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Rocky Handsome movie review: Why are we watching this John Abraham film?

Rating: 1 out of 5

Rocky Handsome movie review: John Abraham ​only​ appears bad, see, he’s actually a good guy with a terrible past. The rest of the space is filled with an eight-year-old who’s made to talk like she’s double that.

Written by Shubhra Gupta | New Delhi | Updated: March 27, 2016 5:23 pm

John Abraham’s Rocky Handsome is a ​double​: the screen splits into two, with both Rocky and Handsome ​come ​striding towards us, just in case we were confused.

A drug-mafia infested Goa plus menacing mobsters plus a little girl who goes missing plus​ a ​muscled ​man ​on a​ mission is equal to ‘Rocky Handsome’. What all of it basically comes down to is this: a sculpted John Abraham donning a black singlet–pajamas–​combat ​ cap, walking slo-mo down corridors, beating the c—p out of sundry bad guys. Or ​slashing​ holes into ‘em. Same difference. That is the sole purpose of this film.

The baddies are a colourful lot. One is called Mantoo, or Muntu. Another has a ponytail and leaps about like a terrible​ carbon copy of a bad carbon copy. Another is bald-pated and twinkly eyed. These two have a bodyguard who comes from one of those lands in the East where ​kinetic martial arts​ are used commonly. I think I heard someone say Thailand, so okay, he’s Thai.

But really who cares about such specifics in a film which is determined to plumb all depths when it comes to grisly violence. from a man with an axe, to ​goons ​with kni​ves​ and gun​s, and some kind of a ​vacuum​ drill, which is used in a most shiver​​ inducing manner right ​at the start​, every conceivable weapon is brought to bear. But before you can shout axe murderer, you ought to know that Abraham’s character is the most violent of them all. Particularly in a climactic scene, in which he makes like a veritable ​whirlwind​, us​ing​ everything he has, to ​carve through ​ his opponents.

O​f course he ​has a justification​, because he is a Hindi film hero. ​Which is meant to make up​ for the absence of a coherent story-line, dreary set pieces, and ​long stretches of people​ shooting at each other​. ​The film is based on a ​well-known ​Korean flick, and in Korean flicks which topline gore, the leading men are not saddled with back ​stories to​ make them look noble. Shruti Haasan shows up for a miniscule walk​-​ on just to ​shed some good light​ on the hero​, before he walks off into the shadows.

John Abraham’s Rocky Handsome is a ​double​: the screen splits into two, with both Rocky and Handsome ​come ​striding towards us, just in case we were confused. He ​only​ appears bad, see, he’s actually a good guy with a terrible past. The rest of the space is filled with an eight year old (Diya Chalwad) who’s made to talk like she’s double that, and given a relationship with our hero which is meant to tear you up, but feels faintly creepy. Theres a young woman with a drug habit. ​Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, you come upon the ​gracious Suhasini Mulay trucked out​ as​ a sleazy peddler of kids. Everything is all over the place in this Goa over-run by ‘Roosis’​,​ and dark​ night clubs, and organ traders, and scenes of extreme, hard-core violence.

Remind me again, why are we watching this one?

Star Cast of Rocky Handsome: John Abraham, Diya Chalwad, Nishikant Kamat, Sharad Kelkar, Shruti Haasan

Director: Nishikant Kamat