Andaz Apna Apna (1994)

Genre: Comedy/Action/Crime/Romance/Drama

Starring: Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon, Karishma Kapoor, Shakti Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Viju Khote, Shehzad Khan

The epic laugh riot movie of Indian cinema is still loved and watched by young and old to this day. The comedy of errors of Amar (Aamir Khan) and Prem (Salman Khan) both in pursuit of charming Raveena (Tandon) a young and beautiful girl who is looking for a smart young man to fall in love with and marry. Amar and Prem, the two good for nothing Casanova's want to marry her for the money and are at constant war to outdo the other in winning Raveena's heart. Meanwhile, Teja (Rawal) a criminal who just got out of jail wants to get even with his twin brother Ram Gopal Bajaj (Rawal) who is also the father of Raveena. Along with his two stupid side kicks, he tries to kidnap Raveena but in vain. Enter Crime Master Gogo (Shakti Kapoor), a failed and idiotic criminal who is continuing the 'family business' of looting and plundering. The movie enjoys a cult following with many dialogues and moves becoming epic statements today. The performances may seem to be extremely over-acted but that was more or less the norm of those days and to some extent the movie becomes enjoyable simply due to the over-the-top acting. The movie plays tributes and jokes about many other famous Bollywood movies throughout. Funny and an amazing stress buster.

Thumbs up: Awesome laugh riot

Thumbs down: Hugely over-acted

Rating: 7.3/10

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Action, Bollywood, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Good Movies, Romance,

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The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Genre: Crime/Drama

Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown

Touted as one of the worlds most epic movie, it truly deserves all the praise people shower upon it. Narrating the story of Andy Dufresne (Robbins), an investment bank's Vice-President who gets convicted for murdering his cheating wife and lover, the movie displays determination, commitment and the hardships of prison life. Red (Freeman) is the prison smuggler and trader and can get you almost anything and everything you want. Red and Andy soon become good friends and Red realises that Andy is not the average prison in-mate. Andy soon garners respect with the warden, Mr. Norton (Gunton) and starts keeping his accounts, files tax returns for all the prison guards and initiates to revamp the prison library. The movie may have a very simple and easy story but its the entire plot execution and eventual twist in the tale that steals the show. Half-way through the movie might just seem to be a slight drag but this eventually moves on to something far more interesting. A fine movie that displays the harvest of hard-work, patience and perseverance and a must-watch movie for each and everyone.

Thumbs up: Amazing performance, very good plot execution

Thumbs down: Just a bit slow at the half-way mark

Rating: 9.3/10

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Adventure, Amazing Movies, Crime, Drama,

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Wild Things: Foursome (2010)

Genre: Crime/Romance/Drama/Mystery

Starring: Jillian Murray, Marnette Patterson, Ashley Parker, John Schneider, Ethan S. Smith, Jessie Nickson, Josh Randall

The fourth version of the sexual murder mystery is here; and you wonder why. The first Wild Things was something else. The twisted and unpredictable plot along with the sizzling Denise Richards' love scene gave the movie a different credibility. The subsequent movies have tried to utilise the same format, with different actors with a lot more emphasis on the sexuality, which has failed miserably. In spite of the second and third movies not doing very well, the fourth installment has come out with no exceptional differences. Carson Wheetly (Parker) is the son of one of Florida's richest men and becomes a rich heir when his father dies in a car crash. Brandi Cox (Murray) a colleague of Carson's arch enemy Shane (Randall) accuses Carson of raping her and demands a large sum of money as settlement. Double-crossing becomes a ritual and relations get bloody as everyone now wants a part of the money. Detective Frank Walker (Schneider) smells a rat and realises that everything is not as simple as it seems and boldly decides to dig a little further. The movie has its own bit of twists and turns but each and every one of them is more or less predictable along with being stupid and lame. The performances are hopeless and the movie is only trying to sell sex and nothing at all. Probably if some more high-profile actors were selected along with a more improved and modified plot line, the movie would have been a whole lot better and the franchise would have done well.

Thumbs up: There is no shortage of chicks of hunks

Thumbs down: Bad plot, weak performances

Rating: 4.9/10

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Crime, Drama, Mystery, Pathetic Movies, Romance,

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (3D) (2011)

Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Adventure, Action

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Tom Felton, Helena Bonham Carter

The final movie of one of the worlds largest selling books is finally here. The epic ending of the Harry Potter series is here, and how! Harry (Radcliffe) along with his two best friends, Hermione (Watson) and Ronald Weasley (Grint) are in the quest for 7 Horcruxes, a magical device in which the dark lord, Lord Voldemort (Fiennes) has held a part of his soul. Until and unless these seven horcruxes are destroyed, Harry cannot kill Voldemort once and for all. The quest makes him go into the depths of the darkest and most dangerous of places, a chance he must take. He learns about secrets and mysteries about his life and his past, some which shock and others that mystify him even further. The saving grace about the movie was that it wasn't a random mixture of erratic events stuck together by super glue but a good narration of constant developments. The movie sadly does not refer to the previous movie or refresh the audience's mind about the previous movie, an aspect which I believe is essential since the audience would have more or less forgotten about it in the past few months. The visuals and graphics are stunning, especially in 3D which make it a thrilling and entertaining watch. All in all, the movie is a fabulous treat for Harry Potter fans and would make you leave awe-struck. To know more about 'How to messy up a movie ending big-time', please watch the last bit of the movie.

Thumbs up: Brilliant special effects, good sequence of events
Thumbs down: Horrible ending

Rating: 7.1/10

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Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Good Movies,

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Bridesmaids (2011)

Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama

Starring: Kirsten Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Wendy McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Rosie Byrne, Chris O'Dowd, Melissa McCarthy

A middle-aged unmarried lady, Annie (Wiig) is not enjoying her life since she cant find a partner to settle down with, cant get a steady income and is simply frustrated with herself. Her best friend Lillian (Rudolph) is getting married and Annie is extremely excited to plan the entire wedding. Lillian's bosses wife, Helen (Byrne) has recently become good friends with Lillian which Annie cant seem to accept. Helen at every step is trying to put down Annie and vice-versa, with a cat fight erupting every now and then. It's a battle between the bridesmaids to see which one emerges as the winner. Annie has a brush with the law and finds respite in Officer Rhodes (O'Dowd) who hears her every misery out and becomes close friends with her. The movie is a very typical chic-flick when it comes to the acting style and the overall plot development. That said, the movie is quite funny and highly entertaining even if your not into watching these kinds of movies. Its a well-made movie which does what it set out to do, entertain. Would appeal mostly to the fairer sex but can be watched by others too.

Thumbs up: Good humour

Thumbs down: Nothing different or outstanding, plain and simple

Rating: 6.8/10

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Comedy, Drama, Good Movies, Romance,

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Jackass Number Two (2006)

Genre: Comedy/Documentary/Action

Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Ryan Dunn, Jason 'Wee-Man' Acuna, Preston Lacy, Dave England

The most outrageous TV show on the planet returns in its movie format with a second installment. Fancy getting leaches put in your eyes, or enjoy a swim with a bleeding cheek in the midst of a shark, or does getting a cow brand on your butt appeal to you or would you rather play with an anaconda? If you replied 'yes' to any of the above, please contact the Jackass team. The movie is a compilation of the teams crazy, insane, daring and what some may call stupid, stunts and antics. Most of them are highly dangerous which can cause serious damage to yourself and others around you but many are funny at the same time. The movie is not very different from the first installment when it comes to the quality and level of stunts. Its not any MORE crazy, stupid, insane or daring but more or less on the same level. The format and structure of the movie too remains pretty much the same but that may not be a point of argument for a Jackass fan. As long as the insanity continues, that is all that matters. Its crazy, but if you're a fan you would love it.

Thumbs up: The guts to perform such daring stunts

Thumbs down: Some very gross and graphic scenes

Rating: 5.7/10

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Action, Average Movies, Comedy, Documentary,

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Delhi Belly (2011)

Genre: Crime/Drama/Comedy/Action

Starring: Imran Khan, Vir Das, Kunal Roy Kapoor, Shenaz Treasury, Poorna Jagannathan, Vijay Raaz

Once in a while Bollywood churns out a decent movie and the man behind it is most of the times, the one and only, Aamir Khan. Delhi Belly is the story of three friends sharing a flat, each with their own personal problems and their encounter with crime. Tashi (Khan) is a journalist who is engaged to his air hostess girlfriend, Sonia (Treasury). Sonia does a favour for a friend by smuggling a 'package' by an unknown Russian at the airport. She knows little of what the package contains and gets Tashi to deliver it for her. Nitin (Kapoor) is Tashi's photographer who gets the Delhi Belly by eating unhygienic street food and needs to rush to the toilet every half-minute. Tashi passes the package onto Nitin for delivery who subsequently gets Arup (Das), a frustrated cartoonist, to do it for him. Confusion occurs and Somayajulu (Raaz) the gangster for whom the package is for gets shit, literally. The movie is an ultimate laugh riot all the way with each and every performer contributing with a fabulous performance. Vijay Raaz particularly stands out due to the finesse in which he throws out every swear word from his mouth. I don't think any amount of praise would be good enough, just go watch a zillion times and laugh each time!

Thumbs up: Hilarious, perfect acting

Thumbs down: A been there, done that story

Rating: 9.2/10

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Action, Amazing Movies, Bollywood, Comedy, Crime, Drama,

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TRON: Legacy (2010)

Genre: Science-fiction/Action/Adventure

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruxe Boxleitner

An innovative and world-renowned computer programmer, Kevin Flynn (Bridges) mysteriously disappears one day never to return. After twenty-six years, his son Sam (Hedlund) a reflection of his father stumbles upon his fathers secret office in the old arcade building. He accidentally gets transported to a virtual world inside the computer where he meets his fathers virtual clone CLU (Bridges) who rules over the computer grid and has banished his father from the grid. Sam meets his fathers accomplice Quorra (Wilde) who takes him to his fathers hideout where he learns that his father had created a clone of himself to help create the perfect system, which unfortunately betrayed his father and took over the entire system. With the portal to the outside world closed, Kevin became a captive inside his own system and has been reported missing ever since. Unknown to most people, the movie is a sequel to the 1982 movie TRON which narrates the story of how Kevin first built the system with the help of CLU and the betrayal. The movie excels in special effects and boasts of path-breaking clarity. Performances by Jeff Bridges are fantastic as always and has superbly executed both his roles. The only let down was the action which largely encompassed the regular kicks and punches and had nothing new on offer. A good and interesting movie nonetheless.

Thumbs up: Great special effects and graphics

Thumbs down: Average action

Rating: 7.3/10

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Action, Adventure, Good Movies, Science-fiction,

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Transformers: Dark of the Moon (3D) (2011)

Genre: Science-fiction/Action/Adventure

Starring: Shia LeBeouf, Rosie-Huntingtong Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Patrick Dempsey, Frances McDormand, Alan Tudyk, Peter Cullen (voice), Hugo Weaving (voice), Leonard Nimoy (voice)

Final verdict, mixed reactions. The story first; the Autobots are living peacefully on Earth and are helping humans resolve their worldly conflicts. As they continue to help, they are searching for any clues about Megatron, their enemy, and Cybertron, their home planet. Sentinel Prime (Nimoy), the leader of the Autobots, was carrying a technology that could save their race but was intercepted by Decepticons and his space craft crash landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong found this site and NASA has kept this information a secret from the world. Optimus Prime (Cullen) learns about it and revives the Sentinel to lead the Autobots once more. However, unknown to him, Megatron (Weaving) has a cunning plan up his sleeve to take over planet Earth once and for all. Sam Witwicky (LeBeouf) basking in his fame and glory after saving mankind twice, cannot find himself a job. Along with that, he is not being involved in the Autobots missions which has made his life even more frustrating. To add more fire, the boss of his super-sexy girlfriend Carly (Whiteley) is showering her with gifts and compliments that Sam cant take anymore. The action sequences and special effects of the movie are mind-numbing. The insane new technology has provided the utmost clarity and detail that this movie demands. However, there are some scenes which look like a video game but that aspect can be overlooked. Shia LeBeouf's role has been over-shadowed by the Autobots and he seems to be a forceful addition since he was present in the earlier movies. What was even more disbelieving were his insane stunts and falls that left him with little injuries and minor scratches. All in all, the movie is worth watching only to enjoy the clarity of the special effects that too in 3D and no more. The movie is all about its graphics and loses out on all other aspects.

Thumbs up: Great special effects, super hot debutant Rosie-Huntington Whiteley

Thumbs down: Over dramatic action

Rating: 7.3/10

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Action, Adventure, Good Movies, Science-fiction,

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Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Starring: Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Haylie Duff

Geeky, alienated, dim-witted, immature, scrawny and boring are only some of the adjectives that one would associate with Napoleon Dynamite (Heder) a teenage kid from a small town in Idaho, USA. He gets pushed around and bullied in school all day and that does not come as a surprise considering his awkward behaviour. He meets a new student from Mexico, Pedro (Ramirez) who is like him in many ways but is more bold to confront society. The two get along fine when suddenly Pedro decides to run for class president and Napoleon needs to help him get there. The movie at first glance promises to be hugely funny but fails to deliver. If the sloppy behaviour of Napoleon and his crazy antics are supposed to make audiences laugh, then I must say the movie has failed horribly. Apart from Napoleon's story, multiple side plots run which include Napoleon's brother Kip (Ruell) who is trying to become 'cool' by going on a dating website, his uncle Rico (Gries) who is looking after them and wishes he could get his youth back and Deb (Majorino) a shy girl who has feelings for Napoleon. A highly avoidable movie which could have been far better.

Thumbs up: Good acting by Ramirez and Heder

Thumbs down: Pathetic attempt at trying to make you laugh

Rating: 5.5/10

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Average Movies, Comedy, Drama,

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The Mechanic (2011)

Genre: Action/Crime

Starring: Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Tony Goldwyn

A remake of the 1972 movie with the same name, Arthur Bishop (Statham) is a hit man who specialises in making hits look like suicides, accidents or any other way you like it. Dean (Goldwyn) assigns Arthur the task of killing Arthur's close friend and mentor which Arthur is forced to do. Steve (Foster) the son of Arthur's friend, is enraged and is thirsty for revenge. Steve does not know that Arthur was behind the killing of his own father and Arthur, ridden with guilt, starts training Steve and makes him his accomplice. The duo get along well and Arthur tries every way to hide the truth from Steve. Once the first half an hour progresses, one quickly realises the final end and trajectory the movie would take. Its a complete back-to-the-basics assassin movie with nothing new or exceptional to offer. One expects some extremely gripping action sequences from a Jason Statham movie which, sadly, were missing. An average watch-it and forget-it action movie.

Thumbs up: A good and easy to watch action-bundle

Thumbs down: Nothing great or exceptional

Rating: 6.4/10

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Action, Average Movies, Crime,

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Inside Job (2010)

Genre: History/Biography

Starring: Matt Damon (voice)

The 2008 global financial meltdown rocked the entire foundation of the human civilisation. Millions lost their jobs and their life savings overnight. How can such a huge disaster occur without any prior warning or anyone knowing about it? Inside Job looks into the development of the sub-prime crisis and its eventual impact on humanity. Greed for money and power ensured that corporate big-wigs could corrupt the United States political system into making money for self-gain at the cost of social development. The movie brings out how foolish decisions taken by Wall Street and Washington took the world to where it now stands. The movie has boldly shown the people responsible behind it and their indifferent behaviour before and after the crisis. The only flaw to the movie is the financial jargon which makes it hard for a non-finance person to understand. However, if the movie did go into the intricacies of all these definitions, the movie would be endless and would lose its objective. Hence, this movie might only appeal to the understanding of the well-versed and those individuals who would realise the full potential of it. Apart from the jargon, the movie correctly brings out how careless and near-sighted all the corporate heads of Wall Street are and the only point on their agenda is to make money for themselves. A great movie that shows the lengths and breadth of the sub-prime crisis.

Thumbs up: Bold display of all facts and figures

Thumbs down: Too much financial jargon

Rating: 7.1/10

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Documentary, Good Movies, Historical Event,

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Green Lantern (3D) (2011)

Genre: Science-fiction/Fantasy/Action/Adventure

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong

Super-hero movies is not new to cinema and saving the world through the discovery of a super-natural power is not new either. Upon the creation of the universe, the Guardians decided to hold it together by tapping into the will power of all beings surviving within it. The universe was divided into various sectors, each controlled by a Green Lantern who would look into the well-being of all the planets with it. Hal Jordan (Reynolds) is fighter jet test-pilot with Ferris Aircraft company who stumbles upon a dying Green Lantern. The Green Lantern's ring selected Jordan as the successor for the dying warrior and all the responsibilities that come with it. When confronted by Sinestro (Strong) the leader of the Lanterns, Hal realises he is not up to the task and loses faith in his powers. Meanwhile, Dr. Hector Hammond (Sarsgaard) is asked to conduct an analysis of the dead Green Lantern's body who comes in contact with an organ that adversely affects his mental and physical structure. The movie outline is a tried and tested super hero story which does not have anything new to offer except for the design of his suit. The 3D technology used in the movie is extremely inferior with blurred and hazy images constantly occurring. Although the blame may lie with something outside the scope of the producer, it still makes the 3D experience not worth the extra cost. A big no-show, not even on a DVD.

Thumbs up: The bold attempt to create something so lame

Thumbs down: Bad graphics, poor plot

Rating: 6.1/10

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Action, Adventure, Average Movies, Fantasy, Science-fiction,

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The Good Shepherd (2006)

Genre: History/Drama/Crime/Thriller

Starring: Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Tammy Blanchard, Billy Crudup, John Turturro, William Hurt

The CIA has been the US Governments primary agency for intelligence and counter-intelligence activities for many years. The agency was founded as the OSS during World War II to collect information on Nazi troop movement. The agency continued in the Cold War period to gather data on Russian spies and their movements and this movie intends to narrate the birth of this very agency. Edward Wilson (Damon) a Yale graduate is approached by the FBI to spy on his poetry professor whom they suspect to be a Nazi spy. He slowly climbs the secret services ladder and is soon asked to head the OSS and gather intelligence on Nazi troop movement. He is forced to marry his friends sister Margaret (Jolie) whom he slept with and impregnated although he loves a deaf girl Laura (Blanchard). The movie is loosely based on the CIA's inception with many primary people being depicted by different names. The biggest flaw of the movie is its length which leads to a stretched story and subsequently becomes boring. Performances are decent and at times the movie does manage to pick up tempo which gets lost quite quickly. The multiple side-plots do not got down very well either and focusing on the main story would have been a far better idea.

Thumbs up: Great foundation story

Thumbs down: Long, stretched and boring

Rating: 6.1/10

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Average Movies, Crime, Drama, Historical Event, Thriller,

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X-Men: First Class (2011)

Genre: Science-fiction/Action/Fantasy/Adventure

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones

The fifth installment of the X-Men series goes back in time to 1962 when Charles Xavier (McAvoy) graduated as a mutant researcher, brimming with knowledge and working towards creating peace between humans and mutants. He himself is a mutant with the unique ability to read peoples minds and control them. Erik Lehnsherr aka Magneto (Fassbender) suffered at the hands of a Nazi officer, Sebastian Shaw (Bacon) who murdered his mother in order to enrage Erik and bring out his magnetic powers. Ever since, Erik, seething with anger, has sworn revenge against Shaw and his accomplices. Shaw is trying to take advantage of the Cold War and has pitched the Russians and the Americans against each other and hopes to trigger a nuclear war which would see the destruction of the worlds two largest super-powers with him emerging as the ruler of the world. Erik, Charles and CIA Agent Moira MacTaggert (Byrne) along with a group of young mutants have decided to take matters into their own hands to prevent a third world war. The biggest plus side of the movie is the continuation of the story and not just the simple good vs evil plotline. The movie highlights the fallout between Xavier and Magneto which was an essential missing link to the main storyline. Their is tons of hugely destructive action sequences, although many people may point and laugh at the super-natural powers and its complete preposterousness. The movie hints at a sixth installment and considering the missing story from X-Men: Wolverine be prepared for at least 2 more movies in this ever famous series.

Thumbs up: Great action, good plot

Thumbs down: Good enough for a prelogue to the main story, no major fallout

Rating: 7.2/10

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Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Good Movies, Science-fiction,

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Salt (2010)

Genre: Action/Crime

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski

A long-serving CIA Agent, Evelyn Salt (Jolie) interrogates a Russian spy Orlov (Olbrychski) who tips Salt about the assassination of the Russian President who is due to visit the USA. He sings a tale of how American children were kidnapped and brainwashed to become Russian spies and sent back to USA to carry out secret operations. Orlov mentions that the name of the spy who will kill the President is Evelyn Salt. Scared for her and her husbands life, Salt is on the run and her boss Ted Winter (Schreiber) refuses to accept the fact that she could be a Russian spy. The biggest plus point of the movie is the amount of action and explosion that it packs. It might get a bit too much towards the end but for any die-hard action fan, this is the movie to watch. However, the overload of action has taken a front-foot over the story which leaves the movie only about kicks, punches and explosions and no decent story to build up on. The movie suggests that a sequel will follow; wait and watch.

Thumbs up: Amazing action

Thumbs down: Lack of plot

Rating: 6.8/10

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Action, Crime, Good Movies,

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