Jawan
2023 · Directed by Atlee
Original language: Hindi
- action
- thriller
The story
An emotional journey of a prison warden, driven by a personal vendetta while keeping up to a promise made years ago, recruits inmates to commit outrageous crimes that shed light on corruption and injustice, in an attempt to get even with his past, and that leads him to an unexpected reunion.
What it’s like
Big, saturated Bollywood-scale frames: slick digital capture with glossy, high-contrast colour, sweeping crane shots over Mumbai skylines and dusty industrial yards, and neon-lit night sequences that pulse in teal and magenta. The camera rarely sits still; it swings through heist-style set pieces and slow-motion hero entrances, while a booming orchestral score with pounding percussion and anthemic vocal cues drives every escalation. Dialogue-heavy interludes give way to loud, kinetic action, and the rhythm is brisk and overtly theatrical, with the emotional beats played large. Its vibe is urgent, rousing and crowd-pleasing, closer to a Saturday-night cinema blockbuster than anything quiet. Violence is frequent and stylised, with gunfights, fistfights and explosions that are bloody at times but more pulpy than grim, and there is some peril and moral cruelty among the villains. It suits a fired-up evening, a group watch, or anyone who wants a loud, sincere revenge story with a political edge, fans of mass-market action spectacle who enjoy big emotions and bigger set pieces.
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