There are some movies for which you can’t write conventional reviews, and Race 2 happens to fall into that category. Probably because it’s hard to take the film seriously, especially since the film itself doesn’t take much seriously – not dialogues, not characters, and definitely not logic. So instead I present to you the top WTF factors of Race 2, because Lord knows this film was one trainwreck car explosion after another.
1. The dialogues. So there are two categories of dialogues in Race 2 – the supposed-to-be hard-hitting types that fall flat, and cringe-inducing innuendos that make you wonder whether the writers are secretly 13-year-old boys. I’ve heard so many fruit-related jokes in those two-and-a-half hours that I think I’ve been put off oranges for months. Anil Kapoor‘s character, who is constantly seen eating one fruit or another, spouts off PJs such as, “Iska answer banana padega.” You’ll swallow the PJ, but it’s practically embarassing when he looks at his assistant Cherry (Ameesha Patel) and cracks the line: “Cherry, I don’t have time to pop your cherry.” He’s the self-confessed Turkey Ka Tharki in this movie, but there’s absolutely nothing funny about his lines.
2. Sunglasses indoors. We get it – sunglasses are a style statement and Race 2 runs high on style. But come on. Deepika Padukone wears sunglasses indoors while playing cards, and while the reason behind that is explained, I can’t imagine that everyone on the table – playing for high stakes – would buy it as just a fashion statement. Not to mention, Aditya Pancholi is not once seen without his sunglasses.
3. Saif’s Kareena tattoo. Why, oh why was Saif Ali Khan‘s Kareena tattoo visible – featured, almost – in this film? Surely there was some make-up around to cover it up, or at least a long-sleeved tshirt?
4. Gratuitous sleaze. Deepika and Jacqueline Fernandez look hot in this film, but that seems to be their main task – standing around and looking good, and when required, dancing seductively to capture Saif’s attention. Ameesha’s role is limited to being just the bouncing board for Anil Kapoor’s cheap jokes. In certain scenes, there’s also some heavy breathing by the actresses that seems to be inspired from Sunny Leone in Jism 2. The worst of the lot, though, is Anil and Ameesha’s “sex” scene, and the fact that he insists she not call him “sir”, but “juicer” instead. Yeah, remember when I said that I’ve been put off oranges for months? Mhm. That.
5. The constant references to race. The first film was called Race because there was an actual plot line involving a race. The second film is called Race 2 because it’s trying to bank on the success of the first film (which I really liked, by the way) and create a franchise. There’s no real race in this film, but in order to justify the title, the characters are forced to insert the word into their dialogues. So we hear “the race has just begun” and “it’s a race to the finish” but what exactly are they racing for?
Having said that, though, the film has its pros – everyone looks good (props to Anaita Shroff Adajania for the styling), the chase/action sequences have been done very well, and the music is really good (Party On My Mind and Lat Lag Gaye are more enjoyable on-screen). There’s a lot about it that’s slick, but unfortunately, the film is more style than substance.
With inputs from Amruta Khatavkar.