Crakk movie review: Vidyut Jamwwal, Arjun Rampal film is part Death Race, part Khatron Ke Khiladi, total disappointment

Director: Aditya Datt

Cast: Vidyut Jammwal, Arjun Rampal, Nora Fatehi, Amy Jackson

Where to watch: In theatres 

Rating: 2 stars 

Siddharth (Vidyut), a boy from the slums with a daredevil spirit, aspires to change his life by participating in a tournament of extreme sports, Maidaan. As he steps into the dark world of Maidaan, he also discovers the secrets linked to his brother's death. Will Siddharth be able to find out what happened to his brother, and will he survive the ultimate death match against Maidaan's boss, Dev (Arjun Rampal)? This is the basic premise of Crakk. 

Crakk- Jeetegaa Toh Jiyegaa starts on a promising note, with Vidyut performing death-defying stunts on a running train. The movie manages to hold your attention right from the opening sequence, but sadly, as time progresses, it descends into being an ill-made mashup of Death Race, Luck, and Khatron Ke Khiladi. 

The 156-minute film is based on a tournament in an undisclosed location, with three races and a story that is as predictable as it can get. The director sets the world and the characters quickly but fails to build a strong emotional connect with the protagonist. The story of Crakk has a layer of murder mystery, and it is packaged around some impressive stunts. But the plot is so weak and predictable that it kills the impact of the action. 

In the movie, Siddharth has an elder brother, Nihaal (Ankit Mohan), who died in Maidaan. But the mystery is if his death was an accident or a planned murder? By the interval, there is no effort to hide who was behind Nihaal's death. After an average first half, the movie picks up the pace in the second half, and the last 15 minutes of the film are entertaining. But by that time, I had become disinterested. 

For me, the biggest drawback of Crackk is the weak script with a predictable screenplay. Crakk, unfortunately, falls into the category of Vidyut films that have often been tagged 'old wine in a new bottle'. If a movie is wrapped around 3-4 action set pieces without a strong story, it will fall flat, and that's what I felt about Crakk. Vidyut co-wrote the story with Aditya, Rehan Khan, and Sarim Momin, but they failed to infuse the film with a soul. 

Whatever positives exist in Crakk belong solely to Vidyut and Arjun. Vidyut performs jaw-dropping stunts with such ease. When it comes to action, he manages to up the ante. However, he tries too hard with the Bambiyaa lingo and fails in some places. There are a few dramatic moments, and Vidyut scores well in those scenes. 

Arjun Rampal as Dev is an uber-cool baddie who has style but lacks menace. Dev has an impressive character arc, and I was interested to know more about him. Thankfully, the makers did justice to his origins, but I missed the villainous impact Arjun had in Om Shanti Om and RaOne. Apart from Arjun and Vidyut, only Ankit and Bijay Anand manage to impress. Other cast members, Nora Fatehi, Amy Jackson, and Jamie Lever are forgettable and to a certain extent, wasted. 

The only parts I found interesting in Crakk were the first 20 minutes and the last 15 minutes. Between them, are two hours of disappointment barely salvaged by Vidyut's stunts and Arjun's swag.