Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

An Exercise In Nonsense

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

'Race' belongs to the list of crappiest films of 2008. I've been told to avoid it for a long time and I really would have but I did not have much of a choice. With all those ridiculous stunts (some shown in pathetic slow motion), MTV music video style Hinglish song sequences, actors wearing little clothes, 'surprising' twists that make no sense etc, 'Race' tries to be cool but it has NO substance whatsoever. Abbas-Mustan can add this hack to their heap of trashy films. 'Race' also does a very miserable job of ripping off Roland Joffé's 'Goodbye Lover' (which already was a silly film). However, any 'new' input the director duo put in their version only make 'Race' more stupid. Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna are at their worst. While Khan hardly does anything other than wear a forced expression of looking serious, Khanna overacts. Bipasha Basu continues to prove that directors need to really really work hard (in this case they didn't) to make her act while Katrina Kaif is a lost case. I never understood the hype surrounding Kaif (though she does touch herself in 'Race'). For me her acting talents are non-existent and her looks are too plain. Sameera Reddy's bimbo act falls flat (but this may mostly be due to the poor dialogue she's given) and Anil Kapoor should have retired ages ago. There is no chemistry between any of the actors. They obviously did it just for the money. The songs contribute to the list of abysmal soundtracks of 2008. 'Race' is just another disgrace to Indian cinema.

I became a huge fan of Abbas-Mustaan after watching Khiladi. And the fan'ism ended there. With Race, they are back on my admiration list.Observations::• Bollywood is no short of talent and can make an stylish action/thriller with equal aplomb on par with Hollywood. • Twists and turns (serpentine, a new term) is fantastic. And nobody except A-M can do it better. • All the ingredients are in adequate proportions. • Action sequences deserve a special mention. So does the music and choreography • Breathtaking visuals. Cinematography should be applauded. • Performances are perfect to the "T". • Anil Kapoor shows his passion to don various hats. And plays the modern version of "Karamchand" well.• Katrina is getting better with each passing movie. Bipasha needs no special mention - she is good always.• Saif:: He reprises the "Eklavya" performance. Introvert and calm.• Akshaye:: Back in the "Humraaz" suit.• The slick editing ensures that the audience is kept captivated and leaves no room to find flaws. • The final race sequence is nothing short of MI-II in comparison. Bravo!!! ***Roll on "The Italian Job" Abbas-Mustaan..... only you can do it!!

My analysis on the movie.. i would rate it below 0 if i could1)For a movie set in Durban, you hardly see any foreigners, all the people are hindustanis who can speak perfect Hindi.2)Hindi movies have reached such stage of advancement in movie making that they even have fictionised song and dance sequence in a fictionised flashback situation3)No one is surprised (not even the so-called investigator) that the so-called wife of the deceased Ranvir is not at all bothered that her husband of 2 days has slept with his sister in law4)By the way, what kind of investigator is RD?5)Investigators like RD have requirements for their assistants: - strictly only blond Indian babe - dress code of nothing less than cleavage as deep as your assets go6)The hit-man hired to kill Bipasha had to restart his engine after hitting her car, perhaps his manual car failed at first gear, time to get a real driving license7)So many twists and turns, the unpredictable plot was very predictable after Ranvir's death8)This is the most original movie of BW of this year, come on, do u think any other movie/story/director can be as stupid?9)Despite having a 'gupt' camera at the registry of marriage, they were unable to detect the change of certificate done by Rajiv and Sofia?10)All govt buildings, offices and even morgue in Durban have exteriors like a mansion, with a tiny signboard to keep us abreast of the venue (becos inside, they all look the same)11)Why did RD have such a stupid assistant? i have the answer, she was like the narrative voice of the genius analysis of RD, so thru her questions we get to know how advanced is RD with his investigation12)Woman are still strictly regarded as ornaments in most parts of BW13)Both brothers were stupid enuf in the end to accept their opponents car for race14)So where is the actually Race u may ask... it was the Race among the actresses of whose cleavage ran deeper!!

Firstly take note that - Race is not a movie made for them those who power on the DVD player then insert the disc in it, and watch it till they feel asleep. This is made for them those who want to use their inner intelligence and sharp-brain to understand actually what is going on in between every roles. Don't rate this comment those who don't like Hindi thrillers.I find it hard to believe even after fourth time watching Race that how Saif performed a deadly serious role as Ranvir Singh. In his first offer with director duo Abbas-Mustan he proved it great. So far his roles were mostly prepared for comedian purposes like in Hum Tum, Dil Chahta Hai or Salaam Namaste, but here he really proved that now he is matured as an actor by performing a serious, no nonsense and one-word guy's role.Personally I like to watch movies made by Abbas-Mustan for their sense of making thrillers in Bollywood, and I cannot throw away Race apart from my mind. The story has some worth seeing twists which are surprisingly enjoyable. In funny and hilarious sections Akshaya and Anil own their credits. Although this is Akshaya's second negative character under the project of Abbas-Mustan after Humraaz, his role has enough importance in moving forward of the movie. Anil's role as a fruit-eater inspector Robert D' Costa (RD) makes a good sense of humour with his riddling but indicative words. For sometimes it is confusing whether RD is a negative or positive character, but it becomes clear only at the final ending part.For the three glamor queens Sonia, Sophia and Mini (Bipasha, Katrina and Sameera), they have no much ability to handle the story since it is mainly controlled by the male leads, and focus goes on and on waiting to reveal the hidden truths. Ooops!!! after a long break from director duo, Johny Lever again appears in front of the camera for five minute, but with nothing special. Same is to Dilip Tahil who is the closest rival of Ranvir in horse racing business.If we judge Race with proper sense there are bound to arise numerous goofs and faults in the whole set of the movie, anyway it's just made for entertainment. One most important goof I noticed is when Ranvir and Sophia goes to Capetown for some official purposes, but Rajiv also moves there and secretly attends an appointment in the marriage bureau along with Sophia (Katrina). But question is - does not Sonia (Bipasha) notice when Rajiv is not around her?For Akshaya and Katrina's fans Race might be flop, while for Saif and Bipasha's fans it might be a super-hit. This is generally how a movie is rated by audiences. They don't like their favourite actors/actresses to get defeated in the climax, but if it happens so they will consider it worthless or super-flop. In truth a movie is considered successful mostly through the process of business profit --> large audiences = large earning. If you check weekly in the websites on the movie which is doing good businesses, it will be finally declared as hit, sometimes super-hit (or blockbuster) if the businesses run better than expected.Finally, I like the movie only just due to Saif's new revival role of serious Ranvir Singh, and Akshaya Khanna's negative but interesting role as step brother Rajiv Singh.