Crakk Review: Vidyut Jammwal Starrer Is Yet Another Brainless Brawny Film With Cardboard Female Characters
We love the action but...
0.5 / 5
Starring Vidyut Jammwal, Nora Fatehi, Arjun Rampal and Amy Jackson, Crakk – Jeetegaa Toh Jiyegaa! is a sports action film that hit the theatres on February 23. Produced by Vidyut under the banner of Action Hero Films, this first-ever extreme sports action film has been co-written and directed by Aditya Datt questions the sensibilities of viewers. With ornamental female characters, this film is yet another testosterone-fuelled action thriller.
The Plot Of Crakk – Jeetegaa Toh Jiyegaa!
Set in the backdrop of Mumbai and Krakow, Poland, the story of this film revolves around Siddharth Dixit aka Siddhu (played by Vidyut Jammwal). Siddhu is a slum dweller from Mumbai who is an adrenaline junkie. The film follows Siddhu as he goes on to participate in an underground survival sports competition called Maidaan in Poland. Fueled by his dream and need for an adrenaline rush and to find out the truth behind his brother’s death, Siddhu lands up in Poland and meets Dev (played by Arjun Rampal), the showrunner of Maidaan.
Unbeknownst to Siddhu, Dev is the one who defeated his brother to death several years ago. During his journey, Siddhu meets an influencer Alia (played by Nora Fatehi) who falls for him as another threat looms which much turn this survival sports competition even more deadly. On the other hand, an Interpol cop Patricia (played by Amy Jackson), is investigating a case of plutonium smuggling. How do their path meet? Will Siddhu finally find out who killed his brother? What does the future hold for him? You’ll just have to watch the film to find out.
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Performances
Vidyut Jammwal as Siddharth Dixit aka Siddhu: Vidyut is known the take the leap of faith with his action films and while we know that he always lands perfectly when it comes to the high-octane action and daredevil stunts, his acting still remains a question mark and that’s exactly what happens in this film too. He surely made me sit at the edge of my seat wondering if he’s going to hurt himself but we all know he’s going to win at the end of all the impossible, brainless stunts because vo hero hai yaar! But even with all that muscle he couldn’t justify his meaty role that lacks emotions and expressions. And guess who struggles with dialogue delivery? Yep, that.
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Arjun Rampal as Dev: Arjun Rampal is the perfect thirst-trap and a skilled actor. It’s not the first time that the actor has portrayed a menacing villain and while he brings substance to his character and tries to do him justice, not much can be done about a shoddily written villain in the era where antagonists always take the cake.
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Supporting Cast
Okay, now here’s the problem. Amy Jackson was not only underutilized but rather her character was an unnecessary sub-plot that we could’ve lived without.
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Nora Fatehi was nothing more than ornamental because har hero ko arm candy ki zarurat hai. Honestly, we’re so done with the hero’s love interest and the ornamental female character.
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However, Jamie Lever was a breath of fresh air and probably the only bearable thing about the film. Her Mumbaiya one-liners and comic timing were much needed in this mindless action film.
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Verdict: Another Testosterone-Fuelled Film
Okay, let’s take the bull by the horns. To begin with, the script of the film was more shallow than a kiddie pool. A revenge drama requires emotions and this film sure as hell lacked. For a film with a run time of 2 hours and 28 minutes, it was painfully slow and had no story to tell with an even weaker screenplay further marred by clichés. The plot of the film is more confusing than a maze. Vidyut Jammwal’s Siddhu is out for revenge but then he also wants to win money by winning this survival sports competition and he also wants the fame that comes with it. But bro, pick one main aim na. The script is all over the place as Siddhu’s aim for participating in Maidaan remains unclear for forever.
To make matters worse, he tries to woo a woman who is way out of his league because what’s a hero if he doesn’t get the girl? But guys, this ornamental female love interest is so passé. In the era of women-led films, we’re still here watching actresses being wasted in films to play the hero’s love interest who has nothing much to offer. And please, why does this girl way out of the hero’s league always fall for him? Do better, yaar! And don’t even get me started on Amy Jackson’s one-dimensional character in the unnecessary subplot.
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While the thirst traps served by Arjun Rampal and Vidyut Jammwal were extremely appealing, there’s more to an action film than just that. And this film really made me question “Script kahan hai? And logic kahan hai?”. Apart from the beautifully shot mindless action sequences that keep you hooked to the seat, this film is as “crack” as Siddhu!
With that being said, I think I cracked my brain watching this film so, I’m going to sign off after giving this film 0.5 stars out of 5. Crakk is currently playing in theatres and I’d say don’t waste your money unless you want to go watch some Khatron Ke Khiladi-type stunts with no logic, reasoning and storyline.
