Ajay Devgn, Prabhudeva let 'Action Jackson' fizzle and fumble

Nothing quite prepares you for Prabhudeva’s ‘Action Jackson’. Not even the peculiar title that attempts to glorify Bollywood’s love for heroes who can fight like Superman, and dance like Michael Jackson. Nor Ajay Devgn’s ‘Kill Bill’ moves, or his fondness to repeat a single dialogue, without any warning or provocation.

It’s only when Sonakshi Sinha mouths, “He was a Singham… but now I have reduced him to a chewing gum”, that you get a sense of Prabhu’s own admission to the mess he has created.

So, what you do witness over the 145 minutes in the theatre is random acts of action and dance that never quite add up as a fun entertainer.

It’s Bollywood kitsch in its low form.

After creating ‘Wanted’, ‘Rowdy Rathore’, ‘Ramaiya Vastavaiya’ and ‘R…Rajkumar’, Prabhu sticks to his masala formula, but throws in not one, but two heroes for novelty. Why the men look identical, is never explored, nor explained.

And that’s forgivable, considering there are far more jarring errors in the incoherent storyline.

There’s also Parabhu’s “lucky charm” Sonakshi, who flutters her eye lashes and jerks her body earnestly. But, even her efforts don’t lend charm or redeem the movie from doom.

In keeping with the core essence of ‘Action Jackson’, all the three heroines – Yami Gautam, Manasvi Mamgami, and Sonakshi – are allowed to groove like Michael Jackson to a track each. Only, Sonakshi gets two!

The hero gets to be in all, while his side-kick Kunal Roy Kapoor gets one.

There’s also Prabhu’s ‘R…Rajkumar’ hero Shahid Kapoor who steps in to shake a leg for a few seconds.

And, when they aren’t dancing, or repeating their dialogues, the men indulge in war fare of a strange kind. The kind that makes you strip, flaunt your tattoo and sword, and throw some punches “to the beat” in slow motion, in the rain and in the dark. There are also orange-suited men, flying off buildings or crashing into cars, as their bosses blow smoke or grind their teeth.

Prabhudeva, who is unbeatable on the dance floor, fails to gather the same euphoria when he turns the storyteller. He exposes, instead, his taste for ostentatiously loud characters and disregard for a good story.

It’s also the kind of movie where the women experience outrageous desires. At one point, Sonakshi is seen pursing Ajay to see him with his pants down because the “sight” brings her luck. It’s twisted humour, I’m guessing, but one that borders on offensive.

But, just when you think she’s progressive, in a peculiar way, the girl turns domesticated and demands her lover to give up the street fights and drinks, because he needs to reform for love.

'Action Jackson' also has the most annoying background score, where character names or eerie sounds play in loop every time a face appears on screen.

What can I say, it’s just one of those movies that need to be left unwatched.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.