IB71 Review: This spy thriller is an engaging watch that sheds light on a remarkable chapter of history
IB71 Movie Rating: 3 Stars
Just watched IB71 movie in Zee5 Premium. Let’s focus on the complete details, story, positive/negatives and at last my personal view on this movie.
Cast: Vidyut Jammwal, Anupam Kher, Vishal Jethwa, Faizan Khan, Ashwath Bhat, Dalip Tahil, Danny Sura, and Suvrat Joshi
Director: Sankalp
Release Date: 12th May in Cinemas
Story: Movie is based on the Ganga Hijack, infamously called ‘the hijack that never happened’ and uncovers India’s top-secret mission conducted by the Intelligence Bureau that made us win the 1971 war.
It opens with Pakistan preparing for a third war, this time from the Eastern front in collaboration with China, not learning anything from the setbacks they faced in 1948 and 1965. After receiving information about how Pakistan is secretly planning another war. Intelligence Bureau Chief N.S. Awasthi (Anupam Kher) and his most trusted agent Dev (Vidyut Jammwal) hatch a plan to halt Pakistan in its tracks by creating conditions which will create probable cause for India to deny use of Indian airspace to Pakistani planes.
Along with 30 other agents, Dev sets things in motion where deluded Kashmiri radicals, Qasim Qureshi (Vishal Jethwa) and Ashfaq Qureshi (Faizan Khan) are goaded into hijacking an Indian airliner and getting it landed in Pakistan. They hope to get Pakistan declared as a terrorist supporter and thus Indians can deny them use of airspace. How this far-fetched plan reaches its conclusion forms the crux of the film.
Positives
1. Performances
2. Cinematography
3. Story
4. Climax
Negatives
1. Direction
2. Length
3. Screenplay
4. Slow 1st half
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this film planned to watch this movie in cinemas as based on true events and big fan of Vidyut Jammwal and patriotic movies.
This patriotic spy thriller is an untold story based on true events where IB agent Dev Jammwal is on a top-secret mission to save the nation by blocking the airspace to prevent Pakistan and China from attacking India.
IB71 is based on true-life happenings. The story is very interesting as it underlines how the Indian Intelligence Bureau successfully rose to the occasion and nipped Pakistan’s plan in the bud. Screenplay is very confusing. This is partly because the writers probably thought that the viewers are aware of every detail of the real-life incidents, which is far from true. The film has some moments in the second half which hold attention and create the interest on what comes next. The pre-interval action block, the action sequence in the hotel and the telephone interaction sequence in the middle of second half are the moments which shine bright and make the film an average watch. Sadly, these are the only moments which work well in the narrative, as the other sequences don’t come together. Performances and climax are the major highlight of this film. And by the end, thanks to the chest-thumping music meant to rouse your nationalism.
On the negative side, movie is let down by a shoddy screenplay, as the first hour is filled with moments that just lead to confusion. The conflict is not established for a chunk of the film whereas the characters don’t get enough time to shine on-screen. The film probably warranted a longer runtime for simplification of the conflict before proceeding towards the conclusion. The villain’s track is one of the biggest negative aspects. Vishal Jethwa’s track doesn’t lead itself seamlessly into the story. Though the episodes of IB 71 are based on true and real events, the execution makes us question if it really happened. The spying continues for too long, breaking the pace. It gets painstakingly slow at points and even when Vidyut is out to fight, one might not feel a similar thrill like they always do. The film does gain momentum in the second half, but even then, it requires a big suspension of disbelief for the way Pakistani Agents behave in the story.
Overall, movie is an engaging watch that sheds light on a remarkable chapter of history, instilling a sense of pride in our intelligence network. If you have an affinity for period action thrillers, this film successfully checks the boxes. The film warranted better, or rather, smarter writing to leave an impact though there are some moments in the second half that save it from being a complete let down. My view on this movie Recommended
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