Abbas-Mustan's
latest
venture
Players
is
the
official
remake
of
1969's
Hollywood
classic
The
Italian
Job,
which
was
remade
in
English
in
2003.
But
it
is
not
the
frame
to
frame
copy
of
the
classic.
The
director
duo
has
altered
this
Hindi
version
to
cater
the
desi
sensibilities.
The
movie
has
all
the
mandatory
masala
ingredients
of
a
Bollywood
film.
It
has
style
and
attitude,
but
it
lacks
soul
and
spirit
of
the
original.
Players
is
a
Bollywood
heist
film,
which
electrifies
movie
buffs
with
its
hi-voltage
action.
The
highlights
of
the
movie
are
wonderful
performance
by
lead
actors,
stylised
stunts,
adrenaline-pumping
chases,
stunning
visuals,
Pritam's
songs
and
comic
sequences.
But
the
editing
work
is
big
let
down
in
it.
The
movie
is
all
about
a
gang
of
skillful,
stylish
and
sharp
players,
who
team
up
to
carry
out
a
heist.
Unlike
The
Italian
Job,
Players
lacks
a
captivating
screenplay.
Abbas-Mustan
have
added
some
extra
elements,
which
were
not
there
in
the
original
classic
and
they
make
the
movie
very
lengthy
and
boring.
Trimming
of
certain
sequences
could
have
enhanced
impact
of
the
movie.
Charlie
(Abhishek
Bachchan)
is
the
catalyst
behind
the
mission
to
steal
gold
worth
crores.
His
role
model
Victor
Dada
(Vinod
Khanna)
helps
Charlie
form
a
team
of
explosive
expert
Bilal
(Sikander
Kher),
illusionist
Rony
(Bobby
Deol),
Spider
(Neil
Nitin
Mukesh),
Riya
(Bipasha
Basu),
Naina
(Sonam
Kapoor)
and
makeup
expert
Sunny
(Omi
Vaidya).
The
team
sets
a
deadline
of
10
odd
minutes
to
steal
the
gold
from
a
moving
train,
which
leads
to
a
series
of
events,
which
will
be
interesting
to
watch
on
the
big
screen.
Abhishek
Bachchan
has
taken
his
style
and
charisma
to
next
level
that
he
had
shown
in
films
like
Dhoom,
Dhoom
2,
Dus,
Bluffmaster
and
Dum
Maaro
Dum.
Bipasha
has
strengthened
her
glam
image
of
Race.
As
con
artiste,
Bipasha
looks
super
confident
and
fabulous.
Neil
Nitin
Mukesh
has
a
challenging
role,
but
he
does
not
live
up
to
it.
Bobby
Deol
has
been
sidelined
and
wasted.
Omi
Vaidya
tickles
the
funny
bones.
Sonam
Kapoor,
Sikander
Kher
and
Vinod
Khanna
have
done
their
respective
jobs
well.
However,
Pritam
soundtrack
in
Players
are
not
very
captivating.
The
music
has
failed
to
bring
back
the
dynamism
and
passion
that
he
had
in
the
music
of
Dhoom,
Dhoom
2
and
Race.
Overall,
Players
may
match
with
The
Italian
Job
in
its
classic
standards,
it
is
obviously
a
good
commercial
entertainer.
Director:
Abbas-Mustan
Cast:
Abhishek
Bachchan,
Bobby
Deol,
Bipasha
Basu,
Sonam
Kapoor,
Neil
Nitin
Mukesh,
Sikander
Kher,
Omi
Vaidya,
Johnny
Lever,
Vinod
Khanna
Music:
Pritam
Chakraborty
Duration:
2.45
hours