We bet Abbas-Mustan, the creators of the ‘Race’ franchise, have already watched this film and are probably on a hysterical ride right now. Well, not because the film is funny or anything but at how effortlessly the makers just wrecked the once-successful franchise.
Despite the promising ingredients of a star-studded cast, high octane sequences, seduction and betrayal, the film, unlike its previous installments, hardly manages to leave any impression on the viewer whatsoever.
Talking about the first two installments, the movies were not only perfectly packaged but Saif Ali Khan’s fantastic acting and the gripping plot made it one of the best thriller films Bollywood has ever made. However, every good thing does come to an end, and so did ‘Race’.
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Everything about ‘Race 3’ screams the word ‘new’. The creators of the franchise were replaced with Remo D’Souza, who for no reason has bullets flying in every direction as if it was ‘Flying Jatt 2’. Of course, one of Bollywood’s biggest Khan was replaced with another Khan, which served as the last nail in the coffin.
The movie has clearly been dumped with Salman’s favourite B-town stars and that’s what exactly cost the film. In an attempt to follow the old formula, this movie is just an old cocktail poured into a new, expensive, fancy bottle, which still tastes horrible. No amount of picturesque locations, sultry dance moves, shirtless guys, sexy divas, and unwanted action sequences can make it better.
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If Salman Khan thought that ‘Race 3’ was going to made this Eid extra special for his fans, I am disappointed to say that this is just another damp squib of a chapter from his ‘Tubelight’ textbook.
Remo’s film is a circus of six oafs and dolts, except for Anil Kapoor, who delivers as always and is a true entertainer. The movie has too many players trying to take control, but the script is so flawed that no amount of acting can stop it from crashing and burning.
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The story is an inheritance drama that revolves around the family of a ruthless global arms dealer, Shamsher Singh (Anil Kapoor). He has his eye on a particular hard disk in order to blackmail Indian politicians and Shamsher’s nephew Sikandar (Salman Khan) has been given the job to get the hard disk. Shamsher has twins (Saqib Saleem and Daisy Shah) and a bodyguard (Bobby Deol). Rana (Freddy Daruwala) is the enemy. But the main problem is a will that leaves most of the property to Sikandar instead of Shamsher’s own kid.
You are also introduced to Jessica (Jacqueline Fernandez), a pole dancer whose loyalty changes direction just like the wind. She is seen romancing Sikander but then has Bobby next up in her list.
Looking at the movie, it seems like Remo was so enthralled by Salman’s presence alone, that he forgot his job to dole out instructions on how to act.
Salman simply comes across as a character who is doing whatever he wants and going in his own direction. Yeah, maybe Salman can do that, but how about following some basics? The dialogues are ‘blah’ and the amount of cars blown in this film can even beat Rohit Shetty’s record. Nothing seems in place and there are a lot of mindless gunshots and bullets flying around.
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Most of Salman’s fans will assert that this is Bhai’s best performance till date and claim it was a thrilling watch. Some of you might accuse me of being too critical, but shouldn’t the movie at least make some attempts to follow the footsteps of its predecessors?
It’s brilliant to see how the entire cast cracks you up when that wasn’t even their intention in the first place. While Salman is busy trying to be the macho man, it is only Anil Kapoor who actually bothers to do some justice to his role and the movie. He knows what he wants, how he wants things to take place and has a great command over his character, which makes him the best in the clan of dunces. About the rest of the cast, the lesser we say, the better.
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By the time the plot is set in motion, we see a duel, some twists in the climax, Bobby and Salman stripping their shirts off, but by then it’s too late for us to even bother.
No matter how much you love Salman and his gang, even a loyal fan will have a hard time getting over this shabby flick which takes up three hours of your precious life. Maybe it’s time we take Daisy’s suggestion seriously and understand that “Race 3 is just Salman Khan’s business, none of the viewers’ business.”