat for kids, but dampened by a multi-starrer gone awry....

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Sunday, Oct 29, 2006
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New Delhi

A week with a very special treat for kids, but dampened by a multi-starrer gone awry....

ZIYA US SALAM

GARFIELD-2

(At Spice PVR, Noida; and Delhi theatres)

Time to get into the comfort zone. Time to catch up with the deferred joys of life. Time for "Garfield-2", a rare film that improves upon the first instalment. The initial outing was anything but exciting. We saw and walked on. This one, in parts, is clearly better than the comic; in others, it does not do too badly in comparison. It might just linger on in the memory recesses a shade longer.

A tale of look-alikes who end up in each other's territory, this animation delight is a bit of a face-saver for director Tim Hill: how do you face the world when you get a cat as cute as Garfield and still fail to make maximum impact? Hill does not do the maximum, but does not fall short by a distance. Yes, it is that kind of film that leaves you with the feeling that it could have been so much better.

For one thing, we could have had a better handling of the climax. It drags a wee bit, seems a little muddled too. But then it could have been so much worse! In between we get some breezy one-liners and wonderful expressions from Garfield with Murray's lovely voice-over. The background score adds to the fun, and we get some moments that are replete with happiness, joy and bliss.

That's okay, but what is "Garfield's latest escapade all about?

For the uninitiated, and those who came in early - in India the Garfield saga is not so well entrenched in history - this is the story of a cat Prince who lands a fortune. That is a castle, a retinue of servants, a governor, and lots of animal friends. All is fine but, as in life, so in this film: there are bad guys too. Notably Lord Dargis, who is next in line to inherit the throne. But it is not a simple age-old battle of succession between two candidates: the cat and the man looking for the same pound of flesh. There is that little twist of Prince losing his way to the commoner Garfield's life. And Garfield becomes royalty!

Interesting fare. Good fun. Nothing more. Nothing less. Watch it to indulge the kids at home. Watch it to indulge the child in you: the child who never got a tryst with Garfield when quite young and deserving. The deferred joys are all here.

LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN

(At Wave, Noida; and Delhi theatres)

Josh Hartnett is there. So is Bruce Willis. Morgan Freeman is present too. And Ben Kingsley as well. If this film were to apply for marks as a multi-starrer, there would scarcely be any competition. Some will talk of "Pearl Harbor". Some of "Oliver Twist". And the mention of "Million Dollar Baby" will raise the expectation level to a new high. But hold it. We Indians will talk of Ben Kingsley and quietly murmur Gandhi. Yes, it is the "Indian" connection of "Lucky Number Slevin" that gets you interested in this film that has arrived with as much publicity as a fly on the wall.

One mention of these guys together in a film is sure to send hopes soaring for high-octane stuff. But a few minutes into the film and you realise why this film arrived the way it did: there is hardly a frame you have not seen, there is barely a twist that is not familiar. And a story that most of us would know like the resume of its many stars: a case of mistaken identity lands the hapless Hartnett as Slevin in the middle of a war being plotted by two of the city's rival crime bosses: mean and ruthless Kingsley as Rabbi and Freeman as the intense, silent, simmering Boss.

But this is no tale of a man caught in the crossfire. Slevin is in turn being chased by Willis as Goodkat. He has to save his skin. He must get the guys before they get him. Of course the fact that he is used by rivals gets the story some momentum, but that is too little, too infrequent.

But the way things unfold there is barely any excitement. There is hardly any element of suspense. There is no lethal warfare either. Just a skirmish or two, just a little chase. And it all peters out soon enough. We end up with a film that could have taken us to lofty heights of cinematic excellence with its crime mystery falling sadly, badly, criminally short.

Sorry guys, but director Paul McGuigan's film is unlikely to prove lucky for you or, for that matter, the box office. As a line in the other film of the week goes, "don't roam, stay home". Follow that and you might just get lucky.

Lesson of the week: Stars are no guarantee of good cinema or even good returns. Have a good story, a good script, and even a cat can deliver!

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