Rustom ** ½

Dir:  Tinu Suresh Desai

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Ileana D’Cruz, Esha Gupta, Arjan Bajwa, Kumud Mishra, Pawan Malhotra

Based on a famous 1959 Bombay murder case in which a decorated naval officer shot his wife’s lover and which ultimately resulted in the abolition of jury trials in India, Rustom had the potential to explore complex human emotions and the often incomprehensible overlap of love, hate, hurt, betrayal, and loyalty which accompanies matters of the heart. But, unfortunately, the people behind the movie are more interested in presenting Akshay Kumar (playing the titular Rustom) as a patriotic hero and turning the film into a procedural thriller.

The movie may have worked in those terms if it was half as clever as it thinks it is. Unfortunately, it isn’t and Akshay also loses an opportunity to play a part more complex than is the norm for him. Rustom, the character, does have shades of grey but it would have been much more interesting to see him run the gamut of emotions as a cuckolded husband than play yet another cool mastermind. The other characters are similarly lightly sketched and Ileana D’Cruz’s cheating wife carries no depth. Kumud Mishra, however, has fun as a muckraking newspaper editor who sees the lurid trial as a sure-fire way to sell newspapers.

The movie’s first half is by far the stronger and it loses steam post intermission. Chopping off half an hour from its running length would have helped tremendously. The period cinematography and details are also a bit hit-and-miss.

Cut to chase: Had potential but the filmmakers shy away from complex human emotions.

 

Mechanic: Resurrection **

Dir:  Dennis Gansel

Starring: Jason Statham, Jessica Alba, Tommy Lee Jones, Michelle Yeoh, Sam Hazeldine, Rhatha Phongam, Natalie Burn

Hollywood’s Sultan Rahi aka Jason Statham returns in a typical Statham star vehicle in which the follicly challenged but indestructible hero does what he does in practically every movie: perform impossible stunts, show off his impressive physique, take out dozens of bad guys with just a grunt and a squint, kiss the girl and, perhaps, also save the world in the process.

The plots are purely perfunctory in most Statham movies and exist merely to showcase the leading man’s physical prowess. Mechanic: Resurrection features a plot even more flimsy than usual - Arthur Bishop, the titular "mechanic" who assassinates bad guys while making the impossible kills look like accidents, is coerced out of retirement because his girlfriend (Jessica Alba) is kidnapped.

How Alba comes into his life and the set-up is actually really too silly to explain or believe, so there’s no point in my trying to elaborate further. You just have to go with the flow on these. But plot aside there is nothing really here to distinguish the movie from any other Statham starrer and the action sequences are pretty perfunctory and do not get the pulse racing.

Watch only if you are a Jason Statham fan. Or a Jessica Alba fan, for that matter - the camera certainly is as it lingers on her admirable physique in more than one sequence. Michelle Yeoh and Tommy Lee Jones are wasted.

Cut to chase: Strictly for Statham fans only.

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Twitter: @KhusroMumtaz

 

Rating system:  *Not on your life     ** Hardly worth the bother     ** ½ Okay for a slow afternoon only     *** Good enough for a look see     *** ½ Recommended viewing     **** Don’t miss it     **** ½ Almost perfect     ***** Perfection