Blue Just Seems Like Watching a National Geographic Documentary on 70mm
By MovieTalkies.com, 16 October 2009
2 / 5
With a budget of almost 100 crores, making 'Blue' one of the most expensive movies made in the Indian cinema, one needed to optimize the capital to good use rather than letting the liquid money just evaporating without any profits. 'Blue' kick starts with a song shot under water which almost gives you an experience of snorkeling or deep sea diving as you get a closer look into the marine life. Two minutes into the movie and there you go, a shark scene executed by James D Bomalick with Akshay and Sanjay, probably the first and last, which is quite disillusioning because that is the only stunt you get to see with sharks as in the remaining film they seemed to have depicted well fed sharks who quite surprisingly did not bother to attack any human beings around them. What happens next, throughout the movie is a phase of events, which leave you unfazed and get out of the theatres as quick as you can. 'Blue' is a story of Sagar (Sanjay Dutt) who works with Aarav (Akshay Kumar) for his fishing business in Bahamas and is also a deep sea diver who knows the Pacific Ocean like the back of his hand. The greed and the fight for, in the movie if for the treasure in a sunken ship lady in blue, which is the sole motive of Aarav's existence and the reason behind that, is revealed only in the climax. All is going fine in the life of Sagar and his girlfriend Mona (Lara Dutta), when his younger brother Sam (Zayed Khan), who is a rebel and had run away from home five years back finds himself in a soup in Bangkok and runs back to big bro Sagar for help. Well, nothing new and novel about the story, but the crux is that whilst you are watching the movie you realize that the screen play is very weak and so is Anthony D'Souza direction. The story could have been made into a suspense leaving some space for the audience's imagination, however a bad screenplay by Mayur Puri, breaks the backbone of 'Blue'.
A bad story is further affected by bad dialogues, again by Mayur Puri, and topple it with sad performances, where there is no power in dialogue delivery, weak background score to create no drama, leaving an emotional disconnect between the audience and the film. Akshay Kumar looks hot and his dressing sense is quite good too, while Zayed is at his usual best, the bad boy look, Sanjay disappoints as he looks haggard and completely unfit (read a massive paunch) for an action movie, (one wonders why Akshay hams around in the movie calling him sethji and irritating the hell out of you), while the surprise in the movie is sizzling Lara sporting four to five different and colorful bikinis and looking ravishingly hot and irresistible. While Rahul Dev (Gulshan) is average and Katrina Kaif(Nikki) who has just a cameo in the movie, looks wild with her looks and breaks out from her delicate image. It is not that the movie has no ups, of course! it is a visual treat as it has some excellent cinematography by Laxman Utekar who captures the beautiful city of Bahamas in a scenic manner and the underwater sequences are worth a watch. Especially, the theme track, in which you get to see some awesome underwater stunts by all the four actors. In terms of action outside water, 'Blue' fails pathetically, with some draggy long bike chases and races, bikes jumping over moving trains, some blindfolded gun shots between Sagar and Gulshan and his men and the likes. The bike chase between Akshay and Zayed is quite long and unnecessarily dragged. Whilst all the underwater stunts and antiques are excellent and quite fresh for an Indian audience, all credits for the efforts taken by the actors performing them and by underwater cinematographer Pete Zuccarini. The music of the film is average and does not sound like A.R. Rahman's work, while the Kylie number is peppy her existence and chance meeting with Akshay in the film is probably the worst scene in the movie.
What is commendable about the movie is the guts to attempt such a movie in Indian cinema, the execution of the under water sequences, the stunts by the actors and capturing the beautiful marine life on camera. But on second thoughts with no story and screenplay in place and thanda performances with no emotional connect with audience, it just seems like watching a National Geographic documentary on 70mm. Two stars for the efforts by everyone involved with 'Blue'.