This is a pale, watered-down take on the iconic hero. Perhaps Tarzan was best left in the jungle.

Varma takes frequent liberties with the truth in this remake of his own Kannada film Killing Veerappan, but what you leave the cinema with at the end are shattered eardrums from the incessant background music.

The X-Men movies were about more than just their action scenes. They were smart films that always put character and story above spectacle. They even offered commentary on issues that felt recognizable in the real world. Such a shame the architect of this universe appears to have gone the Zack Snyder way.

It feels longer than its two hours running time, and you won’t be able to shake off the feeling that it delivers very little in the end.

The slugfest between the two big guys is engaging but never exhilarating, and then it quickly segues into a longer, seemingly never-ending battle with an entirely CGI villain that reminded me of the big blob that Ryan Reynolds had to fight in Green Lantern.

ohn Abraham performs these portions convincingly. He’s in beast mode for the bulk of the film, and there’s a strange thrill in watching him dispatch the bad guys systematically. He’s sincere even in the quieter bits with the little girl next door, but eventually let down by the corny dialogue and a script that’s steeped in cliché, right down to the assassin’s tragic back-story.

It’s an average film at best, one that merely skims the surface of one of sport’s biggest scandals.

Dark and moody and mildly engaging despite its inconsistencies, Triple 9 benefits from a solid cast – including Woody Harrelson as an eccentric detective investigating the gang. It’s not the best crime thriller you’ll see, but there are some powerful moments here.

Neither suspenseful in its execution of the escape, nor in the big reveal of the mastermind behind Raghu’s problems, the film seems to exist for no other purpose than to showcase Himesh and his limited talent.

Jai Gangaajal doesn’t offer anything you haven’t seen before, especially in the director’s own previous films. It’s also interminably long at nearly 2 hours and 40 minutes. Priyanka Chopra and Prakash Jha’s performances keep you engaged and invested despite the familiar narrative, but by the end you’re overcome by the unmistakable feeling of exhaustion.