Hidden with a mysterious agenda, a sniper holds a businessman hostage in a closed phone booth cell, where he is ordered to obey the tasks of sniper or he will be killed. While making a phone call from a phone booth in Worli, Mumbai, Bachubhai alias Tony Khosla, a businessman, who lives with his wife, Lakshmi, and a young daughter, is interrupted by a male. He manages to shove him out, but is interrupted again by another male, and when he shoves him out, this male pulls out a gun but is shot dead by a third unknown male. This third male phones Tony and tells him that he was the one that saved his life, and Tony cannot hang-up the phone, and if he does so, he will be shot dead. With crowds, police, and the media descending on the scene, a hapless Tony will be held hostage, his personal life, including his affair with another woman, will be exposed, while the unrelenting sniper takes his time to clarify why he has decided to hold Tony in this situation. In "Knock-Out," Silvio Simac proves again that he is a global actor who is indispensable for the best action scenes in movies today. In this riveting thriller from India, Simac's contribution is far too brief, but his climatic fight with the film's lead proves to be a nail-biting highlight. Simac plays the aggressive leader of a tactical team deployed to eliminate a rooftop shooter. The charismatic actor infuses the scene with tension and talents to elevate it far above the usual concluding battle between good and evil. Simac's precision and dramatic skills have distinguished other films such as "DOA" and "Transporter 3." From atop the peak of a skyscraper in a dizzying fight scene, Simac also makes "Knock Out" another movie that soars! My 10 star rating for the film is the result of Simac's dynamic performance. This is one AWESOME film. There is a whole lot of hue and cry that it is a straight lift from Phonebooth. Well, you can judge for yourselves. Phone booth is a movie about this loose character guy who cheats on his wife and gets trapped in a phone booth (while making a call to his girlfriend)by a sniper in a high-rise building who insists that either he confesses his cheating or gets himself/his wife/his girl friend killed. Knock out's similarity lies in that it is also a movie with a guy held up in a phone booth by a sniper, but the reason is political- regarding Indian politicians hoarding the tax payers money in swiss bank. Unlike Phone booth, Knock Out has a solid motive going for the sniper. It has Sanjay Dutt and Irrfan to do the title roles which they do with so much intensity and screen presence that you'll forget everything else. It is also more funny and colourful, what with Irrfan forced to dance to "Zara zara touch me touch me touch me". O God! I was in splits after that and had to re watch it several times. The pace of the film is tense and the drama convincingly gritty. The comedy is real good comedy and not the Hindi film staple of Johny Leverish headache inducing hamming. The action sequences are good. Kangana, Satish, Gulshan Grover are apt in their roles. Gulshan is especially good as the corrupt politician and never overplays it. This has to be one of Sanjay Dutt's and Irrfan's great movies. Kudos to the director for making a movie on a much needed topic with such aplomb. And-it is a whole deal better than Phone booth!
Rakeepeada replied
326 weeks ago