Awards & Reviews

Korean Awards

* Reviews by Komal Nahta – Film Information

Transformers One (animation; dubbed from the Hollywood film of the same name) traces the origins and early relationship of Optimus Prime and Megatron and how they forever changed the fate of Cybertron, the home planet of the Transformers.
Animation, computer graphics and visual effects are extraordinary. Dubbing is excellent.

Shawn Levy’s direction caters to the masses as well as the classes. His narration doesn’t give the viewers even a minute to think. Rob Simonsen’s background music is terrific. George Richmond does a swell job of the cinematography. Ray Chan’s production designing is of a fantastic standard. Dean Zimmerman and Shane Reid’s editing is super-crisp. Dubbing is excellent.

On the whole, Deadpool & Wolverine is a hit fare as it entertains excellently.

Paramount Pictures Skydance Media and TC Productions’ Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (dubbed from the Hollywood film of the same name; UA) is a spy action film.

Tom Cruise once again shines as Ethan Hunt. He is outstanding and endears himself to the audience so much that the cinema halls resound with rounds of applause every time he does the impossible. Christopher McQuarrie’s direction is appealing. He plays to the gallery with a fast-paced action thriller. Lorne Balfe’s background music is phenomenal. Fraser Taggart’s cinematography is fantastic. Stunts and action scenes are simply breathtaking. Gary Freeman’s production designing is of a high standard. Special effects and visual effects are outstanding. Eddie Hamilton’s editing is sharp. Dubbing is fantastic.

On the whole, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is a hit. It may have started a bit slow but its collections will grow as the positive word of mouth spreads.

Syncopy Inc. and Atlas Entertainment’s Oppenheimer (dubbed from the Hollywood film of the same name; UA) is a biographical thriller.

Christopher Nolan’s direction is exemplary. Although the first half is too full of technical jargon and is very verbose, the second half has a phenomenal human drama which more than makes up for the dialogue-heavy and technical first half. Ludwig Göransson’s background music is fantastic. Hoyte Van Hoytema’s cinematography is extraordinary. Some scenes have been shot in IMAX. Jennifer Lame’s editing is sharp and crisp. Dubbing is excellent.

On the whole, Oppenheimer is a sureshot box-office winner for the engaging human drama in the second half.

Lightstorm Entertainment and TSG Entertainment’s Avatar: The Way Of
Water (UA; dubbed from the Hollywood film of the same name) is the
sequel to Avatar (2009).

James Cameron’s direction is splendid. He has painstakingly made a
wholesome entertainer which is a visual delight of the kind one has rarely
seen. A good part of the second half is shot in water; those scenes are
marvellous. Simon Franglen’s music and background music is just too
remarkable. Russel Carpenter’s cinematography is par excellence. The
camerawork, coupled with the visual effects, make the film a visual treat.
Production designing (by Dylan Cole and Ben Procter) is of an outstanding
quality. Editing (by David Brenner, James Cameron, John Refoua and Stephen
E. Rivkin) is super-sharp. Dubbing is extraordinary.

On the whole, Avatar: The Way Of Water is a blockbuster. It could prove
to be Hollywood’s biggest grosser in India so far. It will also be among the
top Hindi grossers of all time.

DreamWorks Animation’s Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (dubbed from the
Hollywood film of the same name; animation) is a sequel to Puss In
Boots (2011) and the sixth in the Shrek franchise.

Joel Crawford’s direction is impressive. He has been able to convey the
emotions of the characters beautifully. Heitor Pereira’s music is very
appealing. Animation is extraordinary. James Ryan’s editing is sharp. Dubbing is nice.

On the whole, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish is an entertaining fare but
being an animation film, it has major limitations for the Hindi film-going
audience.

Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (dubbed from the
Hollywood film of the same name; UA) is a superhero film based on Marvel
Comics, featuring Scott Long/Ant-Man and Hope Pym/Wasp. It is the sequel
to Ant-Man (2015) and Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018).

Peyton Reed’s direction is good. Christophe Beck’s background music
complements the drama wonderfully. William Pope does a splendid job of the
cinematography. Computer graphics are outstanding. Editing (by Adam
Gerstel and Laura Jennings) is crisp. Dubbing is very good.

On the whole, Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania will do average
business.

Universal Pictures, Nintendo and Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros.
Movie (animation; dubbed from the Hollywood film of the same name) is the
story of a plumber who wants to save the world from a ruthless fire
breathing Koopa.

The voice acting of the computer-generated characters is good.

Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic’s direction is good for lovers of animation
films, but it doesn’t hold appeal for the Hindi-speaking Indian audience. Brian
Tyler and Koji Kondo’s music is nothing to shout about. Eric Osmond’s editing
could’ve been sharper. Dubbing is good.

Marvel Studios’ Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (dubbed from the
Hollywood film of the same name; UA) is the third and final instalment in
the Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy. It is an action-adventure sci-fi film.

James Gunn’s direction is of a high standard. John Murphy’s background
music is pretty impactful. Cinematography (by Henry Braham) deserves
distinction marks. Beth Mickle’s production designing is of a good standard.
Editing (by Greg D’Auria and Fred Raskin) is sharp. Dubbing is very good.

On the whole, Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is an entertaining fare and
will perform well at the ticket windows.

Universal Pictures, Original Film, One Race Films, Roth/Kirschenbaum Films
and Perfect Storm Entertainment’s Fast X (dubbed from the Hollywood film
of the same name; UA) is the sequel to F9 of the Fast & Furious franchise,
and is the tenth in the series.

Louis Leterrier’s direction caters beautifully to the fans of the franchise. His
narration keeps the audience thoroughly entertained. Brian Tyler’s music is
phenomenal. Stephen F. Windon’s cinematography is terrific. Visual effects
and computer graphics are splendid. Jan Roelfs’ production designing is
extraordinary. Editing (Dylan Highsmith and Kelly Matsumoto) is super-sharp. Dubbing is lovely.

On the whole, Fast X is a surefire hit.

Skydance Media, Hasbro, New Republic Pictures, Di Bonaventura Pictures and
Bay Films’ Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts (dubbed; UA) is a science-
fiction action film based on Hasbro’s Transformers toy line. It is the seventh
instalment in the Transformers live-action film series.

Steven Caple Jr.’s direction is pretty impressive. But the fact remains that the
film has a lot of sci-fi, which has limitations for the Hindi film-going audience.
Jongnic Bontemps’ music is of a fine standard. Enrique Chediak’s
cinematography is fantastic. Sean Haworth’s production designing is
wonderful. Editing (William Goldenberg and Joel Negron) is sharp. Dubbing
is excellent.

On the whole, Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts is an average fare for
the Hindi film-going audience. The original English version will fare better
than the Hindi dubbed version.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Eon Productions’ No Time To Die (dubbed from
the Hollywood film of the same name; UA) is the 25th spy film in the James
Bond franchise.

Daniel Craig shines as James Bond 007. The fact that this is his last film in
the franchise will also make his fans catch the film. Rami Malek is effective as
Lyutsifer Safin. Léa Seydoux does a fine job as Madeleine Swann. Lashana
Lynch has her moments as Nomi. Ben Whishaw leaves a mark as Q. Naomie
Harris makes her presence felt in the role of Moneypenny. Jeffrey Wright is
good as Felix Leiter. Christoph Waltz is alright as Blofeld. Ralph Fiennes is
good as M. Billy Magnussen (as Logan Ash) is reasonably good. David Dencik
(as Obruchev) leaves a mark. Lisa-Dorah Sonnet (as Mathilde) is cute.
Others lend fine support.

Cary Joji Fukunaga’s direction is very good. The film offers a lot of thrilling
moments. Hans Zimmer’s background music is outstanding. Linus Sandgren
does an excellent job as the cinematographer. Mark Tildesley’s production
designing is of a fine standard. Editing (by Elliot Graham and Tom Cross) is
razor-sharp. Dubbing is wonderful.

On the whole, No Time To Die has a lot of merits and will do well.

Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (dubbed
from the Hollywood film of the same name) is an action-adventure fantasy
film of the Marvel Universe of the studio. It is the story of Shang-Chi (Simu
Liu) and his estranged father, Xu Wenwu (also known as Mandarin; Tony
Leung).

Destin Daniel Cretton’s direction is superb. His narrative style makes
this masala entertainer very believable and palatable for the audience. His
mix of the various ingredients of an entertaining fare in the film is masterly.
Joel P. West’s background music is supremely impactful and effective. William
Pope’s cinematography deserves special mention because it captures the
locations and the characters just too beautifully. Production designing (by
Sue Chan and Clint Wallace) is wonderful. Editing (by Elisabet Ronaldsdóttir,
Nat Sanders and Harry Yoon) is razor-sharp. Dubbing is of a very high
standard.

On the whole, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings is a surefire
hit.

Original Film, One Race Films, Perfect Storm Entertainment, Roth/Kirschen
Baum Films and China Film Co.’s Fast & Furious 9: The Fast Saga (dubbed
from the Hollywood film of the same name; UA) is the ninth main
instalment, and the tenth full-length film in the Fast & Furious franchise.

Justin Lin’s direction is better than the oft-repeated script. Brian Tyler’s music
is effective. Stephen F. Windon’s cinematography deserves special mention.
Jan Roelfs’ production designing is of a high standard. Editing (by Greg
D’Auria, Dylan Highsmith and Kelly Matsumoto) is reasonably sharp.Dubbing is very good.

On the whole, although Fast & Furious 9: The Fast Saga is a fair
entertainer with plenty of action and stunts.

Skydance Media and Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ Top Gun:
Maverick (dubbed from the Hollywood film of the same name; UA) is the
second in the Top Gun series. The first film, Top Gun, was released in 1986.
The second part is the story of an almost impossible mission accomplished by
test pilot Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and his group of trainees who
are Top Gun graduate pilots. Among the trainees is Bradley ‘Rooster’
Bradshaw (Miles Teller), son of Maverick’s late best friend, Nick ‘Goose’
Bradshaw, and Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin (Glen Powell). At first, Maverick’s
students are sceptical, but they have a change of heart when they see his
daredevilry. How the mission is finally accomplished is the crux of the drama.

Joseph Kosinski’s direction is wonderful. But he has made a film which is uni-
dimensional, something the Hindi film-going audience does not often approve
of. Lorne Balfe’s background music is impactful. Claudio Miranda deserves
distinction marks for his cinematography. Jeremy Hindle’s production
designing is of a high order. Special effects and computer graphics are
phenomenal. Eddie Hamilton’s editing is sharp. Dubbing is very good.

On the whole, Top Gun: Maverick is an entertaining film.

Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (dubbed from the
Hollywood film of the same name; UA) is a superhero film based on the
Marvel Comics character Black Panther. It is the sequel to Black
Panther (2018).

Ryan Coogler’s direction is exceptionally good. He has made a wholesome
entertainer which appeals to people of all age groups. Ludwig Göransson’s
music is appealing. Background music is outstanding. Autumn Durald
Arkapaw’s cinematography is extraordinary. Computer graphics are
absolutely wonderful. Dubbing is lovely.

On the whole, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a surefire hit.

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