Ratheesh Mani

The best part of An Action Hero is how it manages to follow the beats of a typical action thriller, while at the same time not being a typical action thriller. While the writing and direction is clever, witty and the humour, so relevant and oh so self-aware. The film is not happy just being that... at the same time it is also a relentless chase thriller Having ayushmann Khurana who is the eternal boy next door “raja beta” play a badass action hero is in itself a statement. It is meant to put you off initially. Yeh kaise action hero. Then throughout the film, it works hard to prove itself wrong and make you believe. "haan yeh action hero hai" But the man who almost steals the show right under the nose of Ayushmann is Jaideep Alwaahat – a terrific actor who finally finds his groove after the brilliant patal lok. His presence elevates the movie and gives it the credibility that it needs, which it uses fully. All in All – An Action Hero is an absolute fun ride at the cinemas. A thoroughly engaging nontypical chase thriller. It will give you the laughs, the kicks, the rush and the high. Exactly what a good movie is supposed to do

The first thing that strikes you about Gold how Alphonse puthernisque it is. Right from the first frame, you know you are watching something completely authentic and different. The pacing is slow... very slow. Certain scenes are stretched out so much that it almost starts to get on your nerves and test your patience. I wished I could get served some of the tasty tea n snacks that Joshi’s mother kept making throughout the film. sigh by the time the interval comes, you would have for sure glanced at your watch more than a couple of times. But then the pace picks up in the second half, as more n more characters get introduced. Idea Shaji, Unni, Freddy boss. the connections and dynamics between these characters does infuse an element of fun albeit for a short time. Gold suffers from many problems, and I am not talking about the problems arising out of the high expectations, No, neither am I talking about logical problems, nor am I talking about hyper indulgence problems - I mean just as a standalone movie, with a run time of 3 hours – it doesn’t stand. it’s just too straight, simple and flat and not in a good way. There are some good ideas, some funny situations, and some characters but this can’t be a full-fledged movie. It feels like Alphonse Puthren and team started shooting the film without really fleshing out or even trying to double click any of the ideas and the angles they wanted to explore…. like the roshan mathew angle, or the chemban vinod angle, even sajiu kurup who just vanishes after a few scenes… And what is nayatara doing in this movie… the ant shown here as a metaphor has more screentime and relevance than her. what was Soubin sahir doing in that dance? Underwhemling..