Phantom
Director: Kabir Khan
Writers: Hussain Zaidi, Kabir Khan
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sabyasachi Chakraborty
Strength: Action sequences
Weakness: Acting from lead performers
Runtime: 136 minutes
Rating: 2/5
Plot: A disgraced Indian soldier carries out a series of assassinations in the hope of restoring his honour.
Review: Phantom is a fictionalised account of Daniyal Khan (Saif Ali Khan), an Indian Army officer who's hand-picked to spearhead a covert mission to eliminate the masterminds of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, with the help of a three-member team: two Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officials Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Bengali actor Sabyasachi Chakraborty, the brain behind the mission, and "security agent" Nawaz (Katrina Kaif), who works for an American company that "supplies" arms to Mujahideens.
For all the high-pitched drama that you would expect from a story as charged as this, Phantom falls flat from the get-go. Not that the script does not try. In fact, it tries a little too hard to build the tempo around events at several points in the film.
Kabir, nonetheless, needs to be lauded for his efforts. He has taken care of several minute details in the movie to ensure that its political impact is not blunt. His simple message through the film, as we see it, is that India as a country should not bow down to terrorism in the name of diplomatic complexities
The lead actors deliver subpar performances but the supporting characters more than make up for it. Overall, the film is still watchable but if you are expecting a masterpiece then don't hold your breath.
Reviewed by Intisab Shahriyar
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