03-27-2012, 11:11 AM
From the director of Lagaan, this is a grand period epic reminiscent of an Indian Spartacus or Ben Hur. Shot on historic locations such as ancient palaces and forts, the sets are lavish, driven by Islamic architecture and design. The costumes are gorgeous in those eye-popping Indian color schemes - intricate jewelry, spectacular silks, and a lot of funny hats. The music is mostly devotional. There's only one Bollywood dance number and it's on such a grand scale - hundreds of dancers with swords, shields and spears. It's about a political marriage, the Mughal emperor marrying a Hindu empress - and it's all about religious tolerance. The story is predictable and it moves at a slow pace by modern standards, but I kept getting blown away by the spectacle. This is a sumptuous film
But what DOOM wants to know is how are the sword fights? There are plenty and they are okay. It's one-action/one-shot style and Indian choreography has never had much real impact. It's more dance-like, like a Hollywood 50s gladiator film. Ash gets sword three fights, including a classic flirt swordfight (always amusing). There's some spear and shield fights, and some battle field stuff too.
If you've got three hours to kill, this is worth a look.
But what DOOM wants to know is how are the sword fights? There are plenty and they are okay. It's one-action/one-shot style and Indian choreography has never had much real impact. It's more dance-like, like a Hollywood 50s gladiator film. Ash gets sword three fights, including a classic flirt swordfight (always amusing). There's some spear and shield fights, and some battle field stuff too.
If you've got three hours to kill, this is worth a look.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse