Dhoom 3 (2013)
March 31, 2019 9:16 AM - Subscribe
When Sahir, a circus entertainer trained in magic and acrobatics, turns into a thief to take down a corrupt bank in Chicago that ruined his father, Indian officers Jai and Ali are called to catch him.
I mean, yes: this is essentially, a louder, dumber version of Now You See Me, held aloft by ambitious stunts and the sheer charm of Aamir Khan.
Cheesey pop pulp. But still fun.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:40 AM on March 31, 2019
Cheesey pop pulp. But still fun.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:40 AM on March 31, 2019
I enjoyed Dhoom, but found Dhoom 2 kind of interminable. Is this worth gambling an evening?
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:13 PM on March 31, 2019
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:13 PM on March 31, 2019
Honestly, I haven't seen either of the other two films. But my friends who have consider this the most fun of the three.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:32 PM on March 31, 2019
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:32 PM on March 31, 2019
OK, one for the list! Dhoom is fun, even if it leans way too heavily on the comic relief sidekick....
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:40 PM on March 31, 2019
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:40 PM on March 31, 2019
I find the Dhoom series kinda weird for the ostensible heroes, Dixit and Ali, being the least interesting parts of the movies. I've got nothing against Abhishek Bachchan, he's been in a lot of good movies and often does really good work, but his strength doesn't seem to be in just holding the screen while doing nothing by sheer force of personality, which is pretty much all the Dixit character gets. Uday Chopra does nothing for me at all, at best reminding me of someone doing a mediocre Joe Pantoliano impersonation, and his character, Ali, is often actively annoying in the little bit he does get to do.
None of that is a deal breaker by itself though, as the steady but dullish detective against erratic and exciting criminal story structure has a long history with lots of successes to it, but the Dhoom series doesn't do that well with the detecting bits in part because of how they borrow their storylines from other movies. Again, that in itself isn't necessarily a problem, lot's of movies do that, but by taking something like Now You See Me and trying to convert it to the detectives being the force for good while also not really spending much time on the logic of the action there isn't much Dixit can do to be interesting as the stories aren't about him and they don't offer much thrill in following the logic of the detecting itself.
That isn't to say Dhoom 3 was bad, the Sahir and Samar story is fun enough and Aamir Khan has enough charisma to make up for what Abhishek lacks with Dixit and Katrina Kaif is one heck of a dancer (Kaif's often accused of not being much of an actress, but without any character to work with in Aaliya I'm not going to hold that against her here). The borrowed storyline and the mismatch in interest makes the movie feel a bit awkward for having to have Dixit "win" in the end as the emotional charge points more to Sahir necessitating the need to make him do things that don't seem to otherwise fit his character just to give balance back to Dixit. It feels more forces than organic, but also at least makes it a little less cliched in some sense for how it has to resolve itself.
posted by gusottertrout at 11:44 PM on March 31, 2019
None of that is a deal breaker by itself though, as the steady but dullish detective against erratic and exciting criminal story structure has a long history with lots of successes to it, but the Dhoom series doesn't do that well with the detecting bits in part because of how they borrow their storylines from other movies. Again, that in itself isn't necessarily a problem, lot's of movies do that, but by taking something like Now You See Me and trying to convert it to the detectives being the force for good while also not really spending much time on the logic of the action there isn't much Dixit can do to be interesting as the stories aren't about him and they don't offer much thrill in following the logic of the detecting itself.
That isn't to say Dhoom 3 was bad, the Sahir and Samar story is fun enough and Aamir Khan has enough charisma to make up for what Abhishek lacks with Dixit and Katrina Kaif is one heck of a dancer (Kaif's often accused of not being much of an actress, but without any character to work with in Aaliya I'm not going to hold that against her here). The borrowed storyline and the mismatch in interest makes the movie feel a bit awkward for having to have Dixit "win" in the end as the emotional charge points more to Sahir necessitating the need to make him do things that don't seem to otherwise fit his character just to give balance back to Dixit. It feels more forces than organic, but also at least makes it a little less cliched in some sense for how it has to resolve itself.
posted by gusottertrout at 11:44 PM on March 31, 2019
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There is a very reasonable argument to make that it's wildly derivative and hasn't a single original thought. But I'm getting to the point where I believe Indian popular cinema is sometimes a form that uses appropriation, homage, and full-on cheeky theft in a way that is analogous to American folk music. Is a collage art? Is a remix art? Is a mashup art? I say yes to all of those.
Getting het up because you've seen these bits before is like wagging your finger at Willie Dixon because every word in his best songs was used somewhere else before he got to it. Who cares? When it's put together with this much aplomb and this much fun to make such an entertaining product, who actually cares?
Also, (and I know I am a broken record on this): AAMIR KHAN!
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:28 AM on March 31, 2019 [1 favorite]