Dhoom 3: 2.5 / 5

(Image: Indian Express)

The thing about franchise movies is that they need to keep reinventing themselves to remain relevant. James Bond couldn’t stick to the same trajectory that he carved for himself back in the 1960s and 70s, and instead retained the things that made it great, but updated the context. Conversely. horror franchise Saw lost its way when it relied on the same old formula of inventive ways to kill – but the overall context remained the same.

Dhoom 3, the latest instalment in the Dhoom series, successfully tries to reinvent the franchise’s context as a classy storyteller with emotional depth, but overall misses the mark by losing the core ingredients which made Dhoom and Dhoom 2 great. From the get-go, it’s clear that a lot of money has been spent on this film. CGI graphics, although sometimes a bit crap, are used throughout the film, and especially in the opening sequences.

Also expensive would have been Aamir Khan who replaces John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan as the film’s villain. Aamir plays Sahir, a jaded magician who wants to exact revenge on the Western Bank of Chicago. He plays the part of the villain well, as we have seen in movies past (Deepa Mehta’s arthouse Earth, for example). He also conveys the emotional side of his character well, and his presence brings a certain level of credibility to the screenplay, which is sorely lacking credibility.

Abhishek Bachchan in Dhoom 3 (Image: One India)

The screenplay is occasionally touching, but mostly vapid and even sometimes laughable. Dhoom 3’s action sequences frequently expose directorial mistakes, and stupid scenes like Abhishek Bachchan hanging on a rope ladder strung from a helicopter in front of a poorly-executed greenscreen do the show no favours. At least for the first hour, I was wondering whether the movie is meant to be a parody of itself – some of the dialogue had me laughing out loud. The redeeming feature of the script is undoubtedly the circus scene, which is as spectacular on screen as it would be if it were real.

Writer and director Vijay Krishna Acharya has drawn one dimensional characters in the form of Jai Dixit (Bachchan) and his sidekick Ali (Uday Chopra), which is a shame considering how likeable they were in the previous two films. Instead, we get a Jai whose role is fairly diminished – presumably, there wasn’t enough room on the screen for Aamir and Abhi – and Uday acting like a dickhead. It’s clear that Abhishek has been desperate for recognition even since before he married the green-eyed monster, but it’s sad to see how the semi-mighty have fallen.

Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif in a circus scene in Dhoom 3 (Image: NDTV)

It’s hard to believe Aamir Khan agreed to appear in this – one can only assume he was either taken by Dhoom 3’s faux-emotional depth, or dazzled by the potential limelight. He would be much better off if he stuck to saving unborn children. Katrina Kaif is there, doing what she does best – rattling off about four lines of dialogue during the whole three hours and thrusting her body around trying to be provocative and sexy but ending up tired and boring. The music is ok – but nothing to write home about.

Overall, Dhoom 3 gets two stars for trying – and try it does – but only half a star for execution, which could signal a labouring end of this hitherto fun franchise.