Web Desk (August 25, 2017): Sidharth Malhotra’s A Gentleman, while the film also stars Jacqueline Fernandez and Suniel Shetty.
STORY: Gaurav is a strait-laced techie who has picket-fence dreams of a wife, two kids and a dog; Rishi kills for a living in the seedy lanes of south-east Asian cities. How will their paths cross?
REVIEW: A Gentleman is a lazy title for this action-comedy, which is an improvement on the leave-your-brains-at-home genre that we have been (just as) lazily lapping up.
Directors Raj & DK introduce the two Sidharths with light humour and low-key intrigue. Gaurav is a good boy with slicked-back hair, tucked-in shirt, a safe mini-van and a big house. He’s passively wooing Kavya (Jacqueline). Rishi enters the scene jumping off a railing and knocking a security guard unconscious; he’s a rough, risk-taking contract killer for Unit X headed by Colonel (Suniel Shetty), but he’s a goon with a golden heart who has had enough.
A Gentleman has a lot of moving parts; it cuts between the two Sidharths with some thrill and a dose of dry humour in the first half. Special points must be given out for not resorting to slapstick or physical comedy. The connection between the two — a smoothly executed sequence halfway through the movie — is the highlight. The directors could have easily used the big suspense as the climax, however, they take a chance by making it their story’s interval.
But the downside of that risky reveal is that the intrigue is sucked out of the movie. The second half steadily declines into the usual action fare with stolen hard drives, close-quarter combats and heists in big glass buildings. The elaborate action sequences will make you want to check your phones.
In such moments, the film’s lead pair helps in keeping your eyes on the screen. Sidharth plays the two parts with distinctive skills and puts his charm to good use. Jacqueline’s sincerity is palpable and she makes for a breezy addition here, but her role is unnecessary. Hussain Dalal provides comic relief and Darshan Kumar’s one-note villainous act is satisfactory.
The film would have been a perfect entertainer had it held its cards closer to its chest. However, it still has plenty bang for your buck.
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Malhotra, Fernandez Film ‘Gentleman’ To Be Released Tomorrow
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