The Hindu : New Delhi News : Speed fails to thrill this week

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Saturday, Oct 20, 2007
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New Delhi

Speed fails to thrill this week

ZIYA US SALAM

SLOW MOTION: Vikram Bhatt’s “Speed” neither thrills nor scores at the box office.

SPEED

(At Fun, Laxmi Nagar, and other theatres in Delhi and elsewhere)

Ever wondered about the hallmarks of a flop film? Well, it usually arrives at the box office without a ripple – and its stay is in keeping with the arrival. It boasts faded, past-their-prime stars, or those who were never stars in the first place. The film is usually directed by a man living off his past….

Well, Vikram Bhatt’s “Speed” here now fulfils all the basics! It has been released at a time when no one was ready to take the plunge. And there has not been even a ripple of excitement surrounding this Urmila Matondkar-Zayed Khan-Sanjay Suri-Aftab Shivdasani starrer. As for Bhatt, maybe, he does not even recall the last time he came up with a hit!

A couple of hours watching this film and you realise why. There is not much here one would recommend even to a first-timer. No, not even Urmila, who as a kidnapped wife of an intelligence agent is all puffed up with garish make-up and a couple of frightened expressions that never seem to leave her once-lovely face.

Forget “Rangeela”, which seems ancient history, even “Pinjar” and “Banaras” seem a distant memory. More is the pity, considering that in recent years Urmila has been bold enough to pick up roles which challenge her to step beyond the stereotype.

But why harp on poor Urmila in what essentially is a rip-off, and a poor one at that? Bhatt probably watched “The Cellular” and liked what he watched. Then decided, hey, he could make a Hindi movie out of that. Never mind if most of the characters here speak English for conversation and Hindi for an excuse. We have Sanjay Suri – managing to look ruffled – as an intelligence agent who chances upon a deadly secret: on Equinox Day, a tragedy is going to strike the world! Turns out, on that very day, his wife and kiddo are kidnapped. And for some obscure reason, the kidnappers – led by the expressive-as-a-log Aftab – leave a phone behind in the room! That is enough for the hostage to strike a bond with Zayed Khan’s lover boy, on whose slender shoulders falls the task of saving the damsel in distress.

Not to be left out of the frame is Tanushree Dutta, more puffed up than Urmila, and less bearable. Throw in a bid to assassinate the Indian Prime Minister in England, and Amrita Arora’s skin show! And you have the whole plot!

Confused? Yes, that was exactly the lot of the most die-hard fans who stayed the course. Frankly, except for its name, and some early momentum, the film has very little going for it. And the speed of the story is, well, not quite up to the notch required for a thriller.

And music? Well, the movie is supposed to have songs, but at the end one can only faintly recall Amrita trying desperately to look sexy in an itsy-bitsy costume in a song! Lyrics? Cannot even recall!

Despite being the week’s only new Hindi film, Bhatt’s movie has nothing new to offer.

RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION

(At Spice PVR, Noida, and other theatres)

After weeks of forgettable films, Bollywood might be reeling under constant adversities, but Hollywood is tackling calamities too. Of course, in its usual sci-fi way, dishing out films that capitalise on blood and gore amid constant fears of an imminent end to our world.

In this Russell Mulcahy film, we get more of the same: the experimental T-virus has been unleashed on the world endangering life and limb. As thousands are reduced to mere statistics in death toll, there is no safe zone. There are a few survivors, though, who take the desert road to safety in an armoured convoy: it is unlikely to be an easy journey.

Keeping tabs is Dr Isaac, who is looking for one individual who can save the world! Who is she? Well, in the question lies part of the answer, and how the director goes about settling that is quite an interesting exercise.

This is not, however, any Alice in mercy-land story because all along we get lots of bullets, brawn and blood. Guys are bumped off with greater ease than swatting flies. Some of the action looks credible: the scene of crows encircling the group is scary, leaving just the kind of visual effect a horror movie needs. What it does not need are some of the bullet scenes. For instance, the one where a bullet pierces through the head of a convoy member. One part of the head falls, and as the bullet goes through, we are left with just a shell. No flesh, little blood, completely ridiculous.

That, however, is a small jarring point in an otherwise engrossing film.

There is also a little ‘Indian’ connection: Ali Larter, who starred with Salman Khan in “Marigold”recently , is seen here as Claire, one of the survivors of the virulent attacks.

Should you watch it? Well, yes, if you have an appetite for the genre. It is the kind of film you would either really like, or really dislike. But give credit where it is due: Mulcahy’s film has its wonderful moments, moments of great spectacle, and genuine fear. In short, just what the doctor ordered.

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