Action Jackson is an Ajay Devgn, Sonakshi Sinha, Yami Gautam, Manasvi Mamgai, Kunaal Roy Kapur starrer movie directed by Prabhu Deva
Vishi is a local goon who basically likes beating up people to get his work done but is nonetheless a kind-hearted person. On the other hand, Khushi is an extremely clumsy girl who keeps losing her chances with destiny and gets suddenly lucky after she accidentally meets Vishi.
Amidst the building chemistry between Khushi and Vishi, local cops and an international don named Xavier are on the lookout for AJ aka Jai who is a look-alike of Vishi and is in the same city. The story takes a major turn of events when both AJ and Vishi come face to face.
Will AJ’s past create problems for Vishi’s future?
After watching the first thirty minutes of this film, I was thoroughly confused as to why would a sane, working woman (Khushi) run around a local goon (Vishi) to see him naked just so that she can get her luck fixed. Confused? Well, yeah that is exactly what the story of this film does to you. With a fickle character build-up, the protagonists are too sketchy and almost nothing believable comes through, not even the love angle. It is tiring to watch cliched suited-up Bangkok villains who have hulks in their right hands and seem to have ‘killing with all possible weapons’ as a qualification on their CVs. Larger-than-life concepts spoil this story which could have at least managed to be a typical ‘Bollywood action drama’.
A major disappointment for me was the fact that while I was impressed by the punchlines in the film’s trailer, they fall flat in the film since they pop up in rare scenes and the otherwise running script is overtly bland to elevate them. Also it was disturbing to see the amount of violence shown towards women in the film. In my opinion, scenes of kicking or punching a woman in the face must certainly be excluded from the film.
Ajay Devgn is a huge disappointment in this film. The otherwise brilliant actor seems too volatile in this role. Though he excels in the scenes which have action, the actor does not seem comfortable pulling off the comic undertones and it would be best left unsaid for the parts that he tries the ‘Prabhu Deva’ style dancing.
Yami Gautam looks radiant in every frame that she is a part of.
Debutante Manasvi Mamgai reveals quite a lot with her negative character. But her acting is extremely weak and it would be safe to say that you would find her heaving much more than speaking in the film.
Unfortunately, this is the second time Prabhu Deva fails me after his 2014 film Ramaiya Vastavaiya which was a flop. Even though we were hoping for him to step up and make Action Jackson a second or an even better Rowdy Rathore, it couldn’t come even a second close. He adds all his usual ingredients of action, comedy and Sonakshi Sinha but this time the recipe failed big time.
The movie however has some big time hits, like Chichora Piya and many more. The duo has delivered some hits together and it is so fun to watch them on screen together.
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If only the story was a little stronger, the film would have been worth a watch but when topped with its pathetic background score, even minutes turn to hours. The absurdity with which the songs have been included in the film is shocking.
Gravity defying action sequences are a staple in his films and that is constant here too. There is a lot of play with lighting but it is quite disturbing to see every action scene in a gloomy and rainy setting. The film is a drag for over two hours and that certainly talks quite a bit about the editing department.
Action Jackson matches up to neither Prabhu Deva's film making nor an Ajay Devgn film. It is an extreme downer for those expecting a full on action-packed ‘masala’ film. With a done to death plot and an absolutely nothing new to offer, the only thing that this film latches onto is Ajay Devgn who maintains his swagger well enough. I am going with a 1.5/5 for Action Jackson.
