Story
Charlie (Abhishek Bachchan) would be planning a major robbery of gold worth crores, which is being transferred from Russia to Romania. For this, he seeks the help of his role model, Victor Dada (Vinod Khanna). They find their thought process to be common, that of building an educational institution in their hometown, catering to children of all status. Victor Dada puts forward the names of those people who can join their team, in order to complete the task, Ronnie (Bobby Deol), Riya (Bipasha Basu), Spider (Neil Nitin Mukesh), Bilal (Sikander Kher) and Sunny (Omi Vaidya), who are masters in their respective arts. So, do these ‘players’ actually can complete the task and succeed in achieving their aim? What are the hurdles they encounter? How would the story take forward then? All these are to be seen on silver screen.
Analysis :
Players however, cries out a difference when compared to the other stories as the treatment of the film, makes it stand different from other films of action jorner. Also, new dimensions in terms of characterisation have been added. Like, Vinod Khanna plays a passive player unlike the original character of The Italian Job, who leads the actual robbery. Also, Players is technologically well-advanced than original Hollywood flick although, the original is rich in terms of content. But, the flipside is the length of the film and performances which leave an intelligent direction in dilemma. The lack of energy in the actors, barring Bipasha and Neil leaves people yawning most of the times.
Performance :
Abhishek Bachchan's performance reminds of the Dhoom series, with no set demarcation in his acting, as he gets to switch lanes between a good and a bad guy. Bipasha Basu leaves a mark with some apt expressions and confidence in her voice. Sonam Kapoor finds it hard to act and looks fake at some points. Neil Nitin Mukesh is outstanding and surprises with oodles of style in his body language and dialogues. Bobby Deol is amute spectator most of the times. Sikander Kher and Omi Vaidya are strictly okay. Vinod Khanna is excellent in his small, but pivotal role. Johny Lever as a car mechanic induces some pleasant light moments in the film.
Abbas-Mustan rock as directors, but at times, they succumb to the poor screenplay and dialogue writing by Rohit Jugraj and Sudip Sharma. The betrayal in love and swapping of partners brings back the memories of Race, Abbas-Mustan’s last release. Nevertheless, full marks to the robbery sequence with high-end technology, worth a watch definitely. But again, as mentioned earlier, a dragged screenplay and low enthusiasm takes away the charm. Music doesn’t ring a bell at all. The background music in the climax, during the run and chase sequence doesn’t sync with the style, which looks bizarre. Cinematography is ‘A’ class, complementing everything- from capturing locations to robbery. Dialogues are impact less and further ruin the efforts put in by the actors. Editing could have been crisper.
Final Word ‘Players’ is definitely not ‘flawless’… but definitely, worth watching once!