Warning

wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list (?)

quick review:

Well tried. But, you expect a few more thrills from a thriller with sharks and expanses of open water.

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Director: Gurmmeet Singh
Running time: 110 minutes
Genres: Thriller
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Warning - Preview

Warning's trailer gets you mildly intrigued. Sure, it doesn't give away anything more than a few friends are out on a boat and they might be drowning. But, that's what makes it interesting - that it doesn't give away what it is about. A general pointer towards the genre and Jaws, and that's about it.

And of course, that it is in 3D with lots of water and barely-clad men and women. The music too seems to be only promotional material. I must say I enjoyed the surreal water theme across all the promotional material including the music videos.

Whether it will be a thriller worth watching at all, we'll know soon enough. Going to walk in with a completely blank slate for once.

- meeta, a part of the audience

A theme that involves a bunch of people stuck in a tight life or death situation can invoke only so much thrill. Especially, if you are exposed to thrillers. You know some will die, some will make it. You know bad things will happen and either the characters will find a way out or not. The mystery of whether or not happens by itself isn't intriguing enough. Then what is it that hooks the audience in, if at all? Characters? Atmosphere? You need that extra spark to keep you with the film, which unfortunately is wanting in Warning.

What Warning has though is an urge to do something that has rarely, if ever, been tried in Hindi films - use vast expanses of water to create a chilling atmosphere. It succeeds at times, and not so much at others but the effort to do something new is not lost on the audience.

A large part of what didn't work can be attributed to the loss of brightness due to 3D. I won't say the 3D was bad, because it does shake you up a bit when a shark comes your way, if only the water was bluer maybe the film wouldn't come across as dull.

True, once the situation sets in, there is hardly any up or down in the arc of the story. You have your regular drill of the blame-game, self-blame, introspection people bonding and/or fighting and so on. There are huge group dynamics that can be explored in situations like this. But, neither the thrill element nor the human angle is touched upon more than superficially.

It helps then that the actors do a decent job put together. Except for the French speaking woman who looks out-of-place, maybe intentionally, the rest of the cast goes about alternating between supportive, scared, strong, sad and so on pretty well.

Another thing that worked well was the claustrophobia created by the open space that the ocean is. By the end of the film, you could feel your skin shrivel as if you were in the water for those over 1.5 hours.

I don't know if I should happy then that an attempt was made or be unhappy that it wasn't taken a level deeper to engage and/or explore.

- meeta, a part of the audience

19 reviewers(?) - 0 yays 9 so-so 10 nays

Warning: clicking on "full review" will take you to an external website that could contain spoilers.

So-So, by Bobby Sing, Bobby Talks Cinema.com : ...Warning is sure going to impress you more while watching it on your TV sets instead of theaters... full review

So-So, by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama : ...WARNING has some nail-biting moments, but they are few and far between. Average! ... full review

So-So, Desi Martini : ...Warning has some thrilling moments and competent execution but it could have done with a better script. One time watch, only if you have nothing to do. ... full review

So-So, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ...If you are looking for a little bit of thrill, WARNING is quite OK. ... full review

So-So, by Faheem Ruhani, india today : ...Warning may not give you the full worth of the price of your movie ticket but it still hooks you for most part of the film.... full review

So-So, by Jaidev Hemmady, Movie Talkies : ...Though the first half has been admirably shot, with the right amount of thrills and chills, the second half is not as gripping... full review

So-So, by Divya Solgama, MoviezADDA : ... don't take this 'Warning' seriously .... Just like the makers 'take it lightly'.... full review

So-So, by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies : ...So there you have it— an average film with limited thrills and a few good performances. Do the math. ... full review

So-So, by Roshmila Bhattacharya, Star Blockbuster : ...You have to salute Captain Anubhav Sinha brave attempt to give us one hellavu ride, just hope the next time the ship won’t be stationary... full review

Thumbs down, by Sarita Tanwar, DNA : ... Don't subscribe to Nat Geo? Then this might be exciting for you.... full review

Thumbs down, by FPJ Bureau, Free Press Journal : ...Frankly speaking, the 3 D cameras fail to generate add-on thrills. The narrative spiel lacks dramatic tension and the weakly drawn characters fail to rouse our sympathies. ... full review

Thumbs down, by Swayamsrestha Kar , fullhyd.com : ...Warning (3D) carries opinions about itself in its title. Be warned, lest you emerge into the sunlight after two and a half hours, feeling all... meh... full review

Thumbs down, by Sarit Ray, Hindustan Times : ...Generally speaking, the genre of shark-eats-man isn’t made for critical acclaim. It is to — pardon the expression — feed a certain appetite for such cinema... full review

Thumbs down, by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live : ...The only thing truly baffling is that this film is supposedly based on true events. Which means morons like these actually existed! Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/warning-review-hard-to-summon-much-sympathy-for-the-characters/424997-47-84.html?utm_source=ref_article... full review

Thumbs down, by Shubhra Gupta, indian express : ...It is a familiar theme, this group of people battling the elements... full review

Thumbs down, by Mohar Basu, koimoi : ...Manjari Fadnis is adorable and though her roles don’t really boast of great acting skills, she does her best of hold her ground all through. Santosh Barmola does a decent job too, but his inability at emoting too well shows frequently. Varun Sharma could have been ace had the film spared a greater space to him. He again is a promising actor and that could have worked in favor of the film.... full review

Thumbs down, by Shaheen Parkar, MiD DAY : ...The film lacks the thrills and chills in the attempts to save onself from a watery death... full review

Thumbs down, by Subhash K Jha, NDTV : ...But if you like to torture yourself with mid-ocean inertia, you know where to go!... full review

Thumbs down, by Madhureeta Mukherjee, Times of India : ...Warning', heavily inspired from Hollywood film 'Open Water 2' with all its highs and lows is a new effort at a waterworld story, but fails to safely swim ashore even with a life-vest.... full review

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This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.

Parental Guidance:

  • Violence: A few slaps and scenes where people beat each other or themselves up. A shark attack.
  • Language: Largely clean
  • Nudity & Sexual content: No sexual content. But bikini-clad and bare-backed women, shirtless men and so on.
  • Concept: A story of survival.
  • General Look and Feel: 95% of the film is where the characters are in water.

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

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Warning - Cast, crew, links

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Running time:
110 minutes
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Comments (3)

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mac

seems like its based on Piranhas.

@mac Haven't seen that one. But from what I hear, just maybe.

Anuj

The commercial prospects of this film would definitely have been boosted had they just had a few "barely clad" women and done away with the men. Who wouldn't fancy a few bikini clad damsels in distress even if the plot's worth nothing at all! ;)

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