Quantum of Solace - A descent thriller; nothing more (2/5)

The gadgets, the wits, the charm, the out of this world kind of villains, the babes and his stylish designer suits and blazer’s, that’s what makes a bond movie. Bond movies have always been a visual treat. One can keep their brain at home and go for a Bond movie and still come out satisfied. But you’re going to get completely disappointed if you expect to watch the kind of Bond that Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore or Sean Connery carried off. This is not your piece of cake. This is Bond. The new age James Bond.

He doesn’t have his usual gadgets, the machine gun equipped BMW’s, neither is he chasing a larger than life villain nor is he charming with the babes. Then what do they have this time??? He is for sure a maverick with more flesh and blood. More aggressive and is definitely, driven by revenge. This time, he takes his mission a bit personal.

“Quantum of Solace” kicks off right from where its prequel “Casino Royale” left. Bond is on his quest to avenge for the death of Vesper – his love interest in “Casino Royale”.
The script is bit of intricate to figure out right away where as “Casino Royale “was pretty straight forward.

The stunts are convincing and one can see the kind of effort that’s been put into each of these stunt scenes right away. Although my friends were pretty okay with the camera being a little too shaky at the action, But I had to say that as a result of Marc Forster (“Finding Neverland”,”The Kite Runner”) trying to add drama into the action scenes and follows the scenes tightly with the camera, it’s possible for you to get motion sickness a little too early.

The villain is unfortunately less interesting compared to other Bond franchises. He seems to be more down to earth without those over the sky laser firing satellite or a stealth submarine. The fist fights seem to be more realistic and hard, shedding more blood. Though all this adds to the reality quotient of the movie, the traditional trademark James Bond is completely submerged somewhere down under.

To conclude, let me tell you the fact. “Quantum of Solace” is a descent thriller. Do not expect the cliché Bond that you and I grow up watching, and the chances are that you will be contented with what they remind you once a while that you are still watching a James Bond movie. Now, the whole idea may seem ridiculous, but unlike the other bond films the hard edged story telling works fine here. Although the script is not as interesting as “Casino Royale”, “Quantum of Solace” can keep you glued. There is so much happening at any given time.

Fashion - All girls, less fashion (2/5)

The whole movie is claimed to be set in the backdrop of the fashion industry. It’s realistic. It’s glamorous. And it has got whatever you expect to be out there. But all with a pinch of the famous “Indian spicy masala”. Mathur seems to be still sticking to his old and over told formula. The extra-marital affairs, the gay stories, the politics, the night stands, Boy, how many movies and articles have been made and written over these subjects??? Yes, add one more to that list.

The story teller takes you through the personal life of characters more than their professional life that 30 minutes into the movie, you know that this is not about fashion but about a bunch of characters and their change over the course of chasing their dreams, set in the “masala filled” backdrop of modeling and fashion industry.

The characters seem to have been inspired from real life. If you can remember the last time you read about an indian super model being addicted to drugs and then being into a rehab and then again going back to the same dark world and getting killed with the overdose of same drug, you will be enlightened that the director is trying to give the wrong impression that every supermodel smokes, boozes, makes night stands and consumes drugs and will end up in rehab and goes through the same track. If he was trying to portray the story of a model, who went through all these, it would’ve been more convincing. Rather the director is trying to tell the story of wannabe models, models, supermodels and what not, and gives out the wrong impression that every aspiring models and super models have to go through all this.

This is no longer being bold way of telling story. This is masala now.

The director even fails to completely reveal certain characters like the one that’s played by Mugdha Godse and Raj Babbar. Although Mugdha has done a good job, questions like why her character did certain things will remain un-answered and the character played by Raj Babbar is neither well written nor convincing. A slight waste of talent and a point to improve on. Priyanka Chopra is at her best. After a row of flops, she has a sigh of relief. Although Kangana’s character is a blend of the ones she played in “Gangster “and “Life in a Metro” she has pulled her role convincingly with ease. Practice makes a man perfect.

Now, when you hear the name of the movie and the director, you very well know what to expect. And it does meet your expectation. But here’s a tip, watch FTV for an hour before you go watch the movie. Add the Madhur masala to what you’ve seen some time back and you get a bollywood flick - Fashion.

Let me tell you the final word, Fashion is not a bad movie. And yes, it’s definitely above average. But the problem is,most of the time, there's nothing new that the director is trying to tell us apart from what we expect.

There are some really good music by Salim-Sulaiman and decent cinematography by Mahesh Limaye which really helps the director pull off the story with panache. It’s worth a watch if you are not tired of watching the kind of movies like “Page3”, “Life in a Metro(Anurag Basu)”, and “Corporate”. This is yet another into that list. And for parents who are apprehensive about letting their kids to this industry, please, this is no movie to bias your opinion on.

Being said all this; the movie is engaging. Garnish it over a bucket of pop-corn and as one of the dialogues in the movie goes this way - "jitna kum sochogi utna zyada kamaogi" so does this. Don’t think. The less you think, the more you can enjoy this movie.