FILM REVIEWS SACHIN CHATTE

Quite a Spectacle

Film: Mission Impossible: Fallout

Cast: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson

Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie

Duration: 2 hrs 27 mins

Rating:  * * * *

Of all the modern day franchises including and especially the super hero ones, Mission Impossible is one of the few that has consistently delivered entertaining films. Tom Cruise has displayed some super hero like abilities in performing some of the stunts which are far more appealing than comic book hero can achieve.

It is sufficient to say that this 6th instalment is one of the best in the series and one of the best action films of this century so far. It is amusing and amazing that they made such a terrific entertainer of a film with a basic plot that has been done to death in several films but the layers added to the characters make up for it – make no mistake; this is one cracker of a film.

Director Christopher McQuarrie(who wrote that memorable film, The Usual Suspects)  has teamed up with Tom Cruise on six occasions before as a screenwriter and this is his third outing as a director with the 56 year old actor after Jack Reacher (2015) and the previous Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015).

At the outset we are told about The Apostles, a group of terrorists who have come into existence after the capture of Solomon Lane, from the previous film. When Ethan (Cruise) along with Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames) try to intercept the exchange of plutonium which is to be used for destruction, you wonder if this is going to another of those run of the mill kind of films. But you are happy to be proven wrong as the action kicks off right away and the proceedings are terse in this two and half hour film.

Henry Cavill plays a CIA agent who teams up with Hunt to retrieve the lost plutonium and his job entails more than just that.  There are other characters that come on the scene Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) the MI6 agent who has a history with Hunt and Julia (Michelle Monaghan) his wife who keeps appearing flashes. Then there is a search for mysterious people like John Lark who wants to lay his hands on the plutonium.

The motives of every character are questionable as herrings of red and other colours are thrown in from time to time. Like in most spy thrillers, there is a fair bit of globetrotting involved but a large part of the action unfolds in Paris and then, London. A car and bike chase on the Parisian streets (performed by Cruise himself) is one of the best you will ever get to see on the big screen. Unlike action scenes these days which are edited with such rapidity that at times you don’t know what exactly is happening, Fallout has squeaky clean editing allowing you to soak the action in all its glory. The thrilling climax intercuts between three different locations and the last time we saw such intercutting was in the finale of Dunkirk.

The difference is obvious when stunts are actually performed and when they are imitated in front of a green screen – the former look genuine even though given the overdose of CGI now days, it takes a little time to believe that they actually performed them.

Even though the film has an impressive supporting cast, Cruise, who has been playing this character for 22 years now, remains the heart and soul and this time, he has raised the stakes higher. His physical fitness and endurance levels are to be seen to be believed – it might just prompt you to hit the gym or do a few extra push ups and weights when you see him running on the rooftops like a man possessed.

Effectively, Mission Impossible: Fallout is such a superlative action entertainer that I am seriously contemplating watching it again – and I can’t say that about too many films these days.

Time to Retire

Film: Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3

Cast: Mahie Gill, Sanjay Dutt, Jimmy Shergill

Directed by: Tigmanshu Dhulia

Duration: 2 hrs 20 mins

Rating:  * *

Director Tigmanshu Dhulia made some memorable films like Haasil (2003), Paan Singh Tomar (2012) and Sahen Biwi aur Gangster (2011), amply proving his knack for telling these rural, rooted stories in an authentic fashion. It’s a shame though that his career graph hasn’t quite taken off as one would have expected.

Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3, is more of an effort to milk the franchise whose first two films had met with considerable success. The first one particularly was an impressive film about betrayal and ambition among the rich in a small town. In this third film, Aditya Pratap Singh aka Saheb (Jimmy Shergill) is still in jail while his wife Madhavi (Mahie Gill) has become a successful politician and is more than happy to keep her hubby behind bars. Eventually, he gets out setting off a chain of events that leads to backstabbing and double crossing.

Sanjay Dutt plays the gangster – to say that he sleeps through the role would be a more apt description. He plays Uday, the owner of a fancy club in London who is deported to India after he smashes a bottle on a ‘firangs’ head for insulting his nationality.

Back home, he also becomes a part of the schemes and plans and the gorgeous Chitrangadha Singh plays his girlfriend who sings songs for him over video calls when he is in the UK.

The problem with the film is that even though there are so many characters, they are not etched well and for most parts, the film is either dull or totally flat. There is the occasional scene or dialogue that has some spark but largely, the proceedings are indifferent.

The time has come for the Saheb, Biwi and Gangster to retire.