It's a bit tricky for me to rate this film. The first half of the film gives a kind of slow burn vibe, as it leaves you to try to put the pieces together. For the entirety of the first half, I kept feeling like I was missing something in terms of knowing what was going on, but it kept teasing the main character's reasoning and goals. It lets you get frustrated as he keeps getting beaten down while he's trying to rise up. I had a bit of a hard time finding a reason to care for what was going on, but it could have been as simple as me just not getting a grasp of the emotions Dev Patel was trying to convey, which drove the main character's goals. It only really hit me in the second half as he is at his lowest point, and we get that full picture of the kid's backstory. Here, we get to see the resurrection part of the hero's journey and things start gaining momentum very quickly. In the second half, things are moving much faster, with epic fight scenes reminiscent of John Wick, but with quite a spicy twist. I loved it. We reach the main character's apotheosis as he climbs back up very quickly. The swift succession of the Kids journey back up in the second hand had really drawn me back in.
This is why it's a bit tricky for me to rate it. The first half was losing me, but the second half drawn me right back in. by the end of the third quarter, I was completely locked into the character's goals and rooted for him every step of the way. I just wish I had that kind of feeling throughout the entire film. It was an interesting choice to make that feeling of connection so late in the film. Maybe I just missed something at the start, but i only really felt that visceral feeling after the whole put together village scene.
Other than that, the cinematography was fine. I want to say it was phenomenal throughout the film, but I have a pretty large distaste for the handheld shaky cam. during some of the action scenes, it felt very well fitting, but other times, it had me kind of having to really concentrate to figure out what was going on and who is doing what.
What they did with the colors was great though. I absolutely adored their use of lighting and colors throughout the film. I have no complaints about that, I am a complete sucker for interesting uses of colors in a piece of media.
TL;DR: The film starts slow, left me puzzled and frustrated as the main character struggles, making it hard to connect with the story. The second half picks up with an emotional backstory reveal and thrilling action scenes reminiscent of John Wick, pulled me back in and made me root for the main character. While the handheld shaky cam during action scenes can be disorienting, the use of lighting and colors is excellent. Overall, the second half redeems the slow start, but it would have been better to feel connected throughout the entire film.
Review by Yash PatelVIP 3BlockedParentSpoilers2024-05-16T05:02:44Z
It's a bit tricky for me to rate this film. The first half of the film gives a kind of slow burn vibe, as it leaves you to try to put the pieces together. For the entirety of the first half, I kept feeling like I was missing something in terms of knowing what was going on, but it kept teasing the main character's reasoning and goals. It lets you get frustrated as he keeps getting beaten down while he's trying to rise up. I had a bit of a hard time finding a reason to care for what was going on, but it could have been as simple as me just not getting a grasp of the emotions Dev Patel was trying to convey, which drove the main character's goals. It only really hit me in the second half as he is at his lowest point, and we get that full picture of the kid's backstory. Here, we get to see the resurrection part of the hero's journey and things start gaining momentum very quickly. In the second half, things are moving much faster, with epic fight scenes reminiscent of John Wick, but with quite a spicy twist. I loved it. We reach the main character's apotheosis as he climbs back up very quickly. The swift succession of the Kids journey back up in the second hand had really drawn me back in.
This is why it's a bit tricky for me to rate it. The first half was losing me, but the second half drawn me right back in. by the end of the third quarter, I was completely locked into the character's goals and rooted for him every step of the way. I just wish I had that kind of feeling throughout the entire film. It was an interesting choice to make that feeling of connection so late in the film. Maybe I just missed something at the start, but i only really felt that visceral feeling after the whole put together village scene.
Other than that, the cinematography was fine. I want to say it was phenomenal throughout the film, but I have a pretty large distaste for the handheld shaky cam. during some of the action scenes, it felt very well fitting, but other times, it had me kind of having to really concentrate to figure out what was going on and who is doing what.
What they did with the colors was great though. I absolutely adored their use of lighting and colors throughout the film. I have no complaints about that, I am a complete sucker for interesting uses of colors in a piece of media.
TL;DR:
The film starts slow, left me puzzled and frustrated as the main character struggles, making it hard to connect with the story. The second half picks up with an emotional backstory reveal and thrilling action scenes reminiscent of John Wick, pulled me back in and made me root for the main character. While the handheld shaky cam during action scenes can be disorienting, the use of lighting and colors is excellent. Overall, the second half redeems the slow start, but it would have been better to feel connected throughout the entire film.