36 reviewers have given Prince an average rating of 1.2/5.0 (?)
Warning: clicking on "full review" will take you to an external website that could contain spoilers.
So-So by Noyon Jyoti Parasara, AOL INDIA ...The action scenes are made believable with the help of good VFX.... full review
Thumbs down by Nikhil Kumar, Apun Ka Choice ...There’s more fun to be had when you learn that Prince’s memory has actually been stolen and stored on a chip in a coin ... full review
Thumbs down by Baradwaj Rangan, Blogical Conclusion, The New Sunday Express ...What has happened to this once-promising actor? This is a film where the megalomaniac villain has a metal hand, for crying out loud, and seeks to modify the world’s memory through a computer chip. ... full review
Thumbs down by Bobby Sing, Bobby Talks Cinema.com ...As the movie started, it gave me the feeling that it’s sure going to be another example of all gloss and no content. And the same was proved in its later reels... full review
So-So by Amrita Tanna, Bolly Spice ...Although the first look draws the audience in, unfortunately the action sequences and expensive effects simply do not cut it.... full review
So-So by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama ...One of the advantages of having a GenNext director is, he's ready to take risks, ready to tread the untrodden path, ready to go where no one has been before. But there's a disadvantage too: Visuals and technique take precedence, while story takes a backseat... full review
Thumbs down by Raashi Malhotra, BookmyShow ...The stunts are far from slick and the plot is plain confused. There is no flow and the ‘twists’ seem to be thrown in randomly, just like the songs.... full review
Thumbs down by The Narcissist, Cinemaa Online ...There are solid heist thrillers and then there’s Prince. Erstwhile classics like Ronin, Italian Job etc. should be ready to move over, for Prince has arrived.... full review
Thumbs down by Max DaVinci, Dappan Koothu ...No matter how mind blowing the narrative is, the name Kookie Gulati must definitely set your spidey senses into a tizz. That is however not the case if your name is Vivek Oberoi because you’ve already lost your mojo to a buck-hunterlost your mojo to a buck-hunter in public... full review
Thumbs down by Deepa Garimella, fullhyd.com ...Prince is a brave attempt to bring the likes of not just Spiderman, Superman and Batman, but also Newton, Einstein and C V Raman to the theatres to the average Indian person.... full review
Thumbs down by Martin D' Souza, Glamsham.com ...Such a fine actor reduced to now doing acrobats!... full review
Thumbs down by Saurin, Gomolo.in ...Sadly, Oberoi has drooping shoulders and Prince will drop down and vanish without a trace. ... full review
Thumbs down by Mayank Shekhar, Hindustan Times ...The makers could’ve handed over part of that cheque to John Woo as well, the director of Paycheck (2003). The supple inspirations are obvious... full review
Thumbs down by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live ...There's an assembly line of villains including one with a mechanical arm, another wearing enough gold chains to give Bappi Lahiri a complex, and finally a heavily-tattooed femme fatale in S&M gear. ... full review
Thumbs down by Mihir Fadnavis, india.com ...Most of the film is good enough that way - dumb, but not boring. But does it have to be so witless, so stupid, so openly contemptuous of the very audience it's supposed to be pandering to? Not by a long shot.... full review
Thumbs down by Shubhra Gupta, indian express ...The best part of the film is the spectacular outdoors that we get to see when Prince is diving off roofs, and dropping off steep heights.... full review
Thumbs down by Gaurav Malani, indiatimes ...Prince is marred with perfunctory performances, standard stunt sequences (Allan Amin), repetitive cinematography shots (Vishnu Rao) and corny dialogues (Mayur Puri). ... full review
So-So Indicine ...Director Kookie Gulati has successfully ensured each scene looks grand, atleast the 40 odd crores don’t seem wasted. ... full review
So-So by Tushar Joshi, MiD DAY ...There are enough gadgets, gizmos, car chases and high altitude drops to keep the tempo going. Apart from the action sequences, it's the special effects that work in the film's favour.... full review
Thumbs down Movie Talkies ...after the first hour, he finds it tough to keep viewer interest alive.q... full review
Thumbs down by Minty Tejpal, Mumbai Mirror ...Vivek Oberoi is sharp in his role, Nandana Sen looks hot but Prince stays well short of being a king, despite the fancy gadgets involved.... full review
Thumbs down by Anupama Chopra, NDTV ...three leading ladies, all of whom are equally uninspiring. Though I should make a special mention here of Nandana Sen wearing tattoos, thick eyeliner and very obvious push-up bras. ... full review
So-So by Ashok Nayak, Now Running.com ...masala pot-boiler that defines nothing with too many cinematic liberties, cliched scenes and silly dialogues... ... full review
Thumbs down by Gaurang, Passion for Cinema ...My one track mind wondered why Prince’s night romps with the chicks couldn’t be seen. ... full review
Thumbs up by Ankit Ojha, Planet Bollywood ...I’m extremely happy to say that just like Tips’ last super-hit action thriller Race (2008), Prince also has a lot to offer , thus making this an intelligent, well-packaged movie.... full review
Thumbs down by GreatBong, Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind ...the final blows are given by Vivek or is it Vivi-eeeek Oberoi’s holding-his-head-and-careening-to-and-fro attempts to act, which makes even Sanjay “Aati Naheen” Kapoor as the cop look understated and measured.... full review
Thumbs up by Sampurn, real bollywoood ...Slickly shot, this debut directorial venture of Kookie Gulati has been made on par with many popular International action thrillers. ... full review
Thumbs down by Preeti Arora, Rediff ...The action director is Allan Amin who is considered to be one of the best. But the fight scenes are repetitive. Something one has seen in some film or the other over the last decade.... full review
Thumbs down by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies ...he's often led than leading, and the filmmakers seem to want to experiment with the concept of the unshakable action hero. Sadly, even the vulnerability doesn't come through, and you don't empathize with the character and his conflict. ... full review
Thumbs down by Janhvi Patel, StarBoxOffice ...I stepped out for a few minutes in the second half and hadn’t missed anything much by the time I returned. ... full review
Thumbs up by K K Rai, STARDUST ...it is through Vivek’s character that the film is able to give itself a Hollywood look from the very start.... full review
So-So by The Friday Freak, The Friday Freak ...the chase sequences are very good and future Bollywood filmmakers should take a lesson from this movie about what is possible, even by Bollywood.... full review
So-So by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India ...Too many questions taking their toll on the chip packet in your hands. It ain't crunchy anymore, unless you are strictly an action buff who can rest content with Vivek Oberoi repeatedly yelling, ``It's showtime!" before kicking ass, time and again. ... full review
Thumbs down by FlyingRodent, Upper Stall ...$: It has a very convoluted, confusing, meandering and pointless plot. Did anyone even try to put together a screenplay before filming???... full review
Thumbs up by SpiceZee Bureau, ZEENEWS.COM ...Kookie Gulati’s vision for the magnificent and the opulent is quite visible and the high action sequences offer a rare visual treat. ... full review
Comments (29)
He He, the travails of a fellow reviewer. When I saw the movie today I did not know whether to critique it as a reviewer or just lose myself into the typical popcorn story going on on the screen.
But hell, I then thought all this worked so right during Joy Mukherjee's time, so with the wizardy of today, the movie should work... but alas.. Vivek is wooden! You cannot help it!
haven't seen the movie still feel fairly certain that the reviewer has gone overboard into dissing it. the trailers were slick, the storyline fairly engaging and vivek has always engaged in an intense role. (the only audience turnoff could be the too many nangi naariyas in chaddies and the incredulous bit abt human memory on flashcard..)
its an indian fantasy thriller - i'd ask the reviewer to have some perspective before dishing out such harsh words or comparing it to hollywood fare. or at least have some good words for the obvious effort which has gone into the film
Bollywood Hungama review stated that the first half is real good but it slacks in the second. Nevertheless, no review has been as bad as this. And to top it, the movie had an excellent start everywhere. I guess the reviewer did not get a movie pass or free ticket and started blasting the movie from the first minute. Ha
@Adam...films like Dhoom2, Dus, Race, Blue & Krissh etc also did good business...but tht does not change the fact that most of these films are pathetic not to mention plagiarized from various Hollywood and other films...
Bollywoodhungama always gives more stars 2 mindless commercial films ( & they have trashed films like Dev.D & Manorama in the past)
Adam : Bollywoodhungama? Some standard that...for film reviews. And the reviewer here has been spending money from her pocket for years...just so that the likes of you may be forewarned. It's a different matter that you refuse to accept what she's written. And that's your prerogative. But saying things like dissing a film because she didn't get free tickets is ungrateful, tasteless & cheap.
To think that I was of the opinion that 'Jaane Kahaan...' would be absurd coz of the whole alien concept and all! After watching the tripe called Prince, I'd gladly pay to watch even a Bhojpuri movie!
I'm sure I heard someone snoring in the audience as well!
I have watched Dhoom2, Race and Krissh and I would gladly pay all over again to watch these. These movies are identical to another Blockbuster of the same genre - Ghajini. Ramen- You mean to say that all those people who have spent Rs115 crores watch mindless and pathetic commercial films. Whats so great about Avatar, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribean,Dark Knight, Spiderman, Matrix etc. All these movies provide a simple thing that you don't understand - ENTERTAINMENT!! My friend, my advise to you is to stay home and watch realistic documentaries on Discovery channel. And to Bollyfan, I agree with dissing a film on its demerits, but c'mon, it can't be all that bad. A reviewer who can recommend boring movies like Harishchandra Factory and Paa should understand the factor of entertainment. Movies are make-believe; if you don't believe something is believable, so be it, its a movie made for entertaining. I m not defending Prince but I'd like to know the reviewer's opinion about the Bourne Identity series where Matt Damon plays a similar role.
By the way, I have also watched Manorama and please believe me when I say that if you ask me to watch Manorama or weather channel, I will choose the weather channel every single time. What a boring movie, my GOD!!
Alrighty Adam...get your point. In which case, I would never take you as a cinema lover. You're more of an escapist conformist IMO.
And I'd request you to walk your talk. On one hand, you talk about dissing a film on its demerits, and on the other hand, you dismiss films like HF, Paa & MSFU as boring. Period. Tell me...if I were to show you a different perspective on these three films, would you change your opinion on them being boring? The three were anything but that. HF was insightful, and a peek into the life of the father of Indian cinema. Paa was too gimmicky for my taste and I hated it, but it was programmed to entertain, to say the least. MSFU was one of those rare occasions when a remake turns out better than the original, and we have a masterpiece as the original here. Wonder how you found these films boring.
As for entertainment, make believe stuff can be entertaining too, but it needs to be bound by something called a script which is based on characters. Most of the Hollywood films you mentioned have a strong script with beautifully written characters (with the exception of Avatar & Transformers...but those two were light years ahead of any other film of their time in technology). The Hindi films you mentioned are in a different category altogether.
Damn...I can write on to no end on this but I guess I've overstayed my welcome here. Its sad when we accept trash like Dhoom-2, Race & Prince and then justify it with names like POTC, TDK & Matrix. Take my advice, watch films, enjoy them, but keep your trap shut. Blasphemous wannabe!!
And before you come up with another of your lame Taran Adarshesque retorts calling me a Hollywood tool, let me give you some examples of good entertaining Bollywood films from recent years...
The Munnabhai twin features
Johnny Gaddar (Watch it to understand the power of the script...you know everything that's happening...yet you're glued to the edge of your seat)
A Wednesday (Another script winner...and what performances from AK & NS)
99 (A small unpretentious comedy...wonder if you've watched it)
Luck By chance (Strong characters, tongue in cheek humour, realism much beneath the surface. A courageous attempt at holding a mirror to oneself)
Little Zizou (Low-budget but high entertainment)
Wake Up Sid (Mainstream, commercial but still an enjoyable film due to the well-written characters)
Many of these films are make-believe. Munnabhai, JG, Wednesday, 99; all have some really unbelievable events transpiring...but you don't ever pay attention to that because the film has been crafted with skill and the make-believe events are bound nicely.
In films like SIK, Dhoom2, Race and now Prince, the craft is AWOL...and there's nothing connecting the make-believe events. Hence, one is forced to look at them.
We reviewers spend our time watching films that aren't really worth our time. We do it for the love of the medium and the enthusiasm to share our POV & know others' POV's. For all you know, we would rather enjoy the film than feeling so bad watching it. If only the film would allow.
@Meetu : I'm really sorry for these long rants...but over the last couple of weeks, I'm really disturbed about how easily our audiences accept trash...and then be so bombastic about it.
Over n f'n out!!
Mr bollyfan, I pity you. You have come down to the level of swearing to prove your point which means you know what. I have absolutely enjoyed all the films in your list barring the boring ones I mentioned earlier. Mind you, I don't enjoy trash either. I haven't seen Prince but I was going by bwood hungama review. I know your kind who try to act like movie connoseiurs and try to prove that they like these boring art movies. I actually stayed awake till the end of Manorama to see if it could redeem itself finally but it was a wasted 2 hours of my life. Actually, munnabhai series and johny gaddar are in my top 10 of all time. I recommended these 2 to so many people. Have you seen another trash 'The hangover'. Sorry for waking you up. Hehehe!!!
Adam : Thanks for the pity. I need it to survive. And wasn't getting any from anywhere. You really came in as a lifesaver. Would be even more grateful if you could tell me where I swore at you. Did they tell you in school that escapist, conformist, blasphemous & wannabe are swear words?
And you know what? I accept that you're quite knowledgable. In fact, I bow down to thee. I'm just trying to act like a movie connoisseur and I'd rather not dare question your viewpoint. You, on the other hand, have every right to shout from the rooftops that anyone not agreeing with you doesn't understand entertainment...oh sorry, ENTERTAINMENT. Such a sore loser.
By the way, I'm still waiting to know why you found the films mentioned above boring. And I know I'm not getting an answer.
"Over n f'n out!!" - Now is that poetry? Your tone is so angry, my friend. Calm down, Relax, Easy. If you are as knowledgeable as me, lets discuss movies on my blog. Let me know if you are up for it.
Lets come to your fav movie - MSFU. This is a Roman Polanski & Jack Nicholson ripoff from the 1974 Mystery "Chinatown" to a major extent and eventually end-up to same old cheap Indian pretext of "jameen-jayjaad,paisa,daulat". This a perfect example of how Indian directors trying to fool the audience end up making dimwit of themselves. They can't dish-out the same Hollywood version in India, so they try to add their own genuine Indian-ness(which is actually fake and lame) and on excuse of a multi-layered mystery ,totally confuse themselves. Many Indians have access to Hollywood Classics and you just can't fool everybody trying to imitate that work. Although this movie is different from usual Hindi movies and the director has tried to put some effort but the fake rajasthaani accents,detached characters,unemotional performances and actors act as though they don't seem to understand the gravity of situation...only Kulbhushan Kharbanda has shown his veteran ability...others just go through the motion. No matter how good the film is, we must remember that it's a copy. And copy means the screenplay writer saved a great deal of efforts to build the characters. Writing the screenplay of Chinatown must have been really magical journey, considering the complex characters it involved, now compare it with the screenwriters of MSFU. They just took the same structure, same characters and put them into different setup, their job is so easy. And why should we feel proud of it? And how can it be called a good film? Trying to imitate the gripping atmosphere and story-telling of the original one, director concocts a loosely held narrative with lousy, lackluster editing and the same old "They were after your Money" conclusion, which is so worn-out and old that the viewer thinks he wasted his 2hours 17minutes. Movie could have been a lot shorter and that would have made it more interesting. The pace is so slow. If you want a real twist in a suspense, watch the recent masterpiece "The sixth Sense". A true gem of a movie!! Here is my list of recent original top 10 (Not in order),See if you can come with a better list of commercial and critical successes:
1. 3 Idiots
2. Lagaan
3. Munnabhai MBBS
4. Lage raho Munna bhai
5. Dil Chahta hai
6. Johny Gaddaar
7. Dilwale Dulhaniya lejaayenge
8. Vaastav
9. Sarfarosh
10.Rang de Basanti
Adam...that anger wasn't directed at you. If you felt that way, apologies.
Now...have you really watched MFSU? Ever been to Rajasthan? If your answer to either of the questions is yes, you wouldn't say what you have said here.
Yes...the film is a remake (I'm not using the word ripoff for reasons that I'll be elaborating on) of Polanski's Chinatown. But it was better because...
1. It wasn't simply copied and pasted like so many other films are. This was adapted to Indian conditions very nicely. More on that in a bit.
2. You call it fake and lame, but ask a small-town Rajasthani and he'll tell you how closely it mirrored small-town Rajasthan.
3. You call it a confused version whereas I saw in it a depth that was missing in the original, and a pretty coherent depth.
4. Performances in MSFU have been praised by one and all, including your dearest, Taran Adarsh.
5. The pace is slow for a reason. There's a stronger character arc in MSFU as compared to Chinatown. Chinatown was a taut thriller whereas MSFU was a study of characters built around the same plot. I repeat, its not a copy. Navdeep has added a whole lot of his own perspective to it. The plot is the same but the execution is very different.
By the way, even Chinatown was about "they're after your money". Humara dhobi dhobi, tumhara dhobi drycleaner? Sahi hai bhai.
And let's not get into a discussion on lists here...this isn't the space for it. You'll see my POV much clearly on the following pages where I've compiled a list of the most overrated and underrated movies of the noughties.
http://www.cinemaaonline.com/cinemaagazine/10-most-underrated-films-of-the-decade-final-update
http://www.cinemaaonline.com/cinemaagazine/10-most-overrated-films-of-the-decade
You're more than welcome to a debate there.
And yeah...The Sixth Sense & Sarfarosh aren't recent movies. Both are from more than 10 years ago - 1999 releases.
BTW...if you want to pay to watch Race, Krish & Dhoom2 again, you've never seen a good thriller. Seriously.
woaah! i don't check comments for the weekend and miss all the fun!! In my defense, I didn't think a movie like Prince would invite such intense discussion.
Ooops! sorry, I'm not supposed to diss movies that I don't like. Forgot that!
Hey, but wait a minute, then what exactly am I doing here?
@Roy I see you, ma friend, I see you.
@Joe Don't you think it'd be better if you judge my judgement after you've seen the film?
@Ramen and @Bollyfan thank you so much for holding fort while i was blissfully unaware of the action i was missing
@Chittaranjan oops! Where and when did you watch the film? Could have been me you heard snoring ;)
@Adam and @Bollyfan Thanks for the lively discussion here. I just want to point out that even if you don't agree with my opinion, it tells you whether or not to watch the film, right? You've been a loyal wogma reader for a long-long time. By now, you must have guessed the point of my reviews. I tell you why i liked a film or why i didn't. Depending on whether or not the reasons bother you or not, you make your decision. More on that here - Why read a review?. And I sincerely believe, every one of us has a right to expess our opinion, however blasphemous or wannabe it might seem to the people who are not of the same opinion.
@bollyfan are you kidding me? I love such discussions, please don't call them rants! I'm touched by the stand you took on my behalf. Means much, thank you!!
@Adam mere bhai, how well you know me! Yes, I did start 'blasting' the movie from the first minute, because i had issues with the shoddy CGI work. That you can mention Dhoom 2 and Race in the same sentence as Matrix and Dark Knight...is....is something. Usually, I'm extremely happy when people like films that I don't because, you know one more happy cinegoer is good for the filmmakers. But, I feel hurt on behalf of all Matrix (at the very least, part 1)and Dark Knight fans (including me, of course) because you missed the point. They had such a deep comment about us as humans, a society and at some level evolution too. Geez, like @bollyfan i can go on and on if we are debating between these two categories of films. And you know why? There's hardly anything similar, you know!? Oh well...
By the way what's wrong with realistic documentaries on Discovery, they are pretty good, you know.
I think I've just seen the last one in the Bourne series - i thought it was just about ok. The action was good, though the camera did most of the action, rather than the actors/action choreographers. But, that's about it.
There wasn't anything else to it.
Sounds like you haven't seen Prince because you say, "I agree with dissing a film on its demerits, but c'mon, it can't be all that bad." Please watch the film and we can continue the discussion here. Till then, happy weather channel watching!!
People comparing The Matrix - a film that merges sci-fi with the most fundamental question, that of our existence - to Dhoom 2 an Race? You don't deserve to watch movies.
Chittaranjan might've watched it in an empty theatre and heard himself snore. Happened with me in Sadiyan. :D
Waise Yceebhai...kabhi purane doston ko bhi yaad kar liya karo. An entire community depends heavily on thee.
Meetu, Thanks for your reply. Seems like you misunderstood my point. I would never in my sane mind compare Dhoom & Race to Dark Knight and Matrix. My point was that many movies like Race & Dhoom may be trash from a critical point of view but they do provide entertainment and paisa wasool to the aam junta. Thats why these movies become huge blockbusters. Let me ask you - Why would millions of moviegoers spend their hard earned money to see something that is trash. Nowadays, it is the age of instant hits and instant failures. Case in point is Veer (Instant Flop after the first weekend) and Blue (same story). Blue had terrific effects and first of its kind underwater scenes but the aam junta was not fooled with this script-less, mindless and crap excuse of a movie. Hence, My conclusion is give credit to the aam junta as they are not fools as much as you think. On another point, even though special EFX have a great influence in Hollywood movies, Hollywood still manages to merge great EFX with a solid script in movies like Dark Knight (which I may have seen 10 times). Simply amazing!!
Oh, & why did I make the comparison? Simply to bring attention to the fact that movies have to provide entertainment to the masses and not just classes to become a profitable investment. I know I shouldn't have used examples as Matrix rather an example like 2012 would have been more apt.
@Bollyfan ha ha! ye Yceebhai kaun hai?
@Adam 1000s and lakhs of people can love a film, but if i don't like it, i don't like it. I never judged or said anything about others liking or not liking it. If they don't like it as much as I didn't like it - good, if they like what i didn't like - even better!
@meetu : Yceebhai is Chittaranjan. I know him from another life. ;-)
@Adam : In fact, it was your mention of Matrix, TDK & POTC in the same breath as Dhoom-2, Krish & Race that got me started in the first place. :D
By the way, I have no love lost for Ghajini either. Here's what I had to say for it...
http://rant-avenue.blogspot.com/2009/01/ghajini-review.html
So the class vs mass debate continues!!!Actually today people watch a movie because there are no options, by and large, and two the intense marketing done by the producers /directors /actors. Actually, is there an aam janta left? The cinema is a product of the industrial revolution and right from the start was meant to 'entertain" the working classes. Is there any working class left in this country anymore in terms of an industrial work force which actually goes to a theatre and watches films? And the rural audience has no taste for the likes of Dhoom etc which essentially caters to upper class city based macho males. So where does the film make money? The truth is that it has to run for four days across multiplexes in a few cities, numbering not more than ten . The trick is to screen it as many times as possible in those four days, when the city slickers will come in influenced by the promos, the leisure concept of the weekend, and the lack of any other leisure activity. That is it. If the film collects in those four days, it is a hit, not like the good old run of 100 days, silver jubilee etc in single screens in the good old days.
So according to me all films that do well in the Brave new Multiplex era do not ever cater to the masses!!! The masses cannot and will not pay Rs 250 upwards to watch the latest Hindi film on a weekend. The money if they have it, is better spent on basic needs. So we are left with two inferences - either the rich have become dumber, or they were always dumb to start with!!! Ha, ha.
And boy some of those dumb dudes are so busy being "knowledgeable" about cinema!!!
@cinefreak, wow - you just found a way to make superhit movies in 4 days! Mr knowledgeable, pls enlighten us why did the following flop even though they made money in your 4 days - Blue, Veer, London dreams, chandni chowk, kambakt ishq etc. The list can go on for pages. Talk sense, Mr ignoranmus!
@bwoodlover - well you cannot have it both ways, if they made money, they do not flop, if they do not, then they are flops!!! You seem to be highly confused, if they made money in the first four days across multiplexes across screens, then even if they run empty later, they are not flops, they have made money period. And I am the ignoramus, and I am also the walrus!!!! ha,ha. And Mr knowledgeable, I assume, trade figures are notoriously unreliable in your fav Bollywood, each gives his own, or rather each to his own!! so what is your source of the figures?
Watched it! its ok not much finishing in various graphics which they tried to show as hollywood movie! Just a Time pass movie!
Completely agree that this is the worst movie of all time. The effects were something from the 70's and the actors and actresses would have been better played by a high school drama class. The audience was groaning loudly during every ridiculous stunt and attempted serious dialogue. This movie should have been a slap-stick satire, not an attempt at a serious action movie.
India me Prince to gadde me girte hi rehte hain........reminding you of a 3 years old kid that fell into a tubewell pothole :)
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