Reviewed by:Dare Devil Kid (DDK) Rating: 3.4/5 stars
Say what you want about Rohit Shetty, but the man sure does know to mindlessly entertain you, unlike many of his clones spawned over the past few years, who just numb your senses with their weak endeavors in trying to ape his brand of easygoing, risk-free cinema. "Chennai Express" is actually his best work since "All The Best" (though nothing compared to "All The Best"), and does have a semblance of plot and even some heart, which is usually not the case with most of his projects. The film exceeds expectations for the mere fact that it entertains you for most its duration.
Let's not even try and get into the other technical and creative aspects (or flaws) of the film, because if any of you'll went into a Rohit Shetty movie looking for a coherent plot narration or solid character development, then you'll need a serious reality check, or rather a surgical extraction of your prudish natures. The songs (barring the "1 2 3 4" number), editing, and production design are admittedly all over the place, but then again you should be well prepared to ignore these parameters. However, the background score and cinematography are surprisingly quite decent.
For his part, SRK necessarily hams it up delightfully to the hilt and renders a slightly tweaked and caricatured version of his now famous "Rahul" persona. And Deepika's acting is finally showing signs of real improvement. She literally shines in some scenes of the movie. What adds some required chutzpah to this potboiler, is the sizzling chemistry between the two. Their second film together gives sufficient indication that we might have the next hot jodi in Bollywood.
"Chennai Express" is melodramatic and over-the-top, but it certainly isn't tedious and long-drawn like most other wannabe masala films. You'll gladly lap it up over the disoriented "Bodyguards", "Ek Tha Tigers", "Singhams", "Himmatwalas", "Son Of Sardars" and "Rowdy Rathores" anyday. Most of the dialogues and gags are actually humorous and the action at the end at least makes the hero feel human (something that can't be said for the other staple masala heroes like Salman and Ajay). At the end of the day, if you don't analyze "Chennai Express" too much, you'll actually end up having quite an entertaining 140-minute ride.
