Movie Review - "Don" 10/20/2006

One of the movies that came out in December of 2011 was a movie called "Don 2", a sequel of another movie.  Well, according to research, "Don 2" (2011) was a sequel to "Don" (2006), which was in turn a remake of "Don" (1978).  I wanted to go back to watch the 1978 movie, which looked kinda cool, but could not find it free.  I might buy it eventually for $9 off of Amazon or ebay, but not right now.  So, to start off this series, I started with "Don" (2006).

Trailer:

Criteria:
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.

1/5 – Barely worth any time.

2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.

3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.

4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.

5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, storyline, etc.


"Don" was released on October 20, 2006 in India.  This is a blended-language film, English and Hindi.
It was difficult to find "Don" (2006), and much more difficult to find "Don" (1978), especially with English subtitles.


The main storyline is about a drug trafficker named Don.  Years previously, a guy named Boris created a drug trafficking empire (after the USSR broke up into smaller countries).  Boris had two potential guys to "inherit" the company: Verdhaan and Singhania.  Boris was killed, so now it is a matter of Verdhaan [not seen in years] and Singhania.  Singhania has a guy named Don, who takes care of Singhania's business.  Don is known as "the most dangerous and cunning criminal of them all".  We get a glimpse into who Don is but then the DCP DeSilva chases him down after a deal and Don is captured.  {DCP is a rank in the Indian police force - Deputy Commissioner of Police.}   DeSilva decides to try putting a dummy, guy off the street named Vijay, in Don's place and learning about the business.
SPOILERS: We learn that DeSilva is not who he says he is and that he knows a lot more about the drug trafficking business than he originally leads the viewer to believe.

Between the look-alike's relearning the business and dealing with DeSilva, there is action galore!  Bomb in a suitcase blowing up two guys, a van exploding, high speed chases with the cops having their lights on, etc.

SPOILERS: In the end, DeSilva is caught for what he has done in the past and we find out that Vijay is not who he says he is.  I would love to tell you who it was, but that is beyond the boundaries of conservative spoilers, changing the whole way that you view the movie (kinda like how "Saw" #1 suddenly says that the kidnapper was forced into the situation too).



Being unfamiliar with Bollywood, I got to learn a bit about the Hindi faith, Indian traditions (saheb = sir/mister), music used in Hindi movies, etc.

Music:
Did you know that many Hindi movies have the songs talking about what is going on in the movie, or has "dream sequence" breaks?  I found that kinda weird that they kinda just started dancing and singing every so often.  Not very often.  There were like five songs with STUPENDOUS choreography.
Here's a song that kinda shows what I'm talking about, with English subtitles:

The music was well placed and well done, especially for keeping the attention.  :-)

Content:
There are references to sex, but no actual sexual acts {though there are hints about Don's lady worker named Roma, like her getting out of the pool in a swimsuit}.  There are quite a few murders, in a very talented manner on Don's part [taking a 4-man against 1 situation and walking out alive].  Drugs, though, are the biggest "negative" content - they have a room full of bags of cocaine, there are drug dealings that the viewer sees, and a bit of tobacco and marajuana.  One scene, after running away from the cops, Vijay and a lady named Roma (works with Don) are at a party and they give Vijay/Don some Bhaang to drink - milk brewed with marajuana plant extract, and then Vijay/Don gets some paan to chew - "a stimulating and psychoactive preparation of betel leaf combined with areca nut and/or cured tobacco. Paan is chewed and finally spat out or swallowed." {wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paan }.  Aside the paan and Bhaang, the dealing the cocaine, a decent content movie (no graphic sex).


The plot line was fairly simple but the twist revealed at the end of the movie makes the whole plot absolutely interesting, making you debate on what happened in the movie.  What seems to be true is not always necessarily true, again.  Why I cannot remember that for the movie viewing, it might be because videos are a take-what-you-are-given kinda thing.  Maybe that's why the twist at the end of the movie gives so much "wow" to the movie.

The characters did not change much at all, except one of the gals started to fall for Vijay/Don whereas she previously hated him and wanted him dead.  All the characters really were just surviving and whatnot.


Oh, the movie was about 2 hour 48 minutes long.  It was long but it was a good viewing.  :-)




It is getting late and I'm having typing issues.  Ready for bed!  :-D

Anyways, let's get a rating:
4/5 - Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
I definitely think that this is a very very good movie, but the drug trafficking is not a positive focus for a movie.  The characters were not tripping and driving drunk, but they were with drugs because of the nature of the main character.  The main character was not necessarily a "protagonist" but merely the main focus of the movie.  Very good movie but could have a bit better.  If you are into foreign films, I suggest this one to watch {if you have the time, of course}.


5/25/2014 EDIT
I have to make a change to this rating.  I have the songs stuck in my head since I published this on the 18th.  I have thought about this movie a lot, since it really struck my fancy (aside the drug trafficking and whatnot).  I have decided that it was unfair to the movie to strike down the rate due to the plot-line of drug trafficking.  Take it for what it is - a good movie with good action and very entertaining.  I may have to go to a 10 star rating system but "Don" (2006) for now is at a 4.5 rating instead of a solid 4 rating.  It is good enough to be near 5 stars but that theme [since my criteria says "Go see it! Wonderful movie all around - characters, music, theme, storyline, etc." for 5 star] doesn't allow it to be a full 5 star movie.
So, instead of 4/5 like I said on 5/18/2014, this movie review is now a 4.5/5 star rating.  Same review and opinion, just a bit more addicted to the music. :-)