‘Blue’ not worth its salt - Movie Review

Published: October 17, 2009

By JENNIFER HOPFINGER

Starring Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta, Zayed Khan, Katrina Kaif

Beautiful babes and Bahamian beaches can’t salvage this wreck—Blue is flat-out bad.

 

Expert scuba diver Sagar (Sanjay Dutt) discovered a sunken treasure in the Bahamas decades ago and accidentally killed his father while trying to retrieve it, and for some reason, his father’s dying request was that Sagar never return for the loot—perhaps as punishment for his fatally dumb mistake? How that request was conveyed underwater while the two men were breathing with oxygen tanks isn’t clear either—sign language?

 

Fast-forward to the present and Sagar’s much-younger brother Samir (Zayed Khan), who lives in Bangkok, has lost $50 million of the mob’s money. (Stupidity apparently runs in the family.) Samir flees Thailand to hide out in the Bahamas, where Sagar works for a fishing company, and it takes little time for the mob to track him down. With the prodding of Sagar’s friend and employer Aarav (Akshay Kumar), Sagar relents and goes after the treasure to get his brother out of trouble. Incredibly, Sagar is the only person who knows where it is, even though the shipwreck is visibly just below the ocean surface.

 

The acting is abominable, the climax dull, and the surprising denouement utterly ridiculous. But at least the actresses look great. The camera spends a lot of time roving the bikini-clad bod of Lara Dutta, who plays Sagar’s girlfriend, Mona. Katrina Kaif, who plays Samir’s girlfriend, Nikki, sports dreadlocks, tattoos, and a pierced lip—a refreshing change for the Bollywood Barbie that surprisingly suits her. The women give the only tolerable performances, while Khan turns in the worst of the bunch. Thankfully, he spends a good portion of the film silently astride a motorcycle, trying to outrun cops and bad guys alike—and at least the chase scenes are well-done.

Dutt sleepwalks through the film, but you can’t blame him—he seems to find the story boring, too. As out of shape as he is, he should have thought twice about appearing in a movie that would require him to wear beach attire. His May-December romance is also hard to buy—why would this weary, penniless old man have such a hot, young girlfriend? We get a few glimpses of the Sanjay Dutt we know and love—when he’s defending his home and trying to protect Mona, the macho action hero emerges, but it’s all too fleeting.

 

Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue makes a cameo performing the tune, “Chiggy Wiggy,” on which she collaborated with Indian composer A.R. Rahman.

Blue is rated Skip.

Community - News - Reviews - Commentary - About