Beginning with a well choreographed car flip on the motorway and ending with a spectacular car race involving the male protagonist and antagonist, Race may sound a bit like The Fast and the Furious in its decision to pit the two masculine egos against one another to see who's got the biggest engine. Race, however, is much better than that: It's an upbeat Bollywood film that combines thriller and comedic elements with action, and boasts plenty of plot surprises, hot Asian women, catchy music, beautiful scenery and genuinely funny dialogue to go with the fast cars.
Entertainment All the Way
There's definitely a lot to enjoy in this film, without the need to really think too much about it for a majority of the time. Race is a incredibly entertaining from the off thanks to its over-the-top action sequences, fast-paced direction and wonderful cinematography that sucks you into the heart of the Durban/Dubai landscape. The screenplay is also clever in that its characterisations are deliberately cliché yet still manage to be bursting with energy; as the story unfolds, and a variety of twists are introduced, there's a real sense of excitement to be had, which stems from the likeability of the main characters involved -- whether they are portrayed as good or bad.
A Story of Sibling Rivalry, Betrayal and Passion
The plot involves two step-brothers, Ranvir Singh (Saif Ali Khan) and Rajiv Singh (Akshay Khanna), who've inherited the family ranch farm and bookie business, which they use to breed race horses and make high-stake bets. Ranvir, the elder of the two, is a calm and collective businessman, but ruthless when he needs to be, and is always surrounded by his beautiful secretary, Sophia (Katrina Kaif). Rajiv, on the contrary, sponges off Ranvir and is seemingly always unreliable, funding his excessive drink habit with the money that has been won a majority of the time by his brother.
The younger of the two brothers soon meets a fashion model named Sonia (Bipasha Basu) and promises that he will give up the booze for good should he develop a relationship with this women he desires; and Ranvir, being the supportive brother that he is, decides that he will assist in pushing the two together. Ranvir and Sonia eventually marry, but all is not what it seems, and a murder is soon committed, prompting local Detective Robert. D. Costa -- "R.D." -- (Anil Kapoor) to uncover the mystery behind the case, accompanied by his dumb, blonde partner, Mini (Sameera Reddy).
Things do start to get a little confusing around about the final third of the story when an excessive amount of twists are introduced, resulting in the pace slowing down and the film losing part of its thrill. Thankfully, though, Kapoor and the introduction of Johnny Lever as the Marriage Bureau Chief results in some notable moments of comedy, and the film doesn't lose too much of its appeal. Race is so over the top in places that it actually becomes a satire of the action and thriller genres -- this only further adds to the enjoyment.
Khanna Shines as the Alcoholic Brother
Performance wise, Khan is pretty damn cool as the elder brother; while the girls Basu, Kair and Reddy manage to catch one's eye, not just via their stunning good looks, but also via their full-of-life performances. The show stealer, though, has to be Khanna as Rajiv who manages to make the unpredictable nature of his character compelling enough to make us root for him; he's laid-back, funny, irritating and actually quite pathetic at times, but it's hard not to have at least a degree of admiration for the guy.
Race is feel-good entertainment from start to finish. Packing an incredibly catchy James Bond-style main theme (albeit being performed twice, unnecessarily) and some great dance choreography to accompany the exciting action scenes, memorable characters and substantial storyline, expect to be hanging to the edge of your seat by the time it has all finished.
Andy Carrington - Andy Carrington is a Freelance Poet/Writer from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, currently residing in Bradford. He was educated at Wakefield ...
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