In action thrillers, an aspect as critical as the pulse quickening narrative is that delicate balance of story and stunts delivered with a panache that bridges reality and commercial liberties in an exclusive space. The template itself needn’t stretch beyond the good versus evil motif. Dynamite too, has its basic focus set on being pacy, with a lack of any substantial emotion or a novel story. It’s another thing that it doesn’t scale anywhere close to its aspirations.
The romance between the lead couple unfolds this way: as Shivaji (Vishnu Manchu) fights it out with an eve-teaser at a food stall, amidst a crowd that conveniently remains stationary. The heroine nearly throws her number at him from her car and offers a complimentary drink as an appreciatory gesture, only to go on a date with the same guy in the next 24 hours. You expect things to get worse in a matter of time, but some semblance of order seeps into the proceedings as the fluff wears out and a slick kidnapping bid is played out. However the relief is only ephemeral.
Regardless of how contemporary the script tries to be with the consistent bombardment of tech-friendly terminologies, throwing lazy mentions of CCTV footages, voice-recognition techniques, website solutions and GPS, there’s nothing like authentic detailing. Take the umpteen instances where the protagonist is in the midst of serious turmoil, he hardly undergoes any struggle to overcome them. A couple of songs, including an imaginary dance sequence and an item number, sneak in to show how inconsistent the intentions of the maker are. Later as the supposed mafia thread between media, politics and goons fleshes out and J D Chekravarthy playing a politico gets a late introduction for a baddie, the overload of stereotypes only fizzles out the outcome.
The male protagonist here sports a stylish beard, wears a tattoo on a body that boasts of muscles, whereas his girl shifts between a couple of her modest costumes and showing her legs intermittently, all in a desperate attempt to add the style quotient and give the film a westernised exterior. Adding to the woes is the shady cinematography too.
Even in places where you expect some innovation for the genre it explores, the action sequences offer no surprises, sticking to a series of customary pelvic thrusts and gravity-defying exercises. The obviousness of the dubbing for J D Chekravarthy, the cop Yog Japee and Lekha Washington from its Tamil version Arima Nambi prove a dampener. Vishnu, although improving with each performance in his films, needs to feel more at ease.
Dynamite
Cast: Vishnu Manchu, Pranitha, J D Chekravarthy, Nagineedu
Director: Deva Katta
Music: R Achu
Bottomline: Nowhere close to being explosive
