Laal Kaptaan

There are flashes when you feel the film will finally say something important, but then it lapses back into stodgy set-pieces which go on and on.

Laal Kaptaan deserves a watch just for Saif's spunk.

Singh, the director, had all the pieces to craft an effectual Indian western: the terrain, the long-suffering sadhu, an age of flux, elements of magic realism, and touches of Shakespearean tragedy. But Laal Kaptaan falters on an over-written script and visually over-told story.

Even though Singh keeps away from the sentimentality common to Hindi cinema, Laal Kaptaan lacks pace and certain scenes feel unbearably long. Dialogues, so essential for a historical thriller like this one, falter and flail in critical scenes, puncturing the impact of a unique story. As far as Hindi films go, Laal Kaptaan treads a path less trodden, but it meanders and spectacularly loses steam. It should have cut to the chase, literally and figuratively, but instead, it becomes an unbearably long and pointless pursuit.

Somewhere, 'Laal Kaptaan' was perhaps attempting to be a Western movie, with horses, dust, guns and the works, but ultimately, a tedious narrative and a very lengthy runtime pull it down.

'Laal Kaptaan' is strictly for Khan's fans who dig his cerebral conversations in person and therefore will be easy on him.