Thugs of Hindostan (2018) - Veto - 10/10 (15/11/18)

I'm certainly no expert of Bollywood films, I'm not familiar with the actresses, actors and director involved and can't compare this movie to any others of this kind. I simply watched the film at the cinema because I like epic pirate movies. The plot summary sounded intriguing, so I watched the trailer which was decent enough for me to give this film a try. I expected a good average entertaining film but what I finally got is one of the best films of the year. I neither understand nor support the numerous exaggeratedly negative reviews for this movie. Watch the trailer instead and decide whether it's decent enough for you to give this film a chance just like I did.

The film starts in 1795 when the Indian subcontinent is progressively controlled by British invaders. One of the last few independent, powerful and wealthy kings gets tricked, humiliated and murdered by a ruthless British East India Company officer. His daughter survives the massacre and escapes with a veteran officer. Many years later the daughter has become a skilled fighter and the general has become the leader of a group of thugs who specialize in sea-based warfare and expose a serious challenge to the expanding British East India company. The officer in command who once killed the king wants to find the hiding place of the thugs and kill all of them. Charming, cunning and selfish criminal Firangi Mallah gets caught in this conflict and decides to take advantage of the situation by betraying both sides until his conscience finally comes into play.

There are numerous elements I liked about the movie. First of all, the opening sequence is surprisingly brutal, intense and suspenseful and sets the mood for an epic tale of vengeance. Secondly, the locations look absolutely stunning throughout the entire film. Thirdly, the sound and special effects are decent and not as bad as claimed by numerous reviewers. Fourthly, the story comes around with numerous twists and turns without ever getting too exaggerated. Fifthly, the film finds the right balance between facts and fancy with its historical references and supports values such as independence, liberty and loyalty. Sixthly, the movie takes the time it needs to tell its story of epic proportions instead of rushing it and you truly get value for money if you buy a movie ticket. Seventhly, the diversified characters are particularly intriguing, especially the philosophical former veteran officer and leader of the thugs, the cold-blooded company officer and the expressive criminal. Eighthly, the acting performances are great and especially Aamir Khan is as versatile as it gets and reminds me of Johnny Depp in his best years. Ninethly, the film has several similarities to the Pirates of the Carribean franchise but is not only better than that franchise that overstayed its welcome but also adds its very own twist to it in form of the costumes, dances and locations. Tenthly and finally, I'm usually not a fan of dance and song choreographies in movies but since this element is only present on three occasions in a film with a running time of nearly three hours and gives the film its unique Bollywood identity, I actually appreciated it for once.

Some people might rate my review down, not because it's badly written or because its content is useless but because they might disagree with my opinion and reasoning which only discredits these critics that already gave this film a bad name it didn't deserve. If you like epic pirate movies, you can't get around watching Thugs of Hindostan which turns out being one of the best films of its kind and one of the most entertaining movies of the year. Grab some popcorn, invite a few friends and enjoy this epic experience to the fullest.