MOVIE: Race 3
CAST: Salman Khan, Bobby Deol, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Daisy Shah, Saqib Saleem, Freddy Daruwala
DIRECTOR: Remo D'Souza
GENRE: Action suspense thriller
Calling Salman Khan a critic's nightmare isn't an exaggeration as his swag alone has propelled his past flicks into Rs 100-crore clubs. 'Kyuki Aakhir Bhai tho Bhai Hai' (because after all, Salman is Salman). The Bollywood star is producers' golden goose but this time his Midas touch may not work for the no-brainer thriller.
The makers of Race 3 let Salman lead the way this time around and what has turned out is 158 minutes of torture on the silver screen. However, the blame for this unbearable disaster is not just on Salman but the entire Race 3 team has religiously contributed to the mess.
STORYLINE
The story revolves around Shamsher Singh (Anil Kapoor) and his kids — Sooraj (Saqib Saleem), Sanjana (Daisy Shah) and their cousin Sikander (Salman Khan) who are into illegal arms dealing. The twins Sooraj and Sanjana try to conspire against Sikander after Shamsher Singh entrusts him with a high stakes heist. Yash (Bobby Deol), Sikander's most trusted and loyal friend, betrays him with the help of Jessica (Jacqueline Fernandez), with whom both are in love. What follows next is the tale of twists and turns that would hardly excite the fans.
PERFORMANCES
If you really wish to watch Salman Khan at his terrible best, then Race 3 should be the first on your list. From the opening scene to the final frame, Salman plays Salman, like most of his films of late, while Sikander seems to be a name for screenwriter's reference.
If Daisy Shah's popular dialogue 'our business is our business, none of your business' made you feel like banging head on the wall, then brace yourself as the movie has a lot more of such dreadful punchlines from her. Saqib Saleem matches up to her insanity level quite well and continues to irritate you throughout the film with his 'I don't care' orientation in every single frame.
Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol and Jacqueline Fernandez can get away with grace marks for their performance but unfortunately, it offers no respite for the audience. Freddy Daruwala has only a couple of lines in the movie.
POSITIVES
Producer Ramesh Taurani's film is so bad that it is actually good. For instance, the Bihari banter between Salman Khan and Anil Kapoor, which was intended to be hilarious, fell flat but still left the audience in splits. The gravity-defying action and chase sequences manage to entertain you while Newton rests in peace.
Read: Race 3 Review | Critics Verdict | Viewers Review
The aerial shots give you a picturesque view of Dubai. The 3D debut of Race franchise might appeal to the fans to give it a try in the theatres.
NEGATIVES
Maybe it was a bad idea to replace director Abbas-Mustan with Remo D'Souza as he failed to execute it but let's cut some slack for him as no auteur (pun intended) can create wonders with such shoddy script.
The movie is quite predictable and if fails to live up to the expectations of the franchise. The naive dialogues, half-baked characters, untimely songs and a screenplay that would make Syd Field turn in his grave sum up this audiovisual 'gas chamber'.
VERDICT
When fat cats want to burn some money, Race 3 happens.
