Indian Express Movie Review by Shubhra Gupta: ‘Dhoom 3’ is more bust than boom
Cast: Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Jackie Shroff
Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya
The Indian Express Rating: **
Somewhere in the build-up to the film, a character tells another : just make sure my eyes do not move from you for five whole minutes. ‘Dhoom 3′ is nearly three hours long, and I am here to tell you that my eyes strayed from the screen many, many times.
My attention shouldn’t have wavered. Because the third instalment of` Dhoom’ has the kind of tech specs the slickest Hollywood flicks do : superb cinematography, great-looking sets, expansive foreign locations. And the promise that leading man Aamir Khan is meant to bring to his act. But very soon into the film, you are overcome with the feeling that engulfs you when you encounter stuff you’ve seen too many times before. ‘Dhoom 3’ is a victim of both a lack of imagination, and franchise fatigue.
In snowy Chicago, young Sahir is witness to his deep-in-debt-father’s ( Shroff) humiliation at the hands of a stony-faced banker, and the subsequent loss of his circus. Years later, in the same place, the Great Indian Circus opens to a glittering evening. Sahir ( Khan), now grown up, has perfected his double-bill : that of the smart thief, and a skilled magician. When he is not leading imported-from-India cop-duo Jai ( Bachchan) and Ali ( Chopra) a merry dance all over Chicago, he is charming awed audiences with his beautiful partner-on-a-trapeze Aliaya ( Kaif).
By rights, this should have been a blast. That’s what the ‘Dhoom’ flicks are meant for : ultra-toned bikini-ready bods ( remember the homely Esha Deol , yes the very one, transformed into a bronzed babe in the first one, and oh that Aishwarya in her teeny-weeny blue outfit that created such a storm in the second? ), the funny ha-ha between the `tapori’ Ali and the dour Jai, and the sizzling hot bad guys. I would pay good money for John Abraham and his bikes, and Hrithik and his golden-streaked hair, even on a second run.
Both those films were entertainers to the core, Yashraj style, unabashedly over-the-top, and fast-paced enough to make sure that we didn’t have any time to think . ‘Dhoom 3’ is too long and too laboured. And a lot of that has to do with Khan : he just doesn’t have the sexy-badness that is required for a part like this. He is in almost every frame, widening his eyes, rolling his neck, and trying for twinkly-wicked, but he comes off trying too hard. Bachchan and Chopra aren’t given anything fresh to do; Kaif is the only one who has a moment or two.
It doesn’t help that the plot is so banal, and so reminiscent of films that have had magicians and pilfered banks (those scenes of dollars raining down on the streets were an integral part of a Hollywood flick on roughly the same theme last year). What should have been thrilling—all those boys and their toys and their million dollar bikes—are all so seen it, done-with-it. There are just a couple of spectacular high- spots in the chases, but for a film that coasts mostly on its stunts, that’s just not enough.
The film comes alive in those scenes where good old Bollywood emotion—tears-welling-up-eyes between father and son, and ‘ladka’-and-‘ladki’—is allowed to come to the fore. Those earlier two films had the right doses of cheese and speed, and that’s why they worked. ‘Dhoom 3’ is more bust than boom.
Tags: Aamir Khan Abhishek Bachchan Anupama Chopra Critics Reviews Dhoom 3 Katrina Kaif Rajeev Masand Reviews Shubhra Gupta Taran Adarsh Uday Chopra Victor Acharya
Surprised that Taran’s review is not out yet. Was expecting his review will be the first with 4.5 stars.
Your wish is finally granted – Taran’s review is up with 4.5* LOL
Dhoom:3 review: Aamir Khan fronts a mind numbingly bad film
Read more at: https://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/dhoom3-review-aamir-khan-fronts-a-mind-numbingly-bad-film-1298385.html?utm_source=ref_article
Dhoom 3 By Taran Adarsh, 20 Dec 2013, 15:11 hrs IST
4.5 Picture this… The men are no less than superheroes. They speed across freeways. Glide beneath a racing van on their mean machines. Vroom at improbable speed on their motorbikes. Climb down skyscrapers. Perform acrobatic feats. Escape crashes and resist bullet abrasions. From gymnastics to gravity defying stunts to adventure sports to stretching the laws of physics, they know it all. Hang on, there’s more! They are the master of masquerades, camouflaging their facade more rapidly than chameleons change colors.
The men and their mean machines are back and so are huge muscles, hot wheels and loaded weapons. The fresh installment of DHOOM stretches into a novel territory this time [circus, magic], promising thrice the exhilaration. DHOOM has expanded into a money-spinning, lucrative franchise and it only gets larger in terms of scale: the budgets are getting monstrous and the star power, colossal. The question is, is it superior than the earlier installments? You may ask, the game of cops and thieves is hackneyed and trite, but do these movies with a thrill every minute even necessitate a storyline? In this case, what keeps you transfixed are the high-octane stunts, high speed chases and dazzling action sequences highlighted by an enigmatic star cast. Additionally, the anxiety and conflict between the two factions sets it apart from its predecessors. Add to it is the extravagant production design that leaves you flabbergasted. You have to give the credit to the producers [Yash Raj] for making the director’s grandiose vision come alive on celluloid.
Final word? DHOOM-3 delivers *more* than what it promises. The latest installment ups the ante as mean machines blaze across the screen in a dazzling display of stunt choreography. But it’s not all metallic or mechanical mayhem… this one has heart and soul too — an invigorating and intense drama with heart rending emotions!
It would be sacrilegious to reveal the plot of DHOOM-3, since there’s a suspense angle to it. But let’s make it succinct. It narrates the story of Sahir [Aamir Khan], who decides to avenge the injustice meted out to his father [Jackie Shroff] and how the cop, Jai [Abhishek Bachchan], gets on his trail.
The latest chapter of DHOOM, directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, delivers everything you anticipate from it, so there’s no room to grumble, frankly. All those who have loved the previous installments — and even the cynics too — are sure to get swept away into the world of Sahir, Jai, Ali and Aaliya. Agree, the narrative moves in the same vein and you might find a few episodes implausible, but in terms of overall impact, it surpasses the earlier installments by leaps and bounds. You watch the proceedings with rapt attention, transfixed to the big screen, despite a run time of almost 3 hours. Clearly, the director knows what the spectator wants and he gives it to them.
The best part is, there’s no bond or connection with the earlier DHOOM installments. Those who haven’t watched or perhaps don’t vividly recall the 2004 installment, or the subsequent one in 2006, need not worry, for the third chapter has a fresh plot and barring Jai and Ali, the focus is on Sahir and Aaliya, the newest incumbents. While the premise has ample twists and turns, the screenplay does a great job of upping the thrill quotient. Also, the narrative advances at an eloquent tempo, with the director making the spectator hold his/her breath and cheer at the same time. The motive is to offer unabashed entertainment and Vijay Krishna Acharya thrives completely in his endeavor.
A significant contribution to the DHOOM series has been by the action choreographer and the fights, thrills, chases and stunts in DHOOM-3 are pulsating and most significantly, trendily implemented. The razor-sharp editing, awe-inspiring cinematography and well designed CGI also merit an enthusiastic round of applause. Pritam’s musical score captures the mood of the film well. While ‘Dhoom Machaale’ continues to feature in this film too, ‘Malang’, ‘Kamli’ and ‘Dhoom Tap’ stand out as well. The choreography of ‘Malang’, besides the spectacular and extravagant production design, is astounding.
Aamir transforms into a meat machine with DHOOM-3. Displaying his well-toned physique with ropey veins and performing acrobats incredibly, the actor makes you wonder, is there anything Aamir can’t do? He’s the life and soul of this enterprise. Abhishek holds his own especially when in face-offs with Aamir. And that, truthfully, is an immensely flattering remark for his admirable effort. Katrina looks ethereal and her acrobats will catch you unaware. Moving with incredible grace in dance numbers, she’s sure to astonish the viewer with her dexterous act no end. Uday is amusing and delightful, contributing vastly to the light moments in the enterprise. Jackie Shroff is wonderful, getting his character spot on. Child artiste Siddharth Nigam is a talent to watch out for. He’s superb! Andrew Bicknell as the antagonist is first-rate. Tabrett Bethell is alright.
On the whole, DHOOM-3 is one solid entertainer loaded with attitude and star power that will leave fans of the series salivating for more. It is miles ahead of its predecessors in the DHOOM series. This will shatter previous records and set new ones. SURE-SHOT BLOCKBUSTER.
I have a naive question though – Does Taran and Komal qualify as critics?
Not when they are reviewing a rival star’s movie 😛
Taran is no. 1 critic of hindi film industry. The only competitor he have is Kamaal R Khan who claims to be no. 1 critic of India.
Deja vu – Taran gave 4.5* to RA1
Well, Narad_muni & to whomsoever it may concern.
I am just doing time-pass here. For the first time I am not feeling the urge to see an Aamir movie. Till DG , Talaash time i was eagerly waiting for his movies – now i am so thanda. 😉
I, for one, am relieved that the critics are not liking the movie. Else it would have been disastrous for the movie from the bo perspective.
Still seems like the best action movie made by bollywood in a long long time.
@narad_muni your favorite site’s critique:
https://www.boxofficecapsule.com/review/Dhoom-3-156
lol.. they r ridiculous… hahahaa… I dont care abt what they write.
but they r big SRK fanatics I agree
Sukanya Verma reviews Dhoom 3: Mazaa Le!
https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/sukanya-verma-reviews-dhoom-3-mazaa-le/20131220.htm
Mihir’s review
In 1987 a masterpiece called Hard Ticket to Hawaii arrived in theaters. Its story chronicled two Playboy models sent undercover to Hawaii to bust a diamond racket and battle a mutant snake. In one scene the villainous smugglers send a hitman who overtakes the hero’s jeep on a skateboard while standing on his hands. “That guy must have smoked some Heavy Doobies”, the hero remarks. Then the Skateboard Man pulls out a shotgun and an inflated blow-up bikini doll, appears suddenly in front of the hero’s jeep, adjusts his ponytail and takes aim. The hero rams the jeep onto the Skateboard Man who flies into the air along with his doll, and the hero reaches out into the dashboard, pulls out a rocket launcher and shoots the Skateboard Man in mid-air. And then he shoots his doll too.
I had to enlighten you with this information, because the entirety of Dhoom 3 is a three hour long version of this scene. And like Hard Ticket to Hawaii, Dhoom 3 is legendarily stupid, ridiculously over the top, unbelievably hammy and so hilariously terrible, cheesy and contrived it’s non-stop fun. Director Vijay Krishna Acharya’s Tashan flopped back in 2008 because, believe it or not, it was way ahead of its time. Had it released today, in the post Rohit Shetty-Prabhudheva 100 crore era, it’d easily have made a few hundred crores. Acharya has been given a second chance, a humongous budget and he really lets his imagination go berserk with some Heavy Doobies:
Aamir Khan makes his entry by running vertically down a building, with currency notes flying everywhere and BGM that sounds like ‘We want chocolate we want chocolate’.
Abhishek Bachchan makes his entry by breaking through a concrete wall in an auto rickshaw, then jumps over rooftops in the auto and then does Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible 2 bike stunts with the auto.
Katrina Kaif makes her entry by doing a Marky Mark Good Vibrations style five minute long aerobics striptease workout as an impromptu audition for an Indian circus act in Chicago.
Really, Dhoom 3 is Dhoom to the power of 3. It’s 27 times as ridonkulous as Dhoom in every department. The longer it runs the more preposterous it gets, and you can’t help but admire it for what it is. The action sequences were most certainly conceived during a drunk chor-police game that Acharya played with his toys one night. You get Aamir Khan driving a bike that turns into a boat that turns into a submarine that turns into a bike. You get Bachchan Jr tailing Aamir’s bikeboatmarine while clinging on to the rope ladder of a helicopter. You get Uday Chopra wearing a Captain Jack Sparrow costume and chasing Aamir on a BMW in random corridors and ripping through product placement posters.
And don’t you dare think there is no ‘substance’ in the movie. Prepare to have your mind blown – the villain in the film is not Aamir Khan, but banks. Yes, Dhoom 3 is a social commentary on the postmodern world being afflicted by the tyranny of bankers. It’s deep stuff. In one scene a wicked man looks at the camera grimly and tells a destitute common man ‘We are bankers. We understand the world of money’.
And since this is a Dhoom movie you get a ginormous buffet of bad acting, cheesy romance, dreadful songs and plot holes so big you could drive Van Damme’s Volvo trucks through them. It’s not fair to take pot shots at Uday Chopra because he’s the only genuine element in the film – all of his jokes are self-referential. Bachchan Jr doesn’t do much more than grimace a couple of times and walk around extremely determined. With her back perpetually arched, midriff perpetually bare and dialogue perpetually corny, Katrina comes off like a parody of an action movie heroine.
But Dhoom 3 will be remembered for being the point where Aamir Khan gleefully took a piss on all of the accolades he’s ever received for being a good actor. He clearly worked extremely hard on his muscles but every dialogue he utters magically produces ham hocks around the screen. In the film he’s either a) Too serious, and hence unintentionally funny or b) Completely barmy, and hence unintentionally funny. Aamir is a good dramatic actor, and a great comedic actor, but is not a commercial action hero. Someone needed to tell him to lighten up a bit, this is a Dhoom movie after all.
You may have predicted all of the above things, but nothing will prepare you for the barn burning ‘twist’ just before the interval. You can see it coming, but you desperately wish and pray for that to not be the case. But it does come, and you’re left groaning in defeat, wrapping your face with as many palms as you can find. It’s the kind of stuff you’d see in Hard Ticket to Hawaii and the twelve other films by the director Andy Sidaris, all twelve of which are available in a single DVD pack for $4.
https://mihirfadnavis.blogspot.in/2013/12/movie-review-dhoom-3.html
Raja Sen reviews Dhoom 3: It’s dumber than the first two!
https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/raja-sen-reviews-dhoom-3-its-dumber-than-the-first-two/20131220.htm
Deja Vu – Raja Sen gave 2 stars to 3 idiots. And now 1.5 for Dhoom3 – so it must not be pretty bad IMO.
Deja Vu
Raja Sen gave 1 star to CE and K3 .
Aryan tambi, pls post this as Public Review Post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch&v=WLoVZzlQYnM
this too
+1
Dhoom 3 Movie Review by Rajeev Masand
Rating: 2.5
December 20, 2013
Cast: Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Uday Chopra, Jackie Shroff
Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya
Dhoom 3 is a sloppily scripted sandwich of hammy acting and cheesy dialogue. Which wouldn’t have mattered if it was at least as much fun as the previous two films, because this franchise has never promised much more than cool men on fast bikes, and hot women in short skirts. But the new movie lacks the required adrenaline rush of a Fast and Furious-type thriller, instead falling prey to the kind of melodrama and over-plotting that doesn’t belong here.
Saahir (Aamir Khan) is a talented magician who runs an Indian circus in Chicago, also using his unique skills to routinely rob a bank that he holds responsible for his father’s suicide many years ago. He must stay out of the reach of surly cop Jai Dikshit (Abhishek Bachchan) and his motor-mouth sidekick Ali (Uday Chopra), who have been dispatched to the Windy City to crack the case.
Aside from some genuinely cool moments like Aamir’s getaway on a Chicago waterfront or the climax staged on a dam, Dhoom 3 doesn’t offer very much by way of novelty or inventiveness. What’s more, the film’s middle half gets weighed down by Saahir’s dreary revenge agenda which gets derailed once a woman enters the fray. Aliya (Katrina) is part of Saahir’s circus act, contorting her body into Cirque Du Soliel kind of rope gymnastics. But all this mid-air flexing barely drums up excitement. The film is missing the thrills that went hand-in-hand with the outrageous heists, screeching tires, and bad guy attitude associated with Dhoom. It’s hard to go into any more detail about the plot without giving away the film’s big twist, which reveals itself right before interval.
Unlike John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan in the previous films, Aamir doesn’t quite make for a particularly sexy villain, and his character, with its inevitable plot twists, is overwritten and overplayed. Twitches, frowning, stammering are all used as crutches, while the camera lingers unwaveringly on his pecs, abs and bare back. Abhishek Bachchan spends most of the film glowering angrily, while Katrina seems to show up strictly for the song sequences. Uday Chopra is back in tapori mode as Ali, but to give him credit, he gives the character shape.
Ultimately, the film is let down by a convenient script and its inability to deliver solid entertainment. I’m going with a generous two-and-a-half out of five for writer-director Vijay Krishna Acharya’s Dhoom 3. All you expect from the Dhoom movies is a thrill ride, but this one makes you feel like you’re stranded in rush hour traffic.
Link
i watch the trailers and music videos and was very drag out Aamir is one of my fav but not like e movie too long drawn stunts etc over the top dssapointed Talash did not do well and I dont think Dhoom 3 will be the success hope for that song with Kat was almost 5 mins did not like it at all. Hope Aamir next movie is better
High-flying acrobatics and a standout Aamir Khan performance dominate the third entry in Bollywood’s biggest action franchise.
David Chute
@davidchute
The films in the “Dhoom” series, Bollywood’s most successful action-adventure franchise, have always been more about the swashbuckling glamour of the daredevil villains than about the stiff and humorless, honor–bound cops who chase them. Staunch Abhishek Bachchan’s Assistant Police Commissioner Jai Dixit, a grimly purposeful law and order crusader, was doomed to be overshadowed by guest bad guys like “Krrish” heartthrob Hrithek Roshan, who did the honors in “Dhoom: 2” (2006). This is more the case than ever in the latest installment, “Dhoom: 3,” which is dominated completely by charismatic superstar Aamir Khan, who digs into the bruised psyche of his character, Sahir Iqbal, a revenge-seeking master circus artist who uses stage tricks to pull off a series of seemingly impossible bank robberies. Kahn makes the character so compelling that we wait impatiently through the obligatory chase sequences and macho showdowns in order to get back to Sahir in his gaudy backstage lair.
In this almost three-hour blockbuster, the repetitive swoopy motorcycle chases had this reviewer checking his watch. Lavishly produced and at times gorgeously gaudy, directed with real flair by the writer of the first two “Dhoom” films, Vijay Krishna Acharya, “Dhoom: 3″ is already well on its way to making box office history in India, where it’s playing on 4,000 screens. Advance ticket sales have reportedly set new records, and analysts are predicting a first week gross upwards of $30 million. The film is on 700 additional screens outside India, 236 of them in North America, a record for a Bollywood release. A version dubbed in the South Indian Tamil language is on 10 screens, another first.
The top Bollywood production company Yash Raj Films launched the “Dhoom” series in 2004, as a clear attempt to produced a global (i.e. Hollywood-style) blockbuster. The project has been remarkably successful, perhaps in part because the long Indian tradition of a “cinema of attractions,” favoring a grab bag of elements from several genres, fits the anything-goes international action format like a glove. Originality was never part of the plan. The first “Dhoom” was a “Fast and the Furious”-meets-“Point Break” romp in which a crew of motorcycle racers, led by dashing hunk John Abraham, made their getaways on jazzy bikes through bumper-to-bumper Mumbai traffic. In “Dhoom: 2,” hot-dancing guest-bad-guy Roshan was a daredevil cat burglar who teamed up with slinky Aishwarya Rai for a series of high-wired “Mission: Impossible”-style heists.
The obvious titan looming over “Dhoom: 3” is Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” both for its Chicago locations (many of the same ones) and for its repeated references to clown make up and to Sahir as a “jester.” This film doesn’t come anywhere close to that one in terms of diabolical grandeur, although the pain of Sahir’s motivation is surprisingly vivid, thanks to Khan’s performance. It should also be noted that the acrobatic magic act Sahir produces and stars in at a Windy City theater, The Great Indian Circus, clearly owes something to another Nolan film, “The Prestige” (2006), in which Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman played 19th-century stage magicians locked in a fierce rivalry. Here, the source of conflict is internal, and it remains carefully hidden until the intermission.
In spite of the movie’s explosive action fireworks, the scene that people remember most vividly from “Dhoom: 2″ was a dazzling introductory production number, “Dhoom Again,” stomp-danced on a steam wreathed factory-floor by the rubber-limbed Roshen, in a style that could be described as “power tap.” A similar triumph of upstaging occurs this time, as the almost 50-year-old, considerably beefed-up Khan (“Lagaan,” “3 Idiots”), along with his leggy Amazon of a co-star, Katrina Kaif, shows off impressive athleticism and obvious glamour in a series of high-flying acrobatic performance pieces, as spangly in glistening digital images as Cirque du Soleil.
At their best, the lush yet punchy musical numbers that Acharya stages for “Dhoom: 3” reach giddy heights of pop romanticism. The composer, the shameless pop button-usher Pritam, swoops through the emotional turmoil of a song like “Malang,” and Acharya’s camera seems to be dancing — and swooning — along with the performers. Cynics need not apply.
https://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/film-review-dhoom-3-1200983530/
What kind of names are David Chute, Nike Lauda etc…?