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.

Everything is all over the place in this Goa over-run by ‘Roosis’​,​ and dark​ night clubs, and organ traders, and scenes of extreme, hard-core violence. Remind me again, why are we watching this one?

John Abraham … err … Rocky Handsome is a very average film with some finely executed action sequences on display. But, make no mistake: Don’t expect anything more from this film.

Overall the film will appeal to those who love to see action and want to see John doing it. And yes, he is more bulky this time around.

It takes concrete storytelling not style to camouflage John Abraham’s limitations. He bears the physicality of a man who could take on a dozen but his blank, pained surface cannot offer threat or evoke sympathy.

This ‘nowhere man’ seems intent on a slow, unsteady walk back to where he has come from. Nowhere. That pretty much sums up the film.

Rocky Handsome is strictly for fans of ultra-violent action movies.

John Abraham as the lean, mean, killing machine is perfect for the role of Kabir. It’s the execution and poor dialogue that makes this film a damp squib.

Kamat’s ability to turn a good original film into a credible remake was suspect even in his last film “Drishyam”, but “Rocky Handsome” is solid proof that Bollywood can ruin even the most straightforward of remakes. There are stereotypes galore, deafening background music and lots of blood and gore. Some of the action sequences are executed well, but that is about the only saving grace.

Rocky Handsome is meant for hard-core action fans. And for those who want to discover a bigger (much, much) and better John Abraham.

At its core, John Abraham’s Rocky Handsome is a tale of emotion and action. And it is in the action part that this Nishikant Kamat-directed film shines.

Rocky Handsome is an action packed movie of a person who wants save a little girl from a drug mafia as his ultimate redemption. Unfortunately, it only has great action scenes and nothing else. Weak storyline combined with an ordinary execution.

…is for people who like action films. Despite the film having a simple plot, it has been garnished with engrossing drama and action stunningly. One can find the right mix of tension, action, emotion under one roof. A well-made action thriller!

I would have loved to see an edgy action flick but the only dishy thing about ‘Rocky Handsome’ is John flexing his muscles and methodically beating the bad guys into a pulp.

Watch it if you have an appetite for mindless blood and gore.

Style and stunts play a big role in action movies. But you can’t discount other aspects of filmmaking just to make an action film that looks sexy. The biggest mistake Rocky Handsome makes is to give it’s lead character an emotional and patriotic back story. It just turns him into another caricature and it never quite justifies his appetite for killing. John Abraham’s training in martial arts is evident in the scenes featuring him in hand-to-hand combat. There the effort is 100 per cent. But rest of the way, this is one rocky film trying a little too hard to be handsome. 

I’m still trying to understand what ROCKY HANDSOME is all about…

Even at a multiplex-friendly 125 minutes, Rocky Handsome feels too long, mainly because it has nothing of real value to offer. The way the film is written, acted, and edited, it seems very clear that not much thought has gone into it. Presumably, Kamat thought the novelty value of the action sequences would carry it through. This is what happens when you start thinking of filmmaking as a day job, instead of the privilege it should be.

The movie is so busy falling over itself to look stylish and slick that it forgets to focus on the emotional aspect altogether. There is zero connect between the two central characters, Rocky and Naomi, and the script goes haywire at many places, but the director was evidently concentrating on making the movie look cool by getting the cameras go back and forth with heavy doses of flashbacks and slow-mos drizzled in between.

It is unequivocally evident from the start of this dark gripping thriller about damnation and tentative redemption that Kamat is  a director who understands John’s physicality as well as his emotional strengths. Kamat uses both  the qualities to create a man doddering on the edge of self-destruction.

If you plan to watch Rocky Handsome then, you have two options: you could feast your eyes on John and his feats, or make the mistake of seeking depth and feelings within that pageantry. Choose Option 1 and you are pretty much assured of paisa vasool.
I know, I know, that’s a terribly superficial thing to say. This critic is guilty as charged.

Director Nishikant Kamat piles on horror upon horror to make John Abraham the action star that he has been in his earlier films like Force. But the horrors are so unbelievable – tourists being killed for their organs, kids kidnapped and killed for organs and thievery, drugs, guns, builder mafia – and executed so laughably, so over the the top that there’s unintentional laughter instead of tension.

If you are looking forward for nerve-racking with a pinch of emotional turmoil, then without-a-doubt ‘Rocky Handsome’ is what you need.

Rocky Handsome as much as it achieves what it sets out to be – an all-out action thriller will be far from being counted among Kamat’s best works. 

The moment when Handsome’s real identity is revealed is tepid and underlines the emotional vacuousness of the script. The punch-by-numbers action scenes are not enough to save a poorly adapted film with poorly pitched performances, out-of-tune casting and tacky execution.

…a film can work only if the viewer is emotionally invested in the character and their journey. That’s the reason Rocky Handsome doesn’t work neither as an emotional drama nor an action flick. This could’ve been a far better film.

Given the film’s single-minded obsession with crime and given the setting, it could’ve well been titled Madgaon Vice. But since the lead here is also the producer, we’ll let this pass.

Rocky Handsome is strictly for die-hard John Abraham fans, or fans of blood and gore. Vegetarians – please steer clear.

An adaptation can always be done with one’s own distinct touch. But Rocky Handsome is happy and satisfied in living off borrowed aesthetics even while clinging to its Indian self for all the wrong reasons. It ends up being neither here nor there. The nowhere film alienates, makes for a pronounced disconnect and also makes one long for the return of the good old fashioned, home grown Indian action hero who knew what he stood for. I will take a Ghayal Once Again over this any day.

Watch this if you are an Abraham loyalist, otherwise it’s a good idea to duck this all-brawn-no-brains film.

…is bound to appeal only to those fond of action films. While this may lack major emotional content, the film’s action scenes are worth a watch, especially the  pre-climax scene which will keep you hooked to your seats, a nail-biting action ends the movie on a thrilling note.

The action of the film is impressive but without much emotional context, it fails to leave an impact. Also, the film uses more knives than all the episodes of Masterchefs put together. It looks sharp and slick initially, alas turns into an unnecessary gore fest towards the end.

John’s hot bod and slick action can’t save the underwhelming actioner…

The movie’s highlights are three action sequences that have been faithfully replicated from the original. Hamstrung by local censorship laws, Rocky Handsome has had to trim back the ultraviolence that marks South Korean crime dramas¸ but at least the movie comes to life when the death count is ticking. It’s a pity that the survivors are not as interesting as the corpses.

The violence combined with the dreary look is intended to be very ‘international’ (sic), but actually both the brutality and look are overdone. We lost count of the stabs and slicing of heads, throats and abdomens), but, mercifully, there are no profanities either, controversial or otherwise.

I’ve seen worse, but to put things into perspective: The director’s earliest Hindi film was the delightful ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’. This was before he discovered that making movies is a very lucrative business.