Review of Agent Vinod (2012) by Shiraj D — 07 May 2012

Agent Vinod: More of Style & glitz and less of substance.

"Agent Vinod", the most awaited long in the making magnum opus by the reputed Director Sriram Raghavan tells thestory of Agent Vinod (Saif) who is a RAW agent who is sent on a mission to unveil the mystery of "242", which was being tracked by his friend & Colleague Sinha (Ravi Kisen) who gets killed trying to solve the mystery, this journey takes Vinod from Russia where he encounters international criminal Abu Nazer (Ram Kapoor) who is financing the "242", to Morocco where he encounters Kazaan (Prem Chopra) a multi billionaire who acquires the "242" for Colonel (Adil Hussain), who is executing the plan, but why does Colonel want the 242? Who is behind this international conspiracy? Who is colonel and whom does he work for? Forms the crux of the movie wherein Agent Vinod travels from Morocco to Riga, Lativia to Somalia to Pakistan to India and end s in London. In between he meets Iram (Kareena Kapoor) an undercover agent from Pakistan. Phew quite a trip....

"Agent Vinod" is more like Bond meets Bourne and the biggest drawback of the movie is the script written by Sriram Raghavan & Arijit Biswas which is long, too many characters which are not well defined and the story does not conclude well at the end even after a prolonged climax. It starts well with the action in Afghanistan but somewhere the movie loses its grip, though the plot is interesting but the screenplay lacks the punch.

The biggest highlight of the movie are its action sequences by Arturas Nemanis, Ruta Nemanyte &Cedric Proust which are of International standards especially like the introductory sequence in Afghanistan, the car chase in Riga, and the climax sequence in Delhi.

The second highlight of the movie is the riveting background score by Daniel B. George which enhances the effect of the sequences. CK Muraleedharan's camera work captures various locations well.

Amongst the cast Saif Ali Khan (Agent Vinod) tries to don the role of an international spy, but somehow does not impress in totality, Kareena as Iram looks confused and completely disconnected with the proceedings, she looks gorgeous and used as an eye candy. Rest of the cast like Ravi Kisan (Sinha), Adil Hussain (Colonel), Prem Chopra (Kazaan), Ram Kapoor (Abu Nazer), Shahbaaz Khan (Gen Lokha), Gulshan Grover (Tehmur Pasha) and last and not the least Dhritiman Chatterji (Sir Jagdiswar Metla) do justice to their specific characters.

Sriram Raghvan, the captain of the ship who had previously made classics like "Ek Hasina Thi" & "Jhonny Gaddar" seems clueless and less in control of the movie. Some sequences are bright spots like the assassination attempt on Agent Vinod in Morocco or the pre climax sequence in Delhi are well shot but overall the movie does not come together. Sriram's fetish for retro is showcased in this movie just like his previous once, the sequence wherein Iram seduces the Airport Security Chief, he uses song from "The Train", "Aa meri Jaan Tune kaha".

Overall "Agent Vinod" is a disappointment and proves again that good script is the most important ingredient and style & glamour can be used more as a packaging. I give 2.5 stars to "Agent Vinod".