Attack REVIEW: John Abraham starrer is ambitious but surrenders to mediocre script

Director: Lakshya Raj Anand

Cast: John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez, Rakul Preet Singh

Bollywood Bubble rating: 2.5 stars

John Abraham aims to give India an action super hero of its own. With Attack Part-1, he tries to take the first step to introduce the concept of ‘super soldiers’ in India. In the mission, Era is his commanding voice, just like Siri in Apple, only that Era is multitalented, speaks in various languages, and is programmed to read human brain. Apple, can we have an update? Haha. Directed by Lakhsya, Attack is the story about the first ‘super soldier’ experiment as a group of terrorists attack the Parliament in New Delhi taking almost 300 people hostage.

Arjun (John Abraham) is a noted Army personnel who sustains partial paralysis after a terror attack. Simultaneously, we have an ingenious scientist (Rakul) who had been developing a super soldier chip for seven years now, we are told. The aim of her invention was to help any person who is disabled. As first of the experiments, Arjun undergoes the surgery and turns into a ‘super soldier’. With command from Era, he could function normally, with 10X more power. However, like any machine, Era has its own limitations.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by John Abraham (@thejohnabraham)

The Indian Central Government decides to take their first human trial of ‘super soldier’ for a test run after an attack on the Parliament puts more than 300 people’s life in danger including the Prime Minister. Arjun is asked to enter the Parliament as Era helps him with directions and blueprint of the Parliament and eliminate the terrorist. Then, there is of course, Jacqueline Fernandes in the film who plays Ayesha.

While the attempt to try something new is applause-worthy, the script truly seems to be written out of a whim. There is absolutely nothing original about the script except for the ‘super soldier’ part. The screenplay is dull and uninteresting which is astonishing. The film had the potential of being a intriguing crime film but the overall hype does not match the execution. The main protagonist of the film is essentially the super soldier element, but a lot of time in the beginning is wasted to establish Arjun and his love story, which to me seemed redundant.

However, special mention to the team for not hyper-sensationalising a subject like this. There was no unnecessary forced patriotism infused for reactions, which was refreshing. So, Kudos for that. I only hoped the screenplay was tweaked enough to keep the intrigue going.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by John Abraham (@thejohnabraham)

The action choreography is one of the biggest highlights for the film. It is well-executed and extracts a couple of yays. The background score, however, was a bigger letdown. The dialogues in parts were funny, but overall nothing that you would quote or remember post watching the film.

Attack is one of those films which has a better second half than first.

Jacqueline Fernandes has a limited role where she plays an air hostess, from Muscat. Rakul plays her part as a scientist very well. Another interesting element of the film is Era, the commanding voice and can we just say that she is perhaps the only entertaining element of the film. Absolutely loved her.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by John Abraham (@thejohnabraham)

John is great in action sequences. He compensates for the dull storyline with his powerful persona but somehow it isn’t enough. HIs equation with Era is enjoyable and leaves you with a few laughs.

Attack would have seemed like an ‘attack’ on logic literally if not for Era. Era, would you recommend Attack? Errrrr, system shuts down!

Also Read: Sharmaji Namkeen REVIEW: Late Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal serve an appetising story that satiates your hunger but not your want

Bhavna Agarwal

Assistant Editor at Bollywood Bubble. An ambivert who is currently high on K-dramas and K-Pop. A forever Bollywood fan, who continues to gush over solid stories and characters. Hit me up for a fine conversation over chai.

You can also reach me on – https://twitter.com/filmybugB