Review: 'Force' lands a solid punch

Film: Force
Director: Nishikant Kamat
Cast: John Abraham, Genelia D’souza, Vidyut Jamwal
Rating: ***½

Force has to be one of the worst marketed films of the year.

Promos, including a mushy song, one a horribly picturised Arabic-lyrics-driven music video, a shot of two brawny men going at each other, and the poster of a tattooed, gun-bearing John Abraham, don’t do any justice to the film.

Force is much more than that. Director Nishikant Kamat, who carries the baggage of having to deliver in a commercial set-up after two hard-hitting films -- Dombivali Fast (in Marathi) and Mumbai Meri Jaan -- takes up the challenge with gusto, and comes out a winner. Another in a string of remakes lately -- Singham, Ready, Bodyguard -- Kamat’s distinct touch makes Force somehow stand out in the crowd.

The film has all the ingredients you expect in a revenge-driven Hindi fillum -- a tough hero, his ladylove, a venom-inducing villain, romance, drama, etc. But Kamat’s sensibilities keep the film firmly grounded -- the occasional flights of fancy, notwithstanding -- and what you get is an intense, hardcore action thriller.

“You are the good cop, you do your job; I am the bad guy, I do mine,” says Vishnu (Vidyut) to ACP Yashwardhan (John) at one point. It’s like how most stories unfold, really. This tale of chor-police gets gory when the battle becomes personal. There are relationships involved, and at stake is the life of loves ones. Force is as much about Vishnu’s revenge as it is Yashwardhan’s. Two men, driven by rage, lash out at each other resulting in mayhem. Who wins? It’s tough to say.

The mood remains grim almost throughout the film, the tension on the surface, and the screenplay moves rapidly. The second half is watertight, and the drama is complemented by some raw action, made effective not just due to great choreography (Allan Amin), but the inherent intensity. Deft cinematography by Ayananka Bose helps.

There are at least five sequences in Force that stand out, one of them where the action takes place at four places at the same time, all of them flawlessly intertwined with each other. An antagonist that you wish no one messes with (Vidyut, impressive screen presence) only adds to the thrill. What’s a revenge drama without a villain you loathe!

It’s the clichés that trouble. The romance between Yash and Maya (Genelia), an NGO worker smitten by the khadoos narcotics officer, is inconsistent, and you wonder how the two keep bumping into each other at malls all the time. The music video you saw in the promos is still as pissing off, and sticks out like a sore thumb in an otherwise taut film.

Genelia, charming as she is, bugs you with her constant “ACP sir” dialogues. John, on the other hand, comes across as believable, with Kamat exploiting whatever the actor has to offer to the hilt. He’s wooden, still, but somehow seems to be the right fit for the role.

What makes Force really tick is Kamat’s refreshing treatment of a formulaic action drama -- it’s like watching a ’90s Sunny Deol film, only with better screenplay and technique.

If hardcore action is your thing, give Force a shot. It lands quite the solid punch.