Rowdy Rathore (2012)

One of the things that Bollywood haven't forgotten, one thing that Hollywood seemed to abandon after the 80s, is how to make a good action movie! They don't scrimp (just learned a new word!) when it comes to camera pans, replays, snappy sound effects and cheesy fights or romance... but that's how it's supposed to be! That's what entertains! American movies are exaggerated in a different kind of way, in a... too exaggerated kind of way (is that even possible?!). Anyway, about this movie..

The main character in this movie isn't just one character, but two, two characters that look so similar it might as well be the same actor. One's a cop, one's a thief, and through crazy circumstance their fates intertwine. Of course there's also a little love on the side, both drama and comedy and plenty of action to balance it out.

The movie starts off with a clue, a hint at what's coming next (a grave that's filled with stones, a notion that Vikram Singh Rathore is still alive! And then... it jumps to another city, to another character (before this mysterious Vikram Singh Rathore is really introduced) and for a while I forget about him completely, as the movie delves into comedy and introduces this Rowdy Rathore character, as he later calls himself: a swindler, child-hater (so of course he gets a kid), drummer, happy-go-lucky dude who suddenly stumbles upon the girl of his dreams, and then a treasure chest with a little girl in it, and then suddenly a group of people are all out to kill him. Not until mid-movie is it revealed what the introduction was all about... or maybe I was just thinking slow.

That's where things start changing, and a much more sinister side of the movie is finally revealed. I was a bit shocked at the shift of plot. It's sudden; unexpected, and all of a sudden it's a fight for survival, for justice, about life and death (there's a bit of both) and then... it jumps back to the comedy.

You're never really sure if the next scene's going to be powerful and brutal, heart-wrenching or just fun, and that's one of the things I like about this flick. Some people may call it inconsistent, but I believe it's a strength rather than a flaw, and all but unintentional. Then of course there's all that sensual dancing we associate with Bollywood, some pretty intense fights, some pretty good special effects too. Maybe It's the variation, or maybe this is really how movies were meant to be, but I'm really enjoying this Bollywood rage! Great watch!

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle