Slumdog Millionaire
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Movie Reviews of Slumdog Millionaire
Movie Review: Hindi Rocky Tale
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember when the initial "...Millionaire" fever hit the U.S. back in 2000. It struck a chord with us armchair dreamers that with a little incidental knowledge of the most arcane trivia we could be instantly rich. Some nights without the pressure of the lights and the goading of Regis I knew all the answers and others I exhausted all my lifelines by the $1,000.00 question. Director Danny Boyle and scenarist Simon Beaufoy ingeniously tap into this wish fullfillment and transplant it to India, a country that contains some of the most unimaginable poverty. Reading some of the other reviews it appears that their film runs the gamut of love it or hate it. Some feel that they are exploiting the suffering in India for commercial gain. Others react to the plaudits the film received at the Oscars this year. I don't have an answer to either criticism. I can tell you I was engrossed throughout. I think the critical and commercial success of the film is a response to the Cinderella aspects of the story which serve as an anecdote to our tough economic times. History is the ultimate judge of a film's artistic worth. Divorce yourself from the hype and appreciate the innate qualities of "Slumdog Millionaire".Movie Review: Great cinema but only as a fantastic novelty
Summary: 5 Stars
Though great cinema, one could argue that this is not the best film of the year. Danny Boyle's narration moves too fast to explore and further develop the characters. As a result, there is a bit of a superficial sheen that gleams that merely fixes the film as a lighthearted and breezy, though occasionally exhilarating, great novelty. Indeed, it is a crowd-pleaser, but the tragedies, daunting they may be, seem underplayed, so our rooting for the underdog seems a bit manufactured, and thus, undeserved, and his happy ending seems contrived. On the other hand, Boyle's overall unshaken optimism and idealistic fairy tale sensibilities take control of how this film is perceived: a glass half full. It is through his unwavering positive philosophy which propagates that everything is going to work out in the end that anchors this work by unpretentiously using the old-fashioned way of telling a story: to simply tell a story, and indeed reading it as a fairy tale book. So by virtue of doing this, "Slumdog Millionare" succeeds as a fairy tale, and it is a grandly entertaining one at that, with a highly positive and singing ending to boot. One should just ignore the unintended commercial sheen, and dance with this one.Movie Review: Great cinema but only as a fantastic novelty
Summary: 5 Stars
Though great cinema, one could argue that this is not the best film of the year. Danny Boyle's narration moves too fast to explore and further develop the characters. As a result, there is a bit of a superficial sheen that gleams that merely fixes the film as a lighthearted and breezy, though occasionally exhilarating, great novelty. Indeed, it is a crowd-pleaser, but the tragedies, daunting they may be, seem underplayed, so our rooting for the underdog seems a bit manufactured, and thus, undeserved, and his happy ending seems contrived. On the other hand, Boyle's overall unshaken optimism and idealistic fairy tale sensibilities take control of how this film is perceived: a glass half full. It is through his unwavering positive philosophy which propagates that everything is going to work out in the end that anchors this work by unpretentiously using the old-fashioned way of telling a story: to simply tell a story, and indeed reading it as a fairy tale book. So by virtue of doing this, "Slumdog Millionare" succeeds as a fairy tale, and it is a grandly entertaining one at that, with a highly positive and singing ending to boot. One should just ignore the unintended commercial sheen, and dance with this one.Movie Review: Danger. Love. Money. Survival. It's all here.
Summary: 5 Stars
Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of Jamal, his brother Silam, and Latika. All three children are orphaned in an attack on the Mumbai slum in which they live. They join forces to lead an adventurous, poverty-stricken life. Jamal and Silam become separated from Lakita in the midst of a daring escape from a gangster. For years thereafter, Jamal searches for Lakita. He finds her years later, only to be separated from her again.
In desperation, Jamal manages to land a spot as a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", hoping aginst hope that Latika will be watching so they can be reunited. In a twist of destiny, Jamal discovers that, due to the unique experiences growing up in the slums, he knows the answer to question after question.
Though there are definitely some very difficult parts of this movie to watch (especially at the beginning, when the primary characters are helpless children, prey to the unsavory environments that surround them), the film is ultimately uplifting. A marvel of casting, to boot, as a gifted actor portrays each of the princpal characters in different stages of life.
Sooooo worth seeing. I really loved it!
Movie Review: The Best Film of 2008!
Summary: 5 Stars
Slumdog Millionaire was a film that came out of nowhere and became a sensation for the all right reasons. After all, the story of Jamal, an Indian muslim orphan from the slums, becomes a contestant on the Indian hit game show version of "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?" but for not the obvious reasons. He is treated with suspicion by authorities and even the game show host played brilliantly of Anil Kapoor, one of Bollywood's biggest stars. The young man played by three different actors at different stages seamingly blend into one character of Jamal Patel as his brother and another female orphan. With each question, Jamal remembers something to help him answer and that's the brilliance. When he explains his history, he comes across so natural rather than intensive. There is a lot of drama and flashbacks to his life in only 18 years. In only 2 hours, you are transformed into becoming one of his supporters and win or lose. You are rooting for him all the way to get the money and the girl. You laugh, you cry, and you will remember this film for a long time. I'm not much of a fan of Bollywood films but this film is a keeper. I keep telling people to see it at least once and stay to the end.