Operation 021 - Movie Review Before I start to review this film I’d like the readers to know that I am a huge supporter of Pakistani cinema & this review is no way intended to stop people from going to the cinemas to catch Pakistani spy-thriller Operation 021 or O21 as it shouldn’t be missed for it is, technically, a well-made film to have come out of Pakistani cinema ever. When I review Pakistani films, I keep one thing, strictly, in my mind that I’m judging a film made to contribute to a budding cinema. I don’t compare it with Hollywood or Bollywood as we are far behind them when it comes to movie making but the new age Pakistani cinema seems to be getting us in the league of the countries that produce finest cinema. I was accompanied by an intelligent friend of mine when I went to catch O21. I was excited as the reviews had claimed the film to be very brainy which made me scared if someone like me would understand as I have grown up watching Hindi films, mostly. But contrary to my expectations I managed to understand the film & my friend didn’t who is waiting for my review to know what exactly happened in the film. So before I start to review I would like to start with synopsis so that people who didn’t get it can know. Operation 021 or O21 (formerly known as The Extortionist) is a story which revolves around two Afghanis & one Pakistani played by Hameed Sheikh, Ayub Khoso & Shaan Shahid respectively. Dost Mohammad (Hameed Sheikh) is an Afghani government official who along with a CIA operative Nathan (Joe Town) try to find a micro chip which has been stolen by Abdullah (Ayub Khoso) who has been Dost’s companion in childhood. The chip is too essential as it has potentially scandalous information about the forces & their supporters that try to exploit the country’s resources. Afghani nationalists wish to expose them while CIA aims at getting the chip back at any cost as it contains extremely sensitive information. Abdullah hides the original chip & pretends to hand over the chip to Kashif Siddiqui (Shaan Shahid) a while before he is under arrest. This plan risks not only the life of theirs but also that of Shaan’s family who has already lost his first wife. But all by hook or by crook goes right & the chip finally reaches someone who could keep it out of harms way. Hopefully, this synopsis helped people understand the theme of the film, a little. Alright, Now I shall tell you about the performances by the actors. Shaan was pretty good & looked quite comfortable playing himself like Bollywood actors do. His role was no way different from that in Waar. I wonder when he will play a different kind of role as he has been playing same kind of characters in his 500 Gandasa movies. But anyway, this is just a beginning of new age Pakistani cinema & I hope he will be doing something better in coming future as Gidh’s teaser seems pretty good. Hameed Sheikh was pretty good as he’s a very good actor & he isn’t supposed to be bad. Aamina Sheikh is an actress whose charm, elegance & beauty is meant for cinema. She was good in a scene when dangerous three (Bilal Ashraf, Gauhar Rasheed & Ayaz Samo) break into her house but I felt that she, kind of, had minded a slight difference between acting on small & big screen. Bilal Ashraf comes as a revelation. I tell you he’s the next big thing. Gauhar Rasheed was good as hell & unfortunately Ayaz Samo didn’t have enough screen time. Although, Shamoon Abbasi had the same kind of role as in Waar but he shined & didn’t make people feel that he was Ramal from Waar. Summer Nicks was quiet convincing & better than MHSA. Daniyal Raheel was very good as well. Joe Town was good in the beginning & started to lose the passion of his character till he died. Wendy Haines looked a little casual playing a CIA official. The strongest part belonged to Ayub Khoso but he, according me, kind of failed at excuting a desire that his character had. When he was convincing Dost Mohammad to help him while he was ruthlessly tortured, his scream was pretentious. This was a big flaw in the movie that people hardly got connected emotionally with it. The film was handed over to Jami by Summer Nicks which was clearly visible that two different visions of two different filmmakers were muddled up. This could have resulted in a chaos but the makers handled it carefully. This film completely lacked emotional appeal. Hope the makers do not justify this by saying that spy-thrillers do not have it. Films, even if they are not perfect, are judged by how much lasting impact they have. Operation 021 was a well-dressed dead body with no soul that could keep the audience hooked. Only sound & visuals did. Just claiming that it’s an intelligent film doesn’t help at times. As I’ve said the film was well-made, it had no technical flaws. Everything was perfect from cinematography to the background score & direction to editing. It was an intense film. We need this kind of stuff to promote our cinema globally. This is the time when we should introduce intelligent cinema to our people or else they would become used to of spoon feeding like Indian audience. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars for it is brilliantly filmed & take a half star back for it lacked the essence. So 3 and a half stars from my side.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 21:42:23 +0000
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