DVD Review: Chandni Chowk to China

chowk DVD Review: Chandni Chowk to China

Chandni Chowk to China is a hugely disappointing and overlong mess. Despite a few clever musical numbers and an amusing moment here or there, the film is a drag. It goes on for an oppressive and endless 2 1/2 hours and picks up almost no momentum along the way. The plot (what little there is) takes forever to get going. The star of the film (Akshay Kumar) is a huge Bollywood star but he shows little here except for an uncanny knack to be annoying and a few cool martial arts moves. He’s like a more irritating Indian Ace Ventura.

Kumar plays Sidhu, a poor vegetable cutter who goes on a mission to save a village from a nasty bad guy in China after being tricked into believing he is a reincarnated legend of a great fighter. That is about the entire sum of the plot and it takes a painful 2 1/2 hours to end. His co-star (Deepika Padukone) is gorgeous and plays a dual role. The villain is played by Gordon Liu, having fun as a sneering oppressor. The DVD transfer is solid but the DVD itself is fairly pitiful. The only extra is a few additional scenes, which aren’t even subtitled.

Chandni Chowk to China is basically a disaster. A lackluster DVD won’t help matters much either. Despite an amusing musical number here and there and a decent fight scene towards the end, the film is dead on arrival. The movie is the victim of a star’s ego and overconfidence. Viewers are much better off renting Stephen Chow’s excellent Shaolin Soccer or Kung Fu Hustle instead of this junk.

DVD Grade: D+

pixel DVD Review: Chandni Chowk to China

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