Special Ops(2020)- Review

Special Ops is a story about Himmat Singh’s(K.K. Menon) quest to find a terrorist who was directly involved with the 2001 Indian Parliamentary attack and at the same time trying to prove his existence to the Indian authorities. With the prologue displayed in the initial scenes, the series kicks off, which is set years after the event in question. In that time Himmat’s hair has turned to grey from sombre and he is now heading the government agency he worked for but he has still not been able to find the terrorist nor has he been able to successfully prove his existence. The story continues with Himmat and his team trying to capture the mystery man, all while still trying to prove the existence of whom.

The series follows the now so common sequence of the protagonist reliving his story while retelling it in front of a camera/person. Nonetheless, because of the short amount of information to be shared from the past, the unoriginal storytelling style would not bother the viewer too much. Despite indicating the importance of other characters of Himmat’s team to the ‘operation’ and the story line, it excessively focuses on K.K. Menon’s character. It vaguely and quickly introduces the other characters, with diving deep in the ‘back/origin story’ of only one of the characters Farooq Ali (Karan Tacker) and ignoring the rest for the time being (possibly leaving it to be showcased in the following seasons), which may initially disappoint the viewer.

Acting-wise K.K. Menon’s portrayal of Himmat is a class apart which makes the viewer realise the short comings in acting of other cast members. The story is extremely well written and smoothly portrayed. Background score and sound has a huge scope for improvement, nevertheless it does not hamper the viewers experience. The fighting sequences may have gone a little overboard, the inclusion of which too can be questioned.

All in all the series has its set of shortfalls but they are compensated with an engaging story and good directing & cinematography. While viewing Special Ops one may be reminded of celebrated spy characters and Tv shows of the west from James Bond & Jason Bourne to Homeland & Jack Ryan, all with a fair share of ‘Indianness’ showcased in it.

Acting- 8.5

Casting- 9

Cinematography- 9.5

Dialogue- 8

Directing- 9

Editing & Effects- 7.5

Sound & Music- 6

Story- 9.5

Storytelling- 8.5

Rating- 9

Available on: Hotstar

Comments

Crazy About Her(2021)- Review

Crazy About Her(2021)- Review Crazy About Her is a Spanish Netflix Romantic Comedy by director Dani de la Orden. The movie is about Adri (Álvaro Cervantes) a successful writer for an entertainment magazine; and a woman he has a one-night rendezvous with Carla (Susana Abaitua). They classically bump into each other and hit it off instantly. But rather than get things complicated and complex, they decide to have one crazy night out with no strings attached and never to see each other again. Come dawn the perfect arrangement ends and the two go their separate ways. But Adri can’t help thinking about her and decides to find her. Sounds like a perfect classic rom-com right; here things start getting interesting. Carla is a patient at a mental hospital. Extremely smitten by Carla, Adri hatches a plan to get into the hospital and get her number. Little did he know Carla has no further interest in him and he is to get stuck in a mental hospital. Netflix often at times does not focus too m...

Unpaused(2020)- Review

Unpaused(2020)- Review Unpaused is an anthology film consisting five different segments of different stories. The first one, Glitch, set in the future where the world has transformed owing to Covid- 1 9 and its variations like Covid-22/Covid-30 (referring to the year of the new virus’ inception). It tries to imagine what the world could be like if this dreaded virus stays with us for a long time. It primarily focuses on two young adults trying to kindle their relationship in this new AR/VR world. Ahan (Gulshan Devaiah) is paranoid & fearful or hypo (possibly meaning hypochondriac) as people like him are referred to. On the contrary Alizah (Saiyami Kher) is a brave and bold women. Initially puzzled by how they were matched by the dating app dislike each other, but with time a love story follows. Unlike the old times, religion/family/society type of issues are not hindrances that stop the romantic ‘happy ending’ for the couple, but new type of challenges that ensue with evolution...

Inside Man(2006)- Review

Inside Man(2006)- Review Inside Man is heist thriller movie by director Spike Lee. It takes us through the 24-hour heist on a Wall Street bank. The mastermind and the executor of the heist Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) devises a plan for a “Perfect Bank Robbery” which includes taking control of the bank and in turn everyone inside the bank as hostages. Though it’s a minutely crafted strategy everything should go as planned to the letter, and the authorities need to be kept at bay. This won’t be the easiest thing with Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) assigned to negotiate. He is highly motivated official hoping to make Detective First Grade and to swipe the tarnish of his scandalous past. Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) the chairman of the board of directors and founder of the fictional Manhattan Trust bank, has his own set of skeletons in the closet that he wishes were not revealed to the world. To make sure of this he hires Madeleine White (Jodie Foster) as a powe...

The Couch Review

Search This Blog