Furthermore, the central character of a super-soldier, which John plays in Attack, will be extremely familiar to action junkies raised on a Hollywood staple diet, having been repeatedly peddled with varying degrees of success in films like the Universal Soldier franchise, Marvel's Captain America and Avengers tent-poles, Bloodshot, Outside the Wire, the Robocop series, and so on and so forth, making the task of Lakshya Raj Anand's directorial debut all the more daunting.
There's also the question of the lead actor coming off three critical and commercial flops in Pagalpanti, Mumbai Saga, and the completely brutally disappointing Satyameva Jayate 2. Given everything on the line, does Attack serve as a much-needed return for John and usher in something new for Indian action films? Thankfully, the answer to each of those questions is a resounding yes, even if Attack isn't without its fair share of attacks (pun intended) on the script along the way.
What is it all about?
After a near-fatal attack leaves him physically, psychologically, and emotionally incapacitated, Indian Army special-ops officer Arjun (John Abraham) is given the opportunity to transform into the country's first super-soldier with the help of highly advanced AI.
Watch the Attack trailer below:
Analysis:
Kudos to the team for attempting something groundbreaking in the context of Indian cinema, and even more kudos for pulling it off – at least in the parts that matter – the action, the VFX, the futuristic techno talk, and the simplification of the common masses to grasp the concept without dumbing it down for those with a better understanding of such ideas.
Though the action works well for the most part and some moments stand out, it's also a bit of a mixed bag at a few key points, particularly in the parliament scene that serves as half of the climax and the first time John is in action as a super-soldier – both crucial junctures in the narrative that could've used more planning and far fewer fast, jump cuts.
It's past time for an action movie. Directors in both Bollywood and Hollywood have realised that the secret to making action scenes memorable, especially when it comes to attracting neutral spectators, is to use lengthier takes or fewer cuts to allow the audience to become caught up in the flow. There's a reason why old-school action works so well, why Mad Max: Fury Road and the John Wick flicks work so well among modern-day action, and why this film's aforementioned bike pursuit and final stunt work so well as well.
Of course, it's writer-director Lakshya Raj Anand's first feature, so I'll give him some leeway in this department, but it's difficult to give him, John Abraham, and their co-writers, Sumit Batheja and Vishal Kapoor, the same leeway when it comes to glaring plot-holes, particularly those that stand out like a sore thumb during the terrorist attacks at an airport and the Delhi Parliament.
The romantic track between John and Jacqueline Fernandez is also extremely cheesy – as the latter aptly, albeit inadvertently, puts it in one of her lines – and borderline caricaturish, contributing nothing to the plot's emotional quotient when it's supposed to act as a catalyst for our hero's character graph later on. Both the songs and the background score are likewise subpar. Finally, many of the dialogues are too insincere and, at times, cringe-inducing to be taken seriously.
Conclusion:
Watch Attack for its attempt at something truly novel within the context of Indian cinema; its slick visual effects; its ability to seamlessly present the futuristic techno elements of its concept; the bike chase during the climax, followed by a clap-worthy stunt with an aeroplane; and, finally, John Abraham doing what he's tailor-made to do. These segments together are more than enough to get you through the film's rough spots. I'll give it three out of five stars.
My Rating: 5/10
