You can’t see anything except John Abraham’s rippling muscles and beefed-up chest as he’s battling it out on screen. And his most recent big-screen appearance, Attack, provides plenty of opportunity to ogle his attractive looks and muscular physique. John is sometimes credited with carrying a film on his shoulders, but in Attack, the actor and debutant filmmaker Lakshya Raj Anand took this a little too seriously, as John, as a “super soldier,” is literally the only man out there murdering all the bad guys. At one point, John battles and kills almost a hundred terrorists who had assaulted the city on his own.
Strike tells the tale of Arjun Shergill (John Abraham), a soldier who is killed in a terrorist attack and has chronic paralysis from the neck down, forcing him to live in a wheelchair. Meanwhile, Dr. Saba (Rakul Preet Singh) has been working on a future scientific technology that allows a paralyzed person to stand on their own two feet, and Arjun has been selected as the appropriate science bunny to test for India’s first ever super soldier program. All of this is necessary in order to preserve the country from a terrorist mastermind on the loose. Just as Arjun completes the experiment, Parliament is besieged, and he is supposed to rescue the city from a chemical bomb detonation in the nick of time.
Attack, to some level, might offer you an adrenaline boost for its innovative idea if you’ve often grumbled about Bollywood’s lack of creative screenplays and originality (seen many times in Hollywood by now but still quite a fresh prospect for Bollywood). And other people may think it all too strange and impractical to believe. I recall when Anubhav Sinha’s Ra One was out and many people thought it was a little too difficult to absorb; don’t be shocked if Attack gives you the same feeling.
Lakshya Raj Anand, who co-wrote the narrative with Sumit Batheja and Vishal Kapoor, has worked too hard to make this sci-fi action thriller stand out, and it succeeds in sections while failing in others. With a running time of less than two hours, the picture is well-paced and never drags. It doesn’t waste time with unnecessary subplots or song and dance routines, instead focusing on a riveting story and edge-of-your-seat moments.
Attack is clearly separated into two sections – a wheelchair-bound John who is changed into a super soldier – and depicts a soldier’s obligation to serve his country using contemporary technology. Thankfully, it avoids the region of chest-thumping nationalism with heavyweight lines, which isn’t surprising given John’s previous filmography. The action moments are well-crafted and wonderfully photographed, and they’re a visual feast. While humor isn’t something you’d expect to find in this story, I like how the filmmaker infused it with aspects through certain characters and voices (no spoilers).
There are several excellent performers in the film, like as Ratna Pathak Shah (Arjun’s mother) and Rajit Kapoor (Home Minister), but they are given very little screen time. Rajit is given the opportunity to plant a few funny lines, but that’s it.
To summarize, Attack is a high-octane sci-fi film that is sleek and clever. Keep an eye out for John at his finest after a long period, and don’t be too concerned with the false world it transports you to.
