Fan reviews of Aks

I'll try not to give out story details, because the unexpected twists and turns are an integral part of the script, and spoiling them would spoil part of the fun this roller coaster ride of crime, sex, and style offers...

Moreover psychological thriller, mystery, etc, it was a great action flick! The action scenes were expertly shot and completley breathtaking... the locales of Budapest look even cooler than in HDDCS... the way they serve as a setting to some of the best action stunts in bollywood is also very smart... done in true hollywood style... The best action scene: The initial scene of the struggle between Amitabh and Manoj in the caves and then in the river are fantastic!

Amitabh was good in the positive/negative roles... he has proven to me once again that he is very versatile (even thought im not a big fan of his personality, he is a good actor). The scenes with his family are unlike other family hindi movies (especially sh*t like ER), they are a lot more real, more beleivable and more charming. The song Ram Leela is notably picturized... ABs work in the negative role is a little confusing, and sometimes he looks a bit old and out of place, but these are very rare little frames... Another thing that is a little off about his negative character is whether or not audiences are supposed to accept him as the new hero of the film, or as a villain? He is not the same Manu Verma, but then u are expected to root for him over his enemies... one of the major problems is that the "hero" pretty much changes in the middle and you are now supposed to follow the triles and tribulations of a new "jaded hero." but i guess its just as bad as having two completely different people who take revenge for each other in those twin movies (like KNPH)

Manoj has a much bigger role than I thought, and I won't give much away, but the movie has less to do with any kind of switching, more like ... replacing.... (to give you a hint, if you recall a Anthony Hopkins/Cuba Gooding Jr. movie, and how the good buy became completeley evil, its like that ) but it all makes sense by the end of the film... even though the details may get a bit sketchy.

Speaking of Manoj, AB and replacing, also interesting is the picturization of the songs. The song Aaaj Gufaon Mein Aa is very interesting, and the metaphors in the imagery show the scriptwriter, director and cinematgrapher's brilliance.

Raveena's role is a bit different than I thought as well. I had thought that she would meet AB as a bad guy and fall in love with him, but the story has it so that she new Bajpai's character from before. She is soooooooooooooooooooooooo sexy!!!!!!!!!! Yeh Raat is a great great great song... not to go off in a tangent,,, by my god she has an amazzzzing body! So fluid.... so jiggly (hey! im not a pervert: watch the film, more than half of the song is spent jiggling!) But she's not there just for sex... she has a role and Raveena did a great job. Her character is moving in the surprise outcome of her relationship with AB (something BIG and UNEXPECTED happens in the RAAT ATI HAI song).

Nandita Das and AB's daughter have small, but pivotal roles... they are also important to the story. The way they help make AB's character distinct, and what they represent in contrast to what AB becomes is the reason for their presence.. Ram Leela is a charming song.

Bottom line: The film succeeds on many levels, and only has a few shortcomings.

Performances are great, every artiste is at the best they could possibly be at. THe action scenes are also brilliant, probably the best in hindi films. Better than Mission Kashmir. The songs are great too, and the music video like sequences in which they are presented is equally breathtaking: every song except Ram Leela and Banda Bindaas looks so different, surreal... you have to see it to believe it! Infact, its worth going in to theatres to see just this (i reccoment theatres or DVD for watching this, because the sequences are that brillaint and beautiful- in a eerie way). The only thing that falls a little short, in the end, is the script and how much sense it makes. Agreed there are some really smart plot twists (like the relevance of the government people killed, the track with raveena, the little psychology that is covered) The reasoning is a bit far fetched, and although those familiar with Hindu themes will get the comparison, its logic should have been more justified. (i dont want to give up detials, but you'll see) But one has to let things slide, if it weren't for this little stretch of the imagination, there would be no film, nothing making this film the same old cop chases bad guy story.

All in all, a great mix of action, music, sex, beauty, style, and performances (to a lesser extent, philosophy and psychology) that makes up for the semi-hard to grasp underlying concept.

Rating: 8.75/10

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in case u want to see what i'd rate other films, here are some films and what i would give them out of ten:

BISKH: 6.00/10 LKLKBK: 6.50/10 Lagaan: 9.95/10 Gadar: 7.25/10 MKKH: 3.00/10

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