

Still, with big budget action spectacle, such as the stopping of a runaway tram being one of many highlights, the story grounds itself into a romantic one. Yes, we live for moments like this in a Hindi action movie.

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And because Salman will always be Salman in a film and does what he does best, there is no lack of camp and sense of fun, with movie logic thrown in by the bucketloads for good measure, otherwise you can't get away with sliding down a hill on a car door and passing through highway traffic unscathed, or have the ability to call upon a ramp in the middle of a runway. It's a little pity though that at times, because of Salman's bulk in physique, it's quite discerning to note when a stuntman takes Tiger's place, since one would not want to risk the big star's safety in some of the more dangerous stunts. The setting in this film is ambitious, with similar 007 jet setting to beautiful though not quite far flung locations with the likes of Iraq, Ireland, and even Cuba, so with different locales brings about different stunt teams and choreographers to vary the flavour of the action. We see him exercising his reputation first hand, and is what 007 is to MI6, and come to observe plenty of his parkour like skills in many rooftop chases throughout the film, with Salman doing what Salman does best in his many action roles, to thunderous applause of approval from fans in the audience. Pakistan had reportedly banned the film, since the story deals with RAW vs Pakistan's ISI in highlighting the obvious odds between them, in a spy versus spy world where the opening act had Tiger tail, intimidate, interrogate, battle, and finally walking away victorious from scores of ISI agents hot on his trail. Not to diss the other filmmakers who have enjoyed success together with Salman, but his first work under the Yash Raj banner has the usual YR gloss being applied, making it quite the stylish affair to accentuate Salman's charisma on screen as the larger than life Tiger, formidable and arguably the most fearsome field agent for RAW, India's external spy arm. Salman Khan in recent years have been in top form, becoming the box office phenomenon and cementing his popularity and legacy with iconic roles in films from Wanted, Dabangg, Ready, Bodyguard, and now Ek Tha Tiger. I hope to encounter more of this delightfully over-the-top Indian-style action in my future viewings. The action is explosive, violent, and hard-hitting and makes great use of an extraordinary stunt team who go the extra mile. Sure, they're over the top, against the laws of physics and occasionally reliant on cheesy CGI, but it doesn't matter when the action is handled this lovingly and is so much fun. They're elaborate, expertly staged, and have great choreography. They're heavily indebted to Hollywood cinema, in particular THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM which is openly copied in some scenes. Where this film held me really entranced was in the action sequences, which are something else. The song and dance numbers are limited but a lot of fun. Some of it I didn't care for much I didn't like the female lead and the romance and flirtation scenes between the two bored me. Like many Indian movies, EK THA TIGER has a long length which means there's a lot of padding here. The use of slow motion shots in the action scenes make them impossible to take seriously too. Khan's character is so impossibly perfect, heroic, and stylish that he becomes a caricature of the movie action hero. Realism is out of the window so you can forget that. It's incredibly cheesy at frequent intervals and totally unserious. Let me make this plain from the outset: EK THA TIGER isn't a film you want to be taking seriously. His adventures take him to Ireland, Turkey, and many other places besides, and there are always beautiful women to romance and bad guys to fight. It stars big shot heart throb Salman Khan who plays a globe-trotting secret agent on the hunt of traitors selling military secrets to Pakistan. EK THA TIGER is an Indian action thriller of the kind that could only ever be made in that country.
