WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Everyone wants to be the hero. When the odds look dire and a diabolical force is causing mayhem, endangering the entire world with a sinister plot, who will be the one to rise, overcome the odds, and fight the good fight for the sake of humanity? Aman (Tiger Shroff) is a somewhat unsure of himself and mildly bumbling martial arts instructor who lives a quiet, unassuming life in a small village with his mother Bebe (Amrita Singh) and brother Rohit (Gaurav Pandey). Trying to make ends meet while also attempting to win the affections of the lovely Kirti (Jacqueline Fernandez), Aman also has to cope with his mother’s high expectations for his life after the passing of his father.
However, across the river from their quaint existence is a massive industrial company run by unscrupulous businessman Malhotra (Kay Kay Menon), who wants the land the village resides on, but is constantly thwarted by its current occupants who refuse to give in to his monetary offerings. Events take a turn when Malhotra seeks out the deadly “fixer” Raka (Nathan Jones) to deal with the village and a sacred tree they hold dear. In his attempt to defend his home, Aman suffers grievous injury until extraordinary events occur that imbue him with superpowers. With more powerful means at his disposal, Aman takes on the hero journey reluctantly, but the more he helps and protects people, the more his fame grows under a new name–Flying Jatt.
However, Malhotra’s spite knows no limits, and when Raka suddenly undergoes a transformation himself, it puts the whole world in danger. Facing an even more formidable foe, it will take everything Flying Jatt has to defeat the enemy and safeguard the Earth. At what cost, though, remains to be seen.
Next, my Mind:
Mainly gaining notoriety as a choreographer for over 100+ film productions plus India’s TV series “Dance India Dance”, now 5-time director and co-writer Remo’s newest effort in the lead seat brings with it fun and frustration. The movie’s two hour thirty minute runtime showcases consistent examples of how Bollywood so deftly infuses a myriad of elements into one project to good effect. From the fun and frivolity of the dance sequences, romantic tone with its ode to the original “Superman” movie, a multitude of comedic moments involving Aman and his newfound abilities, straight-up action shots that are serious and quite intense, and the borderline campy visuals that give it its comic-book atmosphere. Yet, somehow, while most of this works, the grander narrative just seemed to take a little too long to develop, and even dragged a tad at times. This reviewer doesn’t mind the long runtime format at all, but when it is affecting the pacing of a story, it gets distracting this time out.
There’s no doubt that the role of Anan/Flying Jatt is right up Shroff’s alley. He is completely entertaining as this character, allowing for a little more light-hearted yet deeply committed performance given the film’s premise while still being able to rein that in and provide the serious, earnest, and strongly impassioned attitude the character needs when things get truly rough. Shroff’s marital arts skills and flat out impressive physical ability lend themselves well here, too. Jones, a former Australian world strongman and WWE wrestler, absolutely embodies the seriously imposing villain as Raka, whose own ambitions soon grow beyond his “boss” Malhotra. Growling (literally!) and menacing in action and voice, Jones most decidedly went over-the-top to make Raka and his pollution-fueled power an intimidating force for Flying Jatt to deal with. Fernandez effectively takes the “Lois Lane” role here as Kirti, but no one could ever say Lois was this overtly bubbly and charming! Fernandez executes the part in her own wonderfully perky, exuberant, girlish way that is just so consistently endearing.
Add in Menon’s typical corporate thug, solid supporting turns from Singh and Pandey, plus a fantastic cameo by Shroff’s “Baaghi” co-star Shraddha Kapoor, “A Flying Jatt” viewer should leave feeling entertained and satisfied, even if possibly a little worn out from a film that went just a little too long and maybe chose the wrong genre to add a socially-conscious environmental message to the proceedings.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
