In my view, Bollywood has always been better at making action movies than romantic ones, which often come across as emotionally simpleminded and cloying, and "Race 2," a sequel to "Race" from 2008, is a case in point. Directed by Abbas-Mustan, this high-energy film may be all flash and no substance - but what flash! It tells the story of two high-living international playboys, Armaan (John Abraham) and Ranveer (Saif Ali Khan), whose combined wealth would make Aristotle Onassis green with envy. The two men are locked in a game of mortal combat after Armaan has Ranveer's girlfriend killed. There's even an attempt on the part of the two gazillionaires to steal the Shroud of Turin, no less. If there's one lesson to be gleaned from "Race 2," it's that some people really do have too much time and money on their hands.
But the plotting - which is nearly impossible to follow anyway, what with its double and triple twists and its constantly shifting allegiances - is the least of the attractions of "Race 2," which is so beautifully photographed that it almost doesn't matter what's going on in the foreground of the picture. The pedal-to-the-metal pacing helps to mitigate, to some extent at least, the excessive length of the movie, and the chase and fight sequences are pretty damned spectacular, even if they do strain credibility on a regular basis (there are even blatant rip-offs of "Speed" and "Air Force One" along the way). The movie also restricts itself to a bare minimum of those annoying song-and-dance numbers that are practically de rigueur in any Bollywood production, though there's a ferocious cage match scene that ends on too downbeat a note for a film of this frivolous a nature.
There may not be a lot of food for thought in "Race 2," but the movie does provide a feast for the eyes.
But the plotting - which is nearly impossible to follow anyway, what with its double and triple twists and its constantly shifting allegiances - is the least of the attractions of "Race 2," which is so beautifully photographed that it almost doesn't matter what's going on in the foreground of the picture. The pedal-to-the-metal pacing helps to mitigate, to some extent at least, the excessive length of the movie, and the chase and fight sequences are pretty damned spectacular, even if they do strain credibility on a regular basis (there are even blatant rip-offs of "Speed" and "Air Force One" along the way). The movie also restricts itself to a bare minimum of those annoying song-and-dance numbers that are practically de rigueur in any Bollywood production, though there's a ferocious cage match scene that ends on too downbeat a note for a film of this frivolous a nature.
There may not be a lot of food for thought in "Race 2," but the movie does provide a feast for the eyes.