Cast: Vidyut Jamwal, Pooja Chopra, Jaideep Ahlawat
Director: Dilip Ghosh
If the claims made by the makers of 'Commando - A One Man Army' are right then Vidyut Jamwal has accomplished a tedious task. He plays a commando in the film who is an expert at fist fighting and jungle trails.
The title of the film clearly points out towards the occupation of the protagonist who is actually good at flaunting refined combat skills, but is this much enough to save a film?
From Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, there have been a number of actors who have enacted the role of a commando on screen, so what makes Vidyut special? Does he stand a chance among the veterans of the art?
There is no established set of parameters to judge a good or bad commando apart from the penetrating power of the opening sequence when an officer would describe about the man and his inhuman training. Here, Darshan Jariwala has been given the responsibility to introduce Vidyut as he plays the role of a colonel whose best man Captain Karanveer Dogra (Vidyut Jamwal) is trapped behind the enemy line but as expected he runs away from the trap.
The story becomes more predictable from here-on and Captain Dogra becomes the liberator of a damsel in distress Simrit (Pooja Chopra). Obviously, the local gang-lord Amrit Kanwal aka AK74 (Jaideep Ahlawat) is not happy with the proceedings and now he is all set to unleash an era of tyranny on the absconding commando. 'Commando' soon becomes a story about two people's rivalry who are after the same girl.
From 'Prahaar' to 'Tango Charlie', the Hindi film industry has tried to show the life and times of a trained military man. Mithun and Aamir Khan have also tried their hands at being commandos but this is the first time when a commando meets the popular imagination of a film watching crowd, and I am only talking in terms of the appearance.
Vidyut has a good physique and stunts supplement for the rest but then a film needs a story as well. Probably, the director knew it and thus he concentrated on action sequences.
The structure of the film is linear and it develops without any substantial conflict. Thanks to Jaideep Ahlawat who pours his heart out to give 'Commando' at least a bone of contention between the two primary characters. Jaideep owes it to the director Dilip Ghosh who has trusted him to cover a major part of the film's screen time.
Jaideep Ahlawat's character is modelled on the lines of the villains of 1980s when the directors didn't hesitate in spending good ten minutes in introducing the baddies. He is over the top in some of the scenes but still he is the one who strikes a cord with the audience. His mannerism and rawness makes him in-charge of the film till the climax when the inevitable happens.
Vidyut Jamwal is tailor made for such roles but some smart writing would have helped him. The emotional connect between Vidyut and Pooja is missed despite them singing duets. The constraints of popular filmmaking get visible when a forced item song breaks the pace or when Pooja Chopra's close up shots show her affectionately looking at Vidyut.
The storyteller's attempt to give a meaningful punch in the climax doesn't live up to the expectations because of the obviousness of the events. Pooja Chopra's slap wasn't supposed to be Dr Dang's but she needed to beck it up with a good body language.
Vidyut Jamwal surprises with his flexibility though it looks awkward in initial action scenes where he appeared hell bent on flashing his skills with or without the requirement. However, he looks a confident man and brings soul to action scenes.
The Hindi film industry is more inclined towards producing a romantic-action film rather than an all out action film but 'Commando' tries to do it, and this becomes its speciality.
'Commando - A One Man Army' is meant for the people who have been watching action films even in the past.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.####
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