Bruce Lee: The Fighter (2015) Reviews

• A routine flick that tests patience

  prafulb2015-10-16

  This movie has everything that a successful Tollywood flick needs, a larger than life hero who cannot act to save his life, a bimbo heroine whose skirts magically reduce an inch or more of length in songs, a family patriarch who is strict, a doting mother, a sister (who thankfully does not gets violated albeit she does gets drugged), 5 songs that sound stale (Trademark Thaman who like the director Srinu Vaitla rehashes the same tunes over and over again), slo-mo fight scenes with bodies flying around defying all earthly laws of physics, a brahmanandam comedy track that can barely invoke a simper (let alone a laugh) and so on. This is supposedly a "family entertainer for masses" movie that gets routinely churned out from Tollywood (and elsewhere in India too). Absolutely nothing new in the content and presentation. If you had seen Srinu Vaitla's previous films, you will have a feeling of deja vu because that's exactly this movie is, stale ! Ramcharan tries hard but he appears to be more wooden than ever. He dances well though. Rest of the people in the movie are just there as fillers. Yet another clichéd, predictable fare that makes you feel that probably watching a wet paint getting dried up is a better time-pass. The horror is that such movies rule and make the most money inspiring more clones and the eternal vicious cycle. I have no problems with mass movies if they do provide a wholesome entertainment or a fresh take. This one provides neither and is just a usual over-hyped movie. The golden moment in the film is Chiranjeevi's entry but it is too late to redeem it. But for him alone I give this movie 2 stars. If he had been the main lead, probably this would have been a different experience. IMDb says people who liked this movie also liked Aagadu, I think thats sums it up ! This one can be skipped and forgotten along with Srinu Vaitla's last venture Aagadu.

• Undercover Stuntman

  snaidu4222015-10-18

  An IB chief who handovers an important mission concerning national security (or so as he believes) to an ordinary stuntman who is in love with is daughter. A dumb heroine who does not even get to put 2 and 2 together even though her boyfriend on numerous occasions says things, like shooting, lights, director, stuntmen, bathas and still believes he is a policeman and not a stuntman and at every impromptu occasions wears dresses made of ribbons and breaks into a song with him. A Villain who organizes a mass killing in a restaurant and blames it on Al-qaida just to silence two people. A IB officer who goes to Afghanistan on an undercover mission and sets up a barber shop there and still the IB manages to have him in the department. A hero who has nothing to do with Bruce lee except a tattoo of him on his hand and still prefers people calling him Bruce Lee. The above is a list of characters of the tollywood flick "BRUCELEE- THE FIGHTER". I guess this would be enough to make a judgment on how the filmmakers take the intelligence of the audience for granted. Coming to the story (if you can call it that) Karthik is an intelligent student as a kid who sacrifices his education so that his elder sister Kavya (Kriti Kharbanda) can get to study and become an IAS officer. His father Ramchander Rao (Rao Ramesh) has enough financial capacity to educate only one of the kids. Karthik becomes a stuntman and for some whacko reason people call him Bruce Lee. Enters a dumb girl Riya(Rakul Preet Singh) who wants to get married only to a police officer and seeing Karthik in a police costume beating a goon mistakes him for the real one and designs a computer game on him as the lead character (?????). Karthik and Riya fall in love. Riya on numerous occasions manages to pull Karthik into situations where he has to behave as a police officer and actually fight hardcore criminals. On one of his escapades, Karthik sends a notorious gang leader Deepak Raj (Arun Vijay) into a coma and his father Jayaraj (Sampath Raj) screams vengeance. Now Jayaraj is legally wedded to Vasundhara (Nadia) whose son is getting married to Kavya and Deepak is his secret legal wife (???) Malini (Tisca Chopra)'s son. When Karthik learns about Jayaraj's double life, he decides to play a trick like all Sreenu Vaitla's heroes and lands up in his house and using IB officer Suzuki Subramanyam (Brahmandam) as a scapegoat manages to uncover his evil deeds to Vasundhara. Phew! That's what the movie has to offer people, if this is one side of it, the other thing which actually makes us laugh out loud is the reason why Chiranjeevi makes an appearance in this flick. Comeon people! You don't rescue a girl and then leave her in the villain's hideout while you go horse-riding with your pal, that's exactly what Ramcharan and Chiranjeevi do. The one positive factor of the movie are the dances, Ramcharan is a good dancer and it would have worked better if they had named the movie "micheal Jackson" or "Prabhudeva" or "birju Maharaj" instead of Bruce Lee. The guy has a single expression throughout the movie, be it love, anger or ecstasy. Rakul Preet Singh cannot act to save her life. The less said about her the better. Kriti Kharbanda has nothing much to do except cry, run and hug her brother in every scene she is in. Sampath Raj is good as the suave villain who leads a double life, if only his character had been worked on a little more, we would had a real dark villain, but alas! Music by Thaman is average and not a single song is worth remembering. Srinu Vaitla's direction is pathetic, he only uses his own movie making template which he has been using for a decade and every movie of his is the same. His proclamation is loud and clear "no matter what, I will not change. I will continue making the same story with different lead actors". I would give it 3 on 10, just for the well choreographed dance sequences, would I recommend this to anyone? Please embrace the plague but not this movie

• not at all up to expectations.......

  vishwanatharaajasekhar2015-10-18

  There is no much need of watching this movie moreover it sounds as baadshah-2,dookudu-3.lack of entertainment has been the worst aspect. even though ramcharan's action and dance has been good it is a routine story and i can even tell is as a waste of time.this can be exactly said as 'NO MATTER IN MEGA METER'. Rakul shares a superb chemistry with Ram Charan though she doesn't have much of a role in the movie. Kriti as sister has done adequate job. Thaman's songs have become popular even before the release and couple of them are even better on the screen. Drawbacks: Lack of entertainment Hurried second half Predictable story Narration lacks fizz Total failure of Brahmi and comedy gang.

• One Time Watch!

  arundathi2016-06-29

  The film had some great plus points such as music, cinematography, story line and direction however the weak script made this movie boring. Even the title of the film did not make sense to the story. Ram Charan falls into the same trap as many actors: choosing generic scripts. He over acts with his dialogue delivery and he is unable to carry the movie. Rakul Preet as his love interest does a really good job but she is trapped with over the top dialogues. However, some credit should be given for a character that is different from generic portrayal of love interests. Kriti, as the sister, is able to help move the movie forward. But, again, the script does not really give her a chance to take charge. Arun Vijay as the antagonist was also a victim to poor screenplay. His role was not needed in this film. Overall, the film had a good concept but it was not brought to life.

• Bruce Lee - a good entertainer again from Sreenu Vaitla.

  ImJoelJayakar2015-10-15

  Bruce Lee is a good family entertainer. Sreenu Vaitla along with Kona Venkat and Gopi Mohan delivered another successful entertainer, but this time he changes his style. You have to watch it on screen. Ram Charan is at his best. His dances and fights are the highlight. Acting is good but not enough for an actor of his range. Rakul Preet simply dominates everything whenever she appears on screen. Especially in the song Le Chalo she is at her best. Her beauty and locations compete with each others,but she finally manages to take over. Kriti Kharbanda is the true hero of this film. Being a successful heroine in Kannada, she accepted the role of a sister rather than lead role. For that she deserves special appreciation and proves that she is apt for the role. All the remaining characters are good. If I start mentioning about each and every actor, I may miss a few. Music by Thaman is good and he manages to score a decent BGM. Cinematography is good. Editing is smooth. Breathtaking stunts are another asset for the film. Megastar Chiranjeevi appears in a cameo which will be a special attraction but will not have a great impact. Production values are rich. Bruce Lee is a good entertainer but not as expected. So, go and watch without expectations.