The occasional speed bumps aside, there are many moments that soar. Raja Menon turns an important story into a compelling film. Don’t miss it.

If you are tired of nonsensical and typical masala kinda flicks and if you are looking for something meaningful and good, then ‘Airlift’ is surely and obviously your bid.

Yeah I know, this had the potential to be Hotel Rwanda. But let’s not quibble much; for now, this will do—a very, very watchable Bollywood film.

Akshay Kumar, in a departure from brain dead comedies, brings to life a man who must let go of his arrogance to fight a battle where rules change by the minute. It’s Akshay’s most honest portrayal till date, where he lets his eyes and silences do the talking.

After BABY, Akshay Kumar delivers yet another thriller with deadpan calm. Here too, a flight takes off at the end, but there’s no drama at the take-off like in Neeraj Pandey’s film.

There is less melodrama here than your average tinseltown diet. Many scenes, in fact, make you feel patriotic, even if you are not generally prone to such feelings. The human strength, especially in numbers, is what stands out at the end. The art-lover in you may still lament that the film could have been more restrained, but to find a mainstream Bollywood film that still manages to tell a powerful tale while pleasing the audience is good enough! It may not be an Argo, but Airlift is surely a must-watch. 

Airlift is an entertaining film which will be liked by the classes and family audiences. That it tackles a subject not many are aware of is a major plus point because that keeps the audience’s interest alive from the start till the end. It has emotional and patriotic value and will, therefore, prove to be a plus fare for its producers and a safe bet/earning proposal for its various distributors.

It’s that kind of a serious drama that leaves you smiling despite a lump in your throat just in awe of the fact that everything gets pulled off in the end.

For my money and time, Akshay Kumar is the most watchable star in Bollywood today. See Airlift. You will know why. Unlike the other superstars his growth is constant. Every film—and I include his steady stream of comedy films—finds him touch base with  new depths of emotions within himself.

There is not a moment of disbelief while you watch how one man named Ranjit Katyal could try his best in evacuating 1,70,000 Indians safely back to our Motherland—India. And yes, with one Kuwaiti woman and her toddler as well. The story of Indians struggling in the war zone, which by the way was their ‘home away from home’ is not just thrilling but heavily inspiring.

It is patriotic, heroic and what not. Do not even think about giving this a miss, you may end loosing a good two something hours of your life.

We like stories of unlikely ordinary men who obey the call of extraordinary circumstances and turn out to be heroes. The story of one of the largest rescues is nicely packaged here as a movie and presented with Akshay Kumar at his earnest best. It takes its own sweet time to set up, but when the story proceeds, it literally ‘takes off’.

For an audience used to templates, formulae and stereotypes, it is interesting to see a hero who isn’t about landing blows on the enemy but about taking blow after blow and still trudging on. It is even more interesting where patriotism isn’t about hating someone with a passion but loving our own people and doing something, anything, for them.

Direction by Raja Krishna Menon could have been better but nonetheless he doesn’t disappoint to that level that we criticise the movie! He has done a good job with the movie, kept it crisp, interesting, emotional, entertaining and patriotic! Verdict: Airlift is the movie to watch this weekend! A must watch for every Indian!

…is a classic film based on a real life incident that is told extremely well on screen. It is surely one of the best films to come out this year and will pick up with a strong word of mouth. Just do not miss this one!

Airlift is definitely a one-time watch since it is a story of an unsung hero and also India’s proud moment. Akshay Kumar certainly gives an impressive performance…

…a little stretched and repetitive. But fortunately, not enough to hamper the pace of the film too much. The climax seems a little rushed, but that is more about over-simplification than the pace of the film.

Yet, Airlift doesn’t suffer too bad because of these issues. After all, anything that instills your faith in humanity can suffer only so much because things like pace and length. Especially, because these ‘too good to be true’ events are true.

Airlift is one of Akshay Kumar’s best works. The actor carries the film on his shoulders and his performance is one of its highlights. Also, the film is a gripping portrayal of the biggest human evacuation in history. The plight of the helpless refugees comes across on screen, and if you’re heading to the movies this weekend, make Airlift your first choice. 

It takes craft to weave a cohesive narrative that aptly renders the magnitude of this civilian extraction. There isn’t edge-of-the-seat drama all the time but there’s a human element that tugs at your heart.

Menon strikes a fine balance – the conflict and the resolution and the intervening period is skillfully handled.

It’s an incredible story – one that makes you feel patriotic, but more importantly, reinforces your faith in humanity. And it makes you wonder – maybe there is a hero in all of us. Maybe!

Menon’s deft execution of the plot in hand, crisp editing (Hemanti Sarkar), dialogues which are perfectly tailored for the script, and good cinematography (Priya Seth) make this film a must watch. Don’t miss it.

The first half of the film moves smoothly but the hasty evacuation towards the end makes the story lose grip.

This was a story waiting to be told, and it has been.

‘Airlift’ plays it right, and gives us drama, even if things slow down and turn a trifle repetitious post interval. But overall, ‘Airlift’ is a good film, solidly plotted, well executed and well-acted.

Turbulence aside, Airlift is an engaging movie that keeps it real, emotional and dramatic.

Airlift works because it conveys a time when armies will attack civilians – you’re struck by how IS was born from the Iraqi army’s core – and raises Bollywood’s generic bar. Plus, it movingly celebrates the most beautiful flag in the world.

Airlift is a film that every Indian, and every Bollywood buff despairing for genuinely high quality storytelling, must watch.

This is how it ought to be more often–a mainstream movie with a list of grouses you can list on one hand. Not to mention a film that’s destined to end with flag-waving–literal flag-waving in this case–but is also shot through with a healthy dose of scepticism.

Airlift is the story of unparalleled courage and unsung heroes. From unknown names in the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi to people who had their Indianness rearing its head from within just when it was required, Airlift is un-miss-able. Go watch it.

Filmmaker Raja Krishna Menon fashions a taut, engaging feature film out of an incident which would, on paper, appear to be more worthy of a documentary.

The heart-wrenching drama unfolds with many twists and turns that will keep you hooked to the seat. It surely leaves you moist-eyed and your heart goes out for the helplessness of the victims, but you also enjoy the moment of triumph as raw emotions get displayed and the strength of togetherness as indeed the core moral values come to the surface.

A spirited effort and Akshay Kumar’s performance are the high points of Airlift.

Airlift, on one hand, is very real but at times fails to keep the audience on the edge of their seats that one would expect from a rescue thriller. Raja Krishna Menon manages to build tension but not enough to pause you from stuffing your face with that bag of popcorn. And then the need to insert those songs in between that robs a thriller from its pace and impact. Despite that it makes for a great weekend watch.

Akshay Kumar nails the role of an unsung hero in this heart-stopping thriller…

The sight of the tricolor unfurling before the victorious hero is one that has characterised many a Bollywood movie. And yet, very few manage to evoke genuine emotion even after resorting to lofty dialogue and (ear-shattering) patriotic background music.

But in Raja Krishna Menon’s “Airlift”, that moment is beautifully captured.

Watch Airlift coz it tells a very important story that never got a mention in our history books. And also because the attempt to try out such subjects and storylines is applause worthy. Only if there were less songs and an editor who could tighten the length, Airlift would be soaring newer heights.

Airlift soars on its own merits, but it is ultimately a flight of fantasy.

Airlift is compelling, thanks largely to a sterling performance from Akshay Kumar — who is both suitably weary and suitably level-headed for the part — enough to anchor the proceedings. The actor is always fine when reined in, and Menon plays to his strengths and Kumar only snaps once, almost reflexively, into Bollywood hero mode, but he is mostly calm and grown-up and holding on.

It is several steps ahead of Kumar’s other recent January releases, Baby (2015) and Special 26 (2013), and deserves all the box-office it can get. The bar has been raised and it’s about bloody time.

Airlift is gripping in its first half and shaky in its second. It starts off with gusto but loses momentum halfway through. As you root for the indomitable spirit of those who survived the horrific war, let’s take a moment to think why such well-mounted films fail to create the macabre, suspenseful, race-against-time impact. Why settle for being just about okay when you have the makings of being mesmeric!

Where ‘Airlift’ perhaps stumbles is its over-simplicity in handling some of the proverbial landmines strewn in its path; and Inaamulhaq’s Arab accent as an Iraqi major is quite laughable.
But such trivialities are best ignored when you look at the grand picture. In this particular case, ‘Airlift’ takes off with minimum turbulence at the cinemas this week.

While the first half marches along confidently, the second half stands on shaky ground. The evacuation is hastily wrapped up and the film loses a bit of its momentum. Director Menon may have shied away from formula for most parts, but he succumbs to it towards the end.