Don 2 (2011) Reviews

• What a Movie

  manasgoswami602012-07-21

  Great movie seen in Bollywood as action, thrill, story line, direction, suspense all along. overall Power-packed performance by Shahrukh Khan. Truly the "KING IS BACK". People said that no-one could make a better Don than the man himself, Amitabh Bachchan. However, I would like to disagree. Shahrukh is the only actor of todays time that could ever make it better than the original. His style, charisma and witty remarks make it all the more appealing. Farhan Akhtar's superb directing made this film epic! There are no gaps, no over-the-top parts. As a director Farhan's best film ever. Film's background score is stunning. But the songs are not pretty good. The film's visual effects is better than MI-4, Ra.One, Robot, Krissh. It's stunning and well shot. The special effects add a special flavor to the film which makes it even more delicious. Each and every character in this film is perfect. But in some portion it remembers me Death Race2, specially in Jail. Anyway best movie of the year.

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• Don 2 worths 'one' lax watch

  g-phanisrinivas2011-12-26

  Review contains very minor spoilers. I walked into the theatre with zilch expectations but as the film progressed, I got drawn into it thanks to the twists in the tale. The film starts off from where Don: TCBA left, that is, Don (Sharukh Khan) escapes with Ayesha (Lara Dutta, counterpart of Esha Kopikkar) and Vardhaan (Boman Irani) is arrested. 5 years later, after becoming the underworld king of Asia, he has set his eyes on Europe and wants Vardhaan's help once again. He somehow releases Vardhaan from the jail and escapes to Berlin where he has to steal the money printing plates. He gets Aly Khan and Kunal Kapoor involved in his complex plan which slowly reveals to be more complex than what it appeared to be in the start. Meanwhile Junglee Billi Roma (Priyanka Chopra), Detective Malik (Om Puri) and newbie Sahil Shroff pursue Don to Berlin and that's where the action is set. Don 2 is a far bigger project that its prequel with more drama, more action and more masala. Treatment of the subject is very Hollywood and a few segments of the audience might not relate to the film easily. The sets are lavish and the production design is outlandish. Cinematography by Jason West does complete justice to the film and is a scoring point. Editing should have been slicker and the transition effects could have been better owing to the action genre. The leads – Khan and Chopra – give over the top performances. Khan's expressions and dialog delivery is too plastic and the cruelty is completely lacking in his performance. Priyanka tries hard to look like the mission-oriented, sincere cop but does it half-baked. She lacks the punch she had in Fashion or even in her last release, Anjaana Anjaani. She relies on a few tactics throughout. Om Puri is there for five-six scenes and is just there. Boman Irani is as always reliable and gives the right amount of flavor to his character. Lara Dutta is there for glam-quotient only – 2 scenes and a song. Kunal Kapoor required a meatier role to prove himself. Nevertheless the, he doesn't disappoint. Aly Khan (remember Konkona Sen's producer in Luck By Chance) gets more footage this time and is in top form. He steals the show with his towering performance. Lastly, we have débutant Sahil Shroff as Priyanka's teammate and love-interest whom we earlier saw in the Platinum Love Bands ad gives a startling performance. He looks cute in the initial scenes and speaks and emotes well. Longing to see more of him. Farhan did a grave error in the previous outing by placing "Khaike Pan Banaraswala" in the middle of the action. Neither was it required nor did it suit the situation. He has grown wiser this time by placing only two songs – 'Maya' and 'Zara Dil Ko' – in the film with the former being narrative. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are lost in oblivion. Had they stayed away from the first one, the music would have been far better. Neither songs nor background score are effective. They don't match the standards of the film. I must appreciate Farhan's intelligence for depicting a completely different story with the title 'Don'. This one has no relation to the previous one. One who hasn't seen the earlier can easily understand this one and the film can be called a 'Heist Film' rather than 'Underworld Mafia film.' The second half is solely about the heist where Don acts as a robber than a mafia leader. As with the first, the twists in the tale are not easy to translate and the final twist appears superficial – solely to make ground for Don 3. A twist in between might also disappoint Chopra fans. Don is shown to be too intelligent and far- sighted this time which doesn't work always. Dialogs are straight out of 80's which may appease people like my dad but for me, they lacked subtlety and intelligence. A few scenes hold your interest immensely in the second half. Also, the car chase in the first half with Chopra and Shroff chasing Don in a huge SUV (the sexy Hyundai Santa Fe) through subways and parking lots is remarkable. However, emotions popping out of nowhere towards the end makes no sense. A better way to take the story forward could have been thought of. Having said it all, Don 2 deserves a watch for the efforts of the team. The first release in January, Players, which seems to be having a similar storyline of heist and robbery, may not get its share at the box office because of Don 2.

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• Farhan Akhtar has raised the bar for future sequels and action thrillers. Great performance by Shahrukh in the best Indian sequel so far!

  XxMaverickxX2011-12-23

  In 2006, Sanjay Gadhvi made a sequel to the 2004 hit 'Dhoom' which was appreciated by most, but Rohit Shetty's sequel to 'Golmaal' faced mixed reviews. However, Rajkumar Hirani got it compeletely right with the Munna Bhai sequel, which was the perfect sequel to the first film. So it can be said that the record hasn't been all that great.. but it has certainly got better now! Farhan Akhtar's Don 2 is a sequel to his 2006 movie Don, a remake of the 70s Amitabh film. However, the story was sufficiently different and the twists in the tale left viewers gasping for more. Five years later, Farhan Akhtar has returned in an attempt to fulfill the enormous expectations on this sequel. I can say that my expectations were not only met but surpassed by a considerable distance! The story is strong and pretty special considering what we have previously seen from the Hindi film industry, but you wouldn't expect anything less from Farhan Akhtar. After conquering the Asian underworld, Don sets his eyes on Europe. Thrills are what you expect and thrills are what you get! The makers have clearly gone to town here as the level of authenticity and realism is extraordinary, especially considering that there are quite a few formulaic Hindi films released every year that fail to differ hugely from films that have come out of India before them. This is certainly one of those films that possess their own distinct identities. The performances are great. Shahrukh excels as Don and everything about his character is just awe-inspiring. I think this role is comparable with some of his best performances. Meanwhile, Priyanka Chopra too excels and Om Puri shows why he is regarded as a good actor. Boman Irani is impeccable as Vardhaan and Nawwab Shah is a revelation - watch out for him! Kunal Kapoor handles his role with ease, and is another one too look out for. The character development is superb. The dialogues are really good. They fit in and serve their purpose in a variety of situations. The songs of this film are not really the commercial type, but they fit in well in the various situations throughout the film. With this in mind, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have done a solid job with the music. The background score is great.Those who expect romantic music will be disappointed. The action sequences have been finely executed and do fit into the narrative very nicely. They really do add to the overall experience. Overall, this is a sequel that is far superior to the first film. As an action thriller with world-class action, top notch performances and a western feel, this presents further proof that Hollywood has some serious competition. It's a gem of a film from Farhan Akhtar, who I regard as one of the top 5 best directors in India today. With Shahrukh delivering a great performance, this film will not disappoint fans of his and action enthusiasts. One of the best films (not just from India) of 2011! A must watch!! 9.5/10.

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• A stylish movie with none other than the King of Cinema, Shahrukh Khan.

  the_dark_knight1712011-12-22

  People said that no-one could make a better Don than the man himself, Amitabh Bachchan. However, I would like to disagree. Shahrukh is the only actor of todays time that could ever make it better than the original. His style, charisma and witty remarks make it all the more appealing. Farhan Akhtar's superb directing made this film epic! There are no gaps, no over-the-top parts and surprisingly, no dancing.. Don and Roma's love/hate relationship is also great to watch and you can sense the sizzling chemistry between Shahrukh and Priyanka! I'm desperately waiting for a Don 3: The King Takes Over ;) 10/10 for sure. It would be an insult to compare these movies to other standard Bollywood movies, as Don 2 is - in my opinion - better than most, if not every, Hollywood action/thriller I've seen. Farhan, we're waiting :)

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• best action film by Bollywood

  amanirani522011-12-08

  saw the special screening of Don 2 in Dubai film festival.Frankly speaking I was stunned by the movie.Simple plot but the twists and turns in the movie were amazing.I will not reveal the plot details because you will loose interest in it.But the story is simple after becoming the underworld king of Asia,Don has targeted European underworld, the film shows the way in which Don fulfills his dream.The movie is at par with Hollywood action movies.Car chase,action,stunts,visuals were awesome.Shahrukh Khan was at his best,he gave a special feeling to the movie.But Boman Irani,Priyanka Chopra,Kunal Kapoor have also done a great job.Nawab Shah was also outstanding, he deserves a special applause. In the end Don 2 is a fine made product with an open ending.It is a must watch this holiday season.Farhan Akhtar has once again proved that he is a fine director.His directing skills are awesome, he should direct more movies.

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