From the largely positive critical reviews, I hoped for much better, but this is maladroit to the point of tedium. Working Title Films, the production company, has a fine record in comedy and action films such as 4 Weddings to which I couldn't help comparing this while I watched it. But the clunkiest line in that rom-com ("Is it raining? I hadn't noticed") is Wildean compared to the best here. The lead character, Ria Khan (Priya Kansara) repeats the trailer's echoed line "I am the fury" on numerous occasions, none of them funny or effective. Strangely, her character - well educated in a private school - seems to think that training to enter her desired career in movie stunts requires nothing apart from learning one martial art.
The plot is paper thin but confused, the humourless script is woefully underwritten - a rewrite by someone with expertise in this genre would have helped - and the direction is monotonous. Slow motion fight scenes are almost always dull and unimaginative, and here they force the energy out of the scene like a leaky balloon being squashed.
Acting from the two leads and the supports is occasionally adequate, often glaringly wooden. Recasting Priya Kansara should have been obvious from the first day of shooting.
The reaction from the audience when I viewed this was complete silence, not a laugh, gasp or giggle. What a shame.
The plot is paper thin but confused, the humourless script is woefully underwritten - a rewrite by someone with expertise in this genre would have helped - and the direction is monotonous. Slow motion fight scenes are almost always dull and unimaginative, and here they force the energy out of the scene like a leaky balloon being squashed.
Acting from the two leads and the supports is occasionally adequate, often glaringly wooden. Recasting Priya Kansara should have been obvious from the first day of shooting.
The reaction from the audience when I viewed this was complete silence, not a laugh, gasp or giggle. What a shame.