A forceful masala punch

In the age of booming remakes Force is another meat on the already full plate but this Bollywood masala action packed dose has some good moments to offer.

The Background

The movie opens with an engaging scene of Narcotics Officer Yashvardhan coming bursting out of a window and falling off the cliff in one motion, only to somehow miraculously survive. No don't expect "127 hours" kind of survival action, it's more of a wounded hulk climbing to the top.

Yet that scene sets the pace and as Yash is being carried to the Operation Theatre he sees flashes and we are transported to his past where this began.

ACP Yashvardhan is a fearless "goonda" cop who beats goons to a pulp and does so while flashing ample biceps and with some- don't give a damn- attitude. Sounds familiar? Well it is because that's the basic outline of several recent Bolly potboilers generously remade from their south Indian counterparts.

Moving on, you see Maya- the girl with the smile and as Yashvardhan falls for her and cleans up drug peddlers with absolute ease, the demon arrives.

Vishnu (paradoxical name, wouldn't you agree?) is the force of evil who plans to take revenge for the death of his elder brother during a sting operation.

Thus the battle begins and no prizes for guessing who wins this (sweaty dishum dishum) match up and that is what keeps you entertained for the rest of the saga.

The story – 1.5/5

It's official now. Bollywood has simply run out of good ideas to enthral audiences and so it must look south if it wants to create an action venture. Well action is the word and film makers these days make it seem that if it's hard hitting, punch cracking, bullet flying action you want, then remake is the only way.

It is fine to dabble with the concept of supercops who churn out corny lines and "Force" their way across all the filth that urban society has to offer but while you are at it, why not make things believable and less clichéd.

And the romance is fine to supplement but if the protagonists need to fall in love then is it at all possible to not spoon-feed preordained romance?

Just a thought but perhaps it is true that in this age of whistle blowing remakes that brings a sure blockbuster, jerky novel ideas of unconventional action thrillers are impossible to create.

It seems for Bollywood and "Force" it is an intransigence to stick to formulas that work even if they appear banal after a slew of such conventional action thrillers.

Still to be fare "Force" has its own solitary moments of genius in the story and some twists appear out of the common retraced mind-frame, thereby adding a slight colour to the otherwise hackneyed script.

The characters are predictable with the taciturn power cop, the bubbly talkative cutie, the loyal friend and the gag reel producers.

The only nail sticking out could be the character of Vishnu who appears a diabolical genius and an adequate foil to the hero, not just in his muscular frame, but also in the use of his grey matter. His character adds the spice that truly makes the action sequences liven up.

The direction and technique – 2/5

Had it not been for some jaw dropping camerawork and some mind numbing action sequences, the direction in itself would have been a let downer.

The question to ask is how you can go wrong when you are working with settled scripts, but one can say it is a matter of tastes. What works in some parts of the nation doesn't work everywhere.

"Force" is a tad too long and a few sequences are a tad too overdrawn. With some judicious editing the pace would have been more gripping and hence the action could have been more striking.

Also the sudden changes of mood from cuddly romance to menacing threats isn't good for mental digestion and tends to cause unnecessary bedlam in the mind that is already trying to grasp the fast forward details of drug peddling.

Still if you can digest the story then the storytelling nuances can be ignored.

The acting – 2.5/5

While Force is synonymous with the growing dexterity in the field of cinematography in Bollywood, acting is not exactly the sweet spot in this film.

John is good with the "Dhoom" type attitude and knows how to flex those packs and triceps. He however doesn't quite manage to capture all the possible human moods of the character and after showing credible performances in the past "Force" is certainly not the best in his repertoire.

Nothing to say about Genelia, except perhaps her troubled Hindi accent, something we have become accustomed to thanks to another Bolly babe. She plays the character of a lively girl with a previously showcased expertise in the genre.

Vidyut Jammwal as the bad man Vishnu rocks and manages to keep us hooked onto the cat and mouse game that he plays with John.

The rest of the cast do their defined jobs well and act their roles fittingly.

The music- 3.5/5

The music hits you from the word go and the songs as well as the background scores offer much required support to the screenplay.

The song "Khwabon Khwabon" is sure to be a chartbuster and the rest of them also manage to make you hum.

So is it forceful enough?

Well there are all the customary elements from the 70-80 era of Bollywood action ventures, coupled with some stunning visuals and so if adrenaline pumping is what you need then Force will provide the adequate bloodbaths, punches and kicks to keep you hooked.

If you however need a different storyline and some credible screenplay to incite you then you can give this masala movie a rest.