Tezz has many of the ingredients for an engaging, fast-paced thriller. What it needed was a director to assemble its parts and make them work. Alas, Priyadarshan is content with merely filming.

Upon watching ‘Tezz’, a dull and derivative film which is a mash-up of ‘Speed’ and a few assorted thrillers based on speeding objects meeting unmovable body parts,Kapoor is the cop who is put in charge of finding the bomber, and the bomb. He also tackles racist colleagues, and angry wives, and plays second fiddle to the main act. A fellow cop asks him : who do you think you are, Dirty Harry?Dream on.

In truth, the film is full of Hollywood-style car chases amidst a long-running game of cat and mouse between Anil Kapoor and Ajay Devgn. Tezz is fast and lives up to its title, but it is also its title that gives away its source — Jan de Bont’s 1994 thriller Speed. That was an excellent film and though Tezz may not be as good as that, it doesn’t make too many demands on your time. And that’s not such a bad thing at all.

May be Priyadarshan should stick to mindless comedies, so we can be sure we’re in safe territory. You won’t be missing much if you skipped Tezz.

What’s Good: Ajay Devgan and Anil Kapoor’s performances; a few action sequences.What’s Bad: The ineffective drama in the first half; the lack of emotional connect between the characters in the film; the below-average visual effects.Verdict: Tezz is an average entertainer at best.Loo break: A couple, especially in the climax.Watch or Not?: Watch if you want to see an Indian copy of many Hollywood train-bombing films.