Movie Review: Baby John

 

Michael's Movie Grade: C

A decent but overlong action film from India. 

This movie has a lot to like about it. The action scenes are fantastic. They feel larger than life, are well paced, have a good deal of suspense and are quite exciting. Both our hero and his young daughter are very likable. They may not be complex characters, but they are easy to care about and the relationship between them is quite charming. The villain is incredibly over the top but in a way fun way. He is also so cartoonily evil, that it is so easy to hate him. The song numbers are also a lot of fun here. 

The main problem with this film is simply its length. There is no reason for it to be this long. The storyline is a pretty simple straightforward action story that could have been told in an hour and a half. However, the movie is instead over two and a half hours. There are many points when it can really drag. This is especially true in the middle section, which is often downright boring. The film also has the same problem as many Bollywood movies. Its messaging can be a little too on the nose and didactic, even if you agree with it.

There are quite a few things that I really liked about this movie but that doesn't change that it should have been at least an hour shorter.