Rating : 3.5/5
Starring: Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta and others
Director : Farhan Akhta
Producer : Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani
Music Director : Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonsa
Release date: 23 December 2011
Story:
Don (Shah Rukh Khan) has plans to looting the Euro currency plate from a high security vault. He makes plans after plans to hit bulls eye and amidst meets his old foes Roma (Priyanka Chopra) who plays a cop and her mission is to disturb Don’s plans; and Vardhan (Boman Irani) who is looking at side lining Don. He’s still being chased by the police, and this time not of 11 countries, but 101 countries. What happens next is the climax, which is better, undisclosed with the question that will Farhan make Don 3.
Analysis:
Shah Rukh plays a baddie after a long span in his career and adds charisma to Don. But the actual hero of the film is Farhan Akhtar who seems absolutely sure of what he is looking at. He makes the actors perform, the technicalities sound and has put soul into the film. Don that was the remake of the Amitabh Bachchan starrer received mixed reviews as people could not get over Big B as the Don, but Don 2, is different and shuts all of them up who compared Don with the Big B starrer.
Performances:
Shah Rukh is at his best as the arrogant, rude and witty Don. He’s back and how! Shows that he is the original king! Priyanka Chopra looks astonishing and acts well. She adds lots of glamour to the film and that’s not all, she is a great actor too. Boman Irani is charming and you will love to hate him at the same time. He does a wonderful job. Lara Dutta and Kunal Kapoor are adequate. The rest of the supporting cast is good too.
Technicalities:
The film’s music is not very great, but SEL do a decent job. Background score makes the thrilling sequences all the more interesting. The action stunts picturized should be commended with some must-watch breath-taking sequences. Editing is crisp but the romantic angle added could be explored more for commercial reasons. Farhan Akhtar’s direction is great, as already said.
Highlights
Shahrukh simply rocks in his bad boy act and carries off the character of Don with style. The one-liners, irreverent attitude, the swagger work in his favor. Farhan’s script ensures he get to mouth plenty of catchy one-liners. He looks completely natural whether it’s fighting with Vardhan or flirting with Roma. The rest of cast pitch in with creditable supporting performances esp., from Boman Irani, Priyanka, Lara Dutta and Nawwab Shah. The action sequences, of which there are many across the film, are extremely well- executed and the car-chase sequence on the streets of Berlin is the highlight. The hand-to-hand fight scenes look very realistic and pack a punch. The cinematography by Jason West captures Berlin in its steely blue tones while Asia is shot in warm natural colors.
Drawbacks
There is not much to write about here. People who go in expecting the quota of five songs might be disappointed since there is only song on screen. Apart from that, the film could have cut down the slightly lengthy second half but then again it does not bore you at any point.
Final Word: A must watch for action buffs.