Kill- Fantastic Fest Review

For the average moviegoer in America, action mostly revolves around John Wick at the moment. If it’s not a new Wick movie, it’s the style and ideas from those films that dominate the action scene in U.S. cinemas. However, for action fans who explore beyond American shores, countries like Indonesia and others offer movies that make John Wick feel like a level 2 or 3 out of 5. Now, Bollywood is throwing its hat into the ring, and let me tell you, Kill hits all the right spots for action enthusiasts and lovers of all things intense and bloody.

Amrit (Laksh Lalwani) is a captain in the Indian army, enjoying professional success in his life. However, his love life with his sweetheart Tulika (Tanya Maniktala) is complicated because Tulika has already been promised to someone else. The news of her engagement prompts Amrit and his commando buddy Viresh to embark on a mission to stop it. This mission leads them to board a train with Tulika and her family. But this train ride won’t be peaceful, as a group of criminals led by Fanli (Raghab Juyal), who has a short fuse, plans to rob the train. Kill takes real-life train robberies in India, carried out by a group of criminals known as “dacoits,” as its backdrop and infuses it with a high-concept premise that packs a punch. Robbing a train would be easier if it didn’t have two commandos on board, but when you mess with the love of one of those commandos, things are not going to end well. Despite lacking much in the way of a complex storyline, Kill more than compensates with its thrilling action. The action sequences are fast-paced but hold back a bit on the violence until the title card drops in at about the thirty-minute mark. For action fans, Kill will remind you of  The Raid  throughout, but with a train setting instead of a building. That’s high praise, as many consider  The Raid to be the pinnacle of action cinema, so it’s safe to say that  Kill will not disappoint.

Standing out in a crowded field can be a tough task, but  Kill manages to do so with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. While some action movies feature regular guys rising to the occasion to save people, Kill showcases professionals tasked with doing so, displaying restraint and professionalism early on before things escalate. As for the cast, Lalwani shows potential as an action star, but in here, Juyal stands out, portraying a convincing villain. Everything comes together nicely in this film, as  Kill  delivers jaw-dropping kills and ranks among the best action movies of the year.