Bond vs Don

DON – The chase begins, 168 min, Dir: Farhan Akhtar

Bollywood’s most bankable star, Shah Rukh Khan, plays Don in Farhan Akthar’s recent remake. Originally starring the legendary Amitabh Bachan, Khan performs the devilish role with a flourish. He shoots bullets gracefully, leers at women in a somehow acceptable way, and makes the life of a drug peddler look enviously glamorous. However things get racy when Desilva (Boman Irani), head of the Indian police force, sets a mission to capture Don at any cost. Essentially the film is a cat and dog chase, but far more glossy, with more twists in the plot than three or four films put together. Just when you think the film is about to end, a dead character comes back to life. And, as with any true Bollywood film the option of a twin or double role is always favoured, thus the character of Vijay (played by Khan as well) is incorporated into the story line. Masterminded by the corrupt Desilva, a supposedly coincidental look-a-like of Don is used to help reel the original in.
With most of the film shot in exotic Kuala Lumpur and sexy former Miss World, Priyanka Chopra, playing the role of his bodyguard/love interest, the film is a visual delight. It’s easy to forget at times that this, in fact, is a Bollywood film. The updated version is more slick and stylish and it’s refreshing to see Khan in a less mushy, more deadly role.

Bond vs Don

Casino Royale, 144 min, Dir: Martin Campbell

Slightly too blonde to be a Bond, the blue-eyed Daniel Craig is the latest incarceration of the Ian Fleming’s legendry James Bond. From Madagascar to Montenegro, Bond is on a quest to reclaim his client’s money used to fund terrorism. This, as the title suggests, includes playing a high stake game of poker with the corrupt banker Le Chiffre. Help comes along the way of beautiful accountant Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). The intellectual match provides flirtatious banter and it is not long before Bond is head over heels in love. This soft side of the suave homicidal spy is perhaps a bit soppier than expected. Not only does the coochie-coo romance drag on a bit, but there are times when you feel like you are sitting in the wrong movie. Aside from the chick-flick sections, the gadgetry is impressive at times (Bond practically performs open heart surgery to himself, nipping out surgical tools from the dashboard of his car), however at other times the technology and stunts are nothing we haven’t seen before (for those that watch 24 or Alias you know exactly what I’m talking about). Jack Bauer could have been a better Bond. With a silly plot full of twists and turns, characters appearing and disappearing, the exotic locations and Craig’s bulked up frame are the two best things about the film. Oh and of course the fact that today’s Bond is braver than most – he drives a Ford Mondeo.