tezz movie reviews 2012
Director: Priyadarshan
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Boman Irani
The word Tezz has different connotations. It means speedy and it also implies sharp. While Priyadarshan's action thriller undoubtedly is life in the fast lane, one can't essentially say it's a sharp story. But it isn't blunt either!Aakash (Ajay Devgn) has set bombs on a train speeding from London to Glasgow. Retired counter-terrorism officer Arjun Khanna (Anil Kapoor) is summoned to investigate the case. As Arjun tries to negotiate with Aakash, he simultaneously attempts to trace his whereabouts.
Unlike the more recent Hollywood train-thrillers like Unstoppable (2010) or The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), Tezz derives its soul from Keanu Reeves' Speed (1994) and changes the conveyance from road to rail. Like the Keanu Reeves's film, even Tezz employs the basic threat that the bombs on train will go off if the speed falls below a certain limit.
However much against the potential of the plot, most of the action in the film doesn't happen on or around the train. While the focus essentially is on the one-upmanship between Anil Kapoor and Ajay Devgn with the pursuit shifting positions between land and water, one would have loved to see more of rail in the film beyond its external ariel shots. Alas the maximum adventure that one gets to see on the train is an attempt to shift passengers to a parallel locomotive - an idea as old as The Burning Train (1980).
However the major drawback of Tezz is that the motive behind the entire train takeover seems too weak. It's not a terrorist operation but a man's vengeance against a country. A country that deported him for being an illegal immigrant and working without permit! Tezz tries to set its entire train-seize drama on such trivial grounds. With Ajay Devgn being the main lead, the antagonist is still the hero of the film and so he is not defined as a professional criminal but is doing the one-off operation for seeking revenge. Now that's like having one's cake and eating it too. The director wants you to sympathize with the antagonist and yet maintain that his method is wrong. Supporting characters (Zayed Khan, Sameera Reddy) are inducted in the plot with the same conflicts.
The pacing of the film is in absolute accordance with the title and the narrative runs as relentlessly as the locomotive. The past-describing prologue doesn't run beyond 90 seconds and the film comes to point pretty fast with the train hijack starting within the first 10 minutes. With that Robin Bhatt steers away from any surplus in the screenplay but, at the same time, the characters and their conflicts also appear underdeveloped. There are no background accounts of Zayed or Sameera beyond a fleeting flashback scene. And with lines like 'izzat milti nahi, cheen ni padti hain' and 'bhugatna poore kaum ko padta hain', Aditya Dhar's dialogues run in the conventional domain.
Thereby it's left to the action sequences (not involving the train) to keep you riveted and they do so to a good extent. Even the chase scenes are well-shot and don't appear disturbing or distracting like in most action movies. Evidently, the action boils down to a traditional fistfight in the end as per Bollywood prerequisites. However, Priyadarshan adds such dexterity to the drama and pace to proceedings that it, more or less, compensates for the conventionalism in the chronicle.
Despite a sulking pout, Ajay Devgn pulls off his intense character with effortless ease. Anil Kapoor is in his elements and his energy adds life to the proceedings. Boman Irani is efficient as the train traffic-control officer. Zayed Khan and Sameera Reddy are aptly employed with less acting and more action. Mohanlal, as an officer aboard the train, is visible as much (or less) as the train. Kangna Ranaut doesn't get much scope. Mallika Sherawat's sex-appeal as the item girl is stale.
At the end, Tezz is fast enough for you to keep track of its inconsistencies and manages to reach its target.
Verdict: Above Average
Director: Priyadarshan
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Boman Irani
The word Tezz has different connotations. It means speedy and it also implies sharp. While Priyadarshan's action thriller undoubtedly is life in the fast lane, one can't essentially say it's a sharp story. But it isn't blunt either!Aakash (Ajay Devgn) has set bombs on a train speeding from London to Glasgow. Retired counter-terrorism officer Arjun Khanna (Anil Kapoor) is summoned to investigate the case. As Arjun tries to negotiate with Aakash, he simultaneously attempts to trace his whereabouts.
Unlike the more recent Hollywood train-thrillers like Unstoppable (2010) or The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), Tezz derives its soul from Keanu Reeves' Speed (1994) and changes the conveyance from road to rail. Like the Keanu Reeves's film, even Tezz employs the basic threat that the bombs on train will go off if the speed falls below a certain limit.
However much against the potential of the plot, most of the action in the film doesn't happen on or around the train. While the focus essentially is on the one-upmanship between Anil Kapoor and Ajay Devgn with the pursuit shifting positions between land and water, one would have loved to see more of rail in the film beyond its external ariel shots. Alas the maximum adventure that one gets to see on the train is an attempt to shift passengers to a parallel locomotive - an idea as old as The Burning Train (1980).
However the major drawback of Tezz is that the motive behind the entire train takeover seems too weak. It's not a terrorist operation but a man's vengeance against a country. A country that deported him for being an illegal immigrant and working without permit! Tezz tries to set its entire train-seize drama on such trivial grounds. With Ajay Devgn being the main lead, the antagonist is still the hero of the film and so he is not defined as a professional criminal but is doing the one-off operation for seeking revenge. Now that's like having one's cake and eating it too. The director wants you to sympathize with the antagonist and yet maintain that his method is wrong. Supporting characters (Zayed Khan, Sameera Reddy) are inducted in the plot with the same conflicts.
The pacing of the film is in absolute accordance with the title and the narrative runs as relentlessly as the locomotive. The past-describing prologue doesn't run beyond 90 seconds and the film comes to point pretty fast with the train hijack starting within the first 10 minutes. With that Robin Bhatt steers away from any surplus in the screenplay but, at the same time, the characters and their conflicts also appear underdeveloped. There are no background accounts of Zayed or Sameera beyond a fleeting flashback scene. And with lines like 'izzat milti nahi, cheen ni padti hain' and 'bhugatna poore kaum ko padta hain', Aditya Dhar's dialogues run in the conventional domain.
Thereby it's left to the action sequences (not involving the train) to keep you riveted and they do so to a good extent. Even the chase scenes are well-shot and don't appear disturbing or distracting like in most action movies. Evidently, the action boils down to a traditional fistfight in the end as per Bollywood prerequisites. However, Priyadarshan adds such dexterity to the drama and pace to proceedings that it, more or less, compensates for the conventionalism in the chronicle.
Despite a sulking pout, Ajay Devgn pulls off his intense character with effortless ease. Anil Kapoor is in his elements and his energy adds life to the proceedings. Boman Irani is efficient as the train traffic-control officer. Zayed Khan and Sameera Reddy are aptly employed with less acting and more action. Mohanlal, as an officer aboard the train, is visible as much (or less) as the train. Kangna Ranaut doesn't get much scope. Mallika Sherawat's sex-appeal as the item girl is stale.
At the end, Tezz is fast enough for you to keep track of its inconsistencies and manages to reach its target.
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