Players (2012) User Reviews

Insult to 'Italian Job"

[pranavgoyal · 5/10 · 16 January 2012]

A very random cast come together to make a Hindi version of Italian Job and end up spoiling it to no end. The script tries to take twists from the original movie for the Indian people who have actually watched "Italian Job" to go all 'oooooh' in the theater, but what they didn't know is the audience isn't that stupid to believe all that was shown.

Abhishek Bacchan and Neil Nitin Mukesh do a good job, but Sonam Kapoor CANNOT act to save her life, neither is she good looking, what she tries really hard in the movie to be. Bipasha Basu does what she does best.

Some of the stuff shown is so unreal that by half way through, you are just sitting in the theater to at least squeeze in little worth of your money. I mean Mukesh's character 'Spider' has this huge mansion with all high tech stuff, but one bloody vehicle barges in and destroys everything right to his bedroom, really people?

The only saving grace to the movie was the little good action it had, especially the train heist, other than the movie was just in bad taste after what Abbas-Mustan had provided in 'RACE'

These 'Players' lose the game!

[ssunny-social · 3/10 · 14 January 2012]

'Players' which is an official remake of 'The Italian Job', clearly makes a fool out of itself. Though I tried my best to keep myself without comparing it with the original, compare or not, the film is like the kindergarten version of the classic. The acting lacks intensity, particularly from Sonam's end, only Neil Mukesh gets somewhere with his villainous act. The train robbery scene doesn't give any edge-of-the seat moments, making such an improbable task look like cake-walk. There are some insanely foolish humour, pushed inside the film, trying to make a masala-flick. The twists degrades the credibility of the film, making it a joke! The music is awful with laughable lyrics. But the only place where the film scores is with its cinematography, because there are some moments which captures the scene beautifully. Director duo Abbas-Mustan easily did better with Race. In all, if you are looking for some genuine and entertaining action-thrillers then you can comfortably give this a miss.

Trying officially Abbas-Mustan go all wrong.

[bobbysing · 4/10 · 28 May 2012]

Throughout their career since the early 90s, director duo Abbas-Mustan have been making inspired films taking it all from the West, with a fairly good success ratio at the box office. Quite astonishingly they sometimes have even given us better movies than the Originals like their last RACE. But sadly with PLAYERS the story is not the same unexpectedly.

Keeping it straight, when they were copying, they were good. But now when for the first time they have gone for An Official Remake of a Hit Cult Movie, they go all wrong with some hugely un-necessary moves ruining a fine exciting script.

Abbad-Mustan's PLAYERS is based on two movies, "The Italian Job" made in 1969 and its Official Remake made in 2003 with the same name. Now the first one made in 1969 is a fine British film featuring Michael Caine as the leader Charlie, who plans a Big Gold robbery and the film revolves around only one heist in all till the climax. The main highlights of the film included the massive traffic jam plan and 3 mini coopers (small cars) chase sequence towards its end. Along with that it had an open climax with a surprise.

The second Italian JOB got released in 2003 with some brilliant, well written additions in the same plot, introducing a traitor in the team with a second heist plan too executed perfectly. This updated version of the classic excelled its original with a great script, featuring two exciting robberies in just 111 minutes.

Now coming to the third Official Indian Remake of the same called PLAYERS, it fails to leave you satisfied due to its own faulty and un- required insertions. This time Abbas-Mustan go legal and take the rights of making the film in Hindi as it should be done ethically. With a big production house backing them, they make a visually stunning movie with all the glitters of gold shining in the grand foreign locations. But when it comes to script, they mess it up posing as more intelligent than the original writers of both the classics.

So, PLAYERS misses the target mainly due to its writers and directors acting over-smart and adding many unwanted elements in the film ruining its original charm and feel. I am still confused that when there is already a Hit, well written script in front of you to follow legally, then what's the need of adding the same rotten plots of love and betrayal to it un-necessarily?

Honestly speaking, if you haven't seen the exciting 2003 version of THE Italian JOB, then you may like PLAYERS as a one-time watch. But in case you have already witnessed its better remake then you are sure going to find its Hindi Version strange, bizarre and absurd. In fact the same things which were so exciting, thrilling and highpoints of its Original Remake, seem to be very childish, uninteresting and weird in this Bollywood version of the Classic.

For instance, the whole first hour is wasted in just showing the selection of various players. The train robbery sequence, though well shot, is based on very unrealistic and funny assumption where every window in the train is having a virtual film running on it, controlled by our computer man. A national treasure in Russia is robbed with such a convenience and a man wears a mask of a senior officer and enters their security easily (in Russia itself). The Big Golden safe gets opened in just a few seconds by only a drilling machine and a small device. Plus the last scene in a very illogical manner tells you that all the Gold bars have actually been melted and converted into small cars made out of the same Gold. (By the way who thought of this legendary idea?)

Moreover, the massive traffic jam in the city, the road blasting sequence and the 3 mini coopers chase scenes in the climax, which were the key feature of its original, simply lose their existence in this over-intelligently made official remake. The directors do make their presence felt in certain portions, especially in the execution of the heist scenes and just before the interval but overall one doesn't feel entertained by them as compared to their last venture RACE. Musically PLAYERS is a big dud delivered by the Hit-machine Pritam, with not even one good song in its entire soundtrack. The film is shot superbly as most of the recent big ventures but I hope the makers start giving the same attention to their script department too.

Performance wise it also doesn't give you anything great to write about. Most of them in the cast remain wasted with only a few given more time on the screen showing the imbalance. Abhishek in the lead, remains the same in his style and act as he was in his other popular films such as "Dhoom". Bipasha is simply there to show off her body and nothing else. Sonam once again looks over-confident with attitude. Bobby Deol, Omi Vaidya & Sikander Kher do not contribute anything significant in the film and are simply wasted. It seems Bobby just signed this film only due to his decades long relationship with the directors. Neil Nitin Mukesh tries his best but manages to do just fine. Vinod Khanna looks tired and out of form whereas Johny Lever still manages to make you laugh in his few scenes.

As for now, I have one suggestion to make. If you are not going to see "The Italian Job" (2003 version) in any case, then you may opt for PLAYERS as a one-time watch if you wish. But if you are really interested in watching some quality cinema, then strictly watch its 2003 remake first before opting for PLAYERS. Because Abbas Mustan's PLAYERS is highly capable of ruining your exciting experience of watching the best Italian JOB (2003) till date.

A grave insult to the classic 'Italian Job'.

[jahangirhussain74 · 13 January 2012]

'Players' is the official remake of the Hollywood classic 'Italian Job'. The director duo, Abbas-Mustan who are well known for churning out thrillers almost every year fail miserably this time in their attempt to recreate their magic.

The movie is quite stylish and the cinematography by Ravi Yadav is mind boggling. But the problem lies in the screenplay. Abbas-Mustan have tried to put too many twists and turns in the plot that at the end you feel tired and want to walk away. I wonder why Abbas-Mustan have tried to tamper with the original source with so many unwanted twists. Why didn't they just simply replicate the story of the original when they had the official license to do so? As far as the movie stays true to the original, it is watchable. Once the typical Bollywood formula of twists and songs and dances pop in the latter half, it simply sucks.

As for the performances, Abhishek Bachchan looks like he can't get over his 'Dhoom 2' and 'Game' hangover. His mannerisms and facial expressions are just the same as they had been in the aforementioned flicks. The only best performance definitely comes from Neil Nitin Mukesh. Not only does he look handsome, but his acting can give seasoned actors a run for their money. As Spider, Neil proves once again that he is in his best form after his debut 'Johnny Gaddar' and ' New York'. He proves yet again that good looking actors can act really well too. Bobby Deol is terribly wasted in this film. I wonder what made him choose such a minuscule and insignificant role. He wears a sad expression on his face throughout the movie. Thank god, he's only in it for half an hour. Bipasha Basu is always cast in a negative role in all Abbas-Mustan flicks that she has done so far. 'Players' is no exception. Still, she impresses with her acting with a new level of maturity and proves that she's really getting better with every film. Sonam Kapoor is horrible! That girl can't act to save her life. She sports a glamorous look for the first time but an actress she is not. The worst scene of Sonam in the movie was when she brags about being an ethical hacker. She seems so annoying and cannot emote with her eyes. Her emotions look fake and contrived. Sikander Kher looks bored and ready to walk away any time. Omi Vaidya irritates. Vinod Khanna is wasted. It was a delight to see Johnny Lever after such a long hiatus. He's the only one who provides relief with his comic timing in the horribly boring second half.

The length of the movie is also a minus point. The first half moves at a brisk pace once all the characters are developed. But it is the sluggishly paced second half that gets under your nerves.

Pritam's music is disappointing, unlike the previous Abbas-Mustan flicks where the music elevated the mood of the films. Dialogues are contrived and bad.

On the whole, 'Players' disappoints. Given that the film was hyped and was the first release of the year, this film might find a tough competition in the box office. I advice Abbas-Mustan to think of more 'Races' than 'Players'.

An Awful Remake

[asad_king34 · 1/10 · 12 January 2012]

Italian Job, an action thriller which was remake in 2003 now in Indian accent again in 2012 by Bollywood and it was seriously a waste of money time and energy. I wish they would have kept the way it was, unnecessary twists, unrealistic stunts and proud gesture by actors showing that they know about the future as they are going to win anyhow. Abhishek good at times but most of the time very over confident same goes for bipasha and actor like bobby deol completely wasted. Neil nitin mukesh did good job at times but he also gets irritating most of the time and Sonam Kapoor undefinable she does not even know how to act in a glamorous character. On the whole if Italian job is 8 out of 10 then this is 1 out of 100 seriously.

Disgusting Movie,Don't have to say anymore

[ayanbarik92 · 1/10 · 6 January 2012]

Its Official remake of Hollywood Blockblaster The Italian Job, They bought the copyright and nothing to say about it, However I wonder if any of them can be alternative to Jason Statham, Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron..Poor script,bogus acting by majority of the actors just ruined the fun you expected from a heist movie... Firstto Acting:SONAM, she's just too much annoying,she does not have any decent acting talent unlike her father,the whole part of her was too much boring and unnecessary.....Now to Abhishek, I never thought he's going to be a thief! He looks acceptable as cop in DHOOM series but the same cop-like acting in this movie just disgusting,unacceptable.......Neil just passed the acting,Bobby was good,I really did not except such performance in movie like this,Kher just failed,he is weakest in the film alongside Sonam...Rest of the team I just wanna spend time by analyzing them,they are average.....Bipasha was better though the seducing character does not worthy to watch....I guess if it has the same story the the original without some extra characters like two lead actresses it would be much better......It looks poor, even much poor especially after watching Decent Hollywood like, Full2actions, awesome Scripted and Directed movie like DON 2, anyone isn't going to love Players...... Now to MUSIC:I think worst music ever made by Pritam,the dances even don't make sense with the songs. Direction:The Duo just made a Epic failed film with loose script,worst music and acting...sorry I can't even want to give it 2 stars...just 1 and I will recommend everyone to not see this title.....If you have seen The Italian Job and then watch this you will find yourself a sorry person... (Sorry for bad English)

Horrible

[rssoccer-37787 · 1/10 · 31 May 2019]

Such bad editing and acting and remake of the Hollywood film oh my god don't watch it

Learn to imitate others.

[hXz0r3 · 2/10 · 9 May 2020]

Nothing much to say, but BOLLYWOOD strictly need to Learn to Imitate. Not even a single worth remake makes sense..

Waste of money!

[HollowScar · 1/10 · 9 January 2012]

When it comes to Abbas-Mustaan, the duo make great twist movies but they lift it off from Hollywood movies. TO set an example or maybe to avoid possible copyright issues, this time they actually bought the rights to the Italian Job franchise. The Italian Job was already a remake with its own rendition but Players is at times a scene by scene copy of the remake.

Going forward to the movie, I knew that there would be some twists and it would try to be unique more so to stand out from the remake. Yet when I see The Italian Job, I see that it was a much better movie with good camera use and plenty of action. The remake misses the point.

Firstly, there are some scenes which are revealed as twists from the very beginning when it was unnecessary. Abhishek Bachan's entry is revealed that way. Then there are other twists as well but nothing that will blow your mind off. As a matter of fact, you can guess all of the twists, and they themselves make the movie bland as it doesn't need twists.

Secondly, the acting for the most part was standoffish. Sonam Kapoor did not act like a computer expert but rather someone who was more or less a snob. She was the most unlikable of the team and sounded very annoying. Her acting ability was mediocre as she delivered lines for the most part. Abhishek Bachan was neutral as usual. He does not act excited or stressed based on the circumstances but rather does his standard Dhoom performance.

Bipasha Basu and Omi Vadya give their best performances while Neil Nitin Mukesh comes very close. Bipasha conveys emotions with grace but unfortunately the moments where she and Sonam quarrel are ruined by Sonam's snobbish delivery compared to Bipasha's authentic lines. Omi Vadya does his signature Marathi accent and does get to deliver some funny lines. The movie is funny because of him and he does being his role to be a memorable one even though some of his lines were forced. His partner, Anupam Kher's step-son, Sikander Kher gives a standard performance. Nothing that would make him leading actor material though. Neil Nitin Mukesh did try to match up to Edward Norton's performance from the remake and did play a angst-ridden nerd/stylish con-man with style. He has persona and gives a better performance than Abhishek. Vinod Khanna is refreshing after so many years but not enough screen time. Bobby Deol gives a good performance and Aftab does a small cameo. Johnny Lever is witty as usual but his performance is limited to his screen time.

Overall, the movie did not have good editing and some scenes jumped looking more like they cut of scenes in the last moment due to time constraints. One moment the car crashes, next the theme is playing while they are elsewhere. The movie was abrupt with little to no character development, and an unbelievable heist plan which was more about luck than intelligence.

I give it a 1/10 because it's a typical masala movie but bollywood could have done much better. It could have made in the 70's and it would have been entertaining then. It's unwatchable if you have seen The Italian Job and decent if you haven't seen it. Even then, the movie does not make sense and is not for the intelligent viewer. Save your money and go watch Don 2 for a more intelligent, but still not realistic heist movie.

THE PLAYERS Could Have Been Far better

[vatsalspandya · 7/10 · 16 July 2012]

Some may call this movie an Indian version of the Italian Job but there are differences if you wish to see it in that way. I first saw the Italian Job and within a few days after that, saw Players. I now have no doubt in saying that even though its a remake, you would not get that thought in mind that this is the story of the Italian job unless you see the huge similarities to the Italian Job later in the movie.

Yes, the idea of the movie has been borrowed from the Italian Job but the main part, the thefts are quite original(not completely though). The first half is worth the watch. The robbery strategies are good. With little assumptions, you'll happily agree that the plan was superb.

It's the second half in which you see a direct connection to the Italian Job. But Abbas-Mustan manage the connection well by putting twists at some important points in the movie. Though, towards the end, there is a rain of twists which you find hard to get. The twists timing falters this time unlike in "Race". Also, there is more talk and less action as you approach the end. What I really didn't like was the blooywood-ish ending. Why do you always need emotional endings. An action sequence or even hero tricking villain case could've been done. But then again, the plans in the second half are OK.

Though, sometimes in the movie, you feel that there is a tinge of over-confidence among the characters and also that there are some things that seem impractical in the second half.

In the long cast, the performances are:- Abhishek Bachchan: He has learned to hold a movie and whenever he's on screen, he gives you the feeling that he is the master. He looks confident and and comes up with a lead performance.

Bobby Deol: He's been given a rather complex role (has too much in heart and brain and odd behavior). Though, he looks decent enough until he is eliminated.

Bipasha Basu: She was very good. Totally into her character always. All her emotions and expressions land on time. Though her character seemed under-developed, she managed to live it up.

Neil Mukesh: This guy has really got it in him. He comes up with a class performance but its just a few itchy dialogues of his that just doesn't let his performance rock above all.

Sonam Kapoor: Not good. I don't think that I liked how she tried to picturize character as above all. Just too much unwanted attitude and some childish behavior come out of her. She is only good in the initial part when not in the serious frame of things, she does seem mature then.

Vinod Khanna: Cameo. No need for comments. As involved in his character as ever. Even his role is rather light.

Johnny Lever: His 10 minutes in the movie perhaps mark a sort of a comeback of his to a one-man comedy stand-up. He speaks flawlessly and brings out real laughter just using his timing and his expressions. His is perhaps the only performance that really stands out. None others do as his does.

Omi Vaidya: He's still in his Bengali 3 idiots zone. Though, brings out some good punches enough to make you smile.

Sikander Kher: I saw this guy for the first time and thought he is good for serious characters. He lacks that spark of a comedian which he sometimes tries to be in the movie. See his with your soft corner please.

In the music part, I never noticed the songs as I watched it on TV. The only good song is in the album--> Dil Ye Bekarar Kyun Hai.

Overall, Players is quite a good movie and its just that apart from a little mixed performances, some badly placed twists and suspenses and a little lack of originality, this movie is a treat for the first 2 hours but just dries up a little at the very end. Its sort of a 6.7 or 6.8 and so 7.

This movie is thus underrated according to me and I think it is because of some career direction of a very good script.

Players need to Retire!

[cultjones · 1/10 · 9 January 2012]

I usually find myself inspired to review movies that compel me and in a way, Players did compel me, but for the wrong reasons. This movie is simply Terrible! It's so terrible that the word 'terrible' has been replaced by 'Players' in the Oxford Dictionary! The consistency is beyond poor and slack. When Sonam Kapoor is chatting with Abhishek Bachan, she is talking to him through a webcam in her car while he is on his phone chatting with her in the traditional way, phone to ear. How has she got him on a webcam then? How is he not aware he is on a webcam? Why is he talking in to a phone if they are talking through a computer?

You may think i'm nit-picking but then there is the scene of the gold heist. Two trains running parallel to each other and Abhishek Bachan has a fight with two Russian soldiers and manages to pull them out of the train and drops them behind him. Logic would suggest they land under the wheels of the train running parallel to the 'Gold Train' but no.....they land comfortably in some snow. In the following shot, there is NO SNOW between the trains! Still nit picking? OK, when they manage to steal the bars of gold, packed by 10 or 12 in a packet, they handle them more like chocolate bars rather than gold bars. At one point, they carry the packages with ONE HAND!

If you aren't finicky on the consistency of a movie or the lack there of, then bring some Nachos when you watch this movie. That way you can enjoy the cheese that oozes off the screen! Just be ready to choke yourself when Neil Nitin Mukesh starts talking to his home computer, 'baby'!

Even new comers Sikander Kher and Omi Vaidya, the bright spots, couldn't save this blatant copy of the Italian Job. In fact, you couldn't even call this 'The Poor Man's Italian Job.' It's more like a Leper stricken Fakir's Italian Job! The ONLY good thing about Players, was that it ended! Abysmal!

Yet again a fantastic thriller from Mastans

[mu_amir · 8/10 · 6 January 2012]

Bollywood end 2011 with an action packed thriller Don 2 and start the year with another action thriller. Player is a typical Abbas Mastan style movie, action, suspense, drama and glamor. When I first heard about that movie I learned that it is inspired by an Hollywood movie Italian Job fortunately i didn't watch that hence everything for me is fresh. It is a plot about a Train Robbery with 1000 Crore Gold. The whole portion of robbery is breathless and very well justify and you hardly find any flaw. A perfect plan with great execution. However Director forget to justify the inclusion of Sikadnar Kher (Bilal) in the team as an explosive expert as there was not a big deal in train robbery but you must keep it in mind that an explosive expert is in team and his presence in the team justified in end. Perhaps they steal the gold but soon after that director start twisting the film. The first half full with a great robbery and the second half is full of suspense. One thing which was missing in Don 2 was humanity and emotion but here these aspect of any good film are also exist as cold blooded murder of Soonam Kapoor's s Father Winod Khanna playing as a mentor of these con people. Abnishek is wonderful, Bobby Deol did great with what was his part but the one who steal the show was Neil Nitin Mukesh the main villain. Audience was mesmerized with the pace of the film it will not give you a dull moment except the one when Sonam Kapoor visited Neil Nitin Mukesh Castle and sing and dance in a very pathetic manner. The only thing which remind you that it is a Bollywood movie. Otherwise the entire production is not bellow of Hollywood Movie. The only aspect the movie lack was music. If you have any plan to go for a movie, player has a better plan.

Good but many things to improve !!

[abhishekjain118 · 7/10 · 8 January 2012]

http://reviewforfilmmakers.blogspot.com/ https://twitter.com/abhishekjain118

This is about only those things which as a viewer I didn't like.. When the bad guys already got accepted as protagonists in Indian films, there was no need of showing the humane side of the players.. in fact the most inhumane player – Neil Nitin Mukesh impressed the most.

Yes it is true, not only recently but since 70' and 80' whenever our hero goes out for a theft, we love it. Kohinoor, Jewel Thief, Don2, Roop Ki Raani.. etc etc.. Accepted that hero always brings in some reason to steal but the trend is changing !! You can change too..

So there is the quick NOT-TO-DO check list for Abbas-Mustan's Players.

1. Remove good motives of Robbery i.e. Victor's dream project, Ronny's daughter.. make everything emotionless, professional. Though Sonam's reason to join for Victor's death was justified.

2. Take actors which can act. For star power, couple of them are OK. like rather than investing in Abhishek, Sonam, Bobby, Neil and Bipasha, pay more to 2 stars and 3 actors.. because among the 5 only Niel and Bipasha acted.

3. Bipasha's Engine work and Bobby's illusion on train windows were something too too much of science fiction to digest. Agreed that Indian audience is watching science fiction and gradually accepting such techno gigs but at the same time people have started applying logics also, the flags on the windows were clearly showing not spraying the solutions on the entire window.

4. Reduce songs and reduce the length of the movie. Sonam's gig on Bobby, Bipasha's dance for Russian general and Sonam-Abhishek drunken songs were too too too tiring and waste of time. Instead sonam and bipasha could have used smart lines to get their men. I like the talking people do the night clubs.

5. Instead of simply showing Sonam's tense face while hacking scenes, more theoretical information about how it is possible to find Spider would be better.

6. And last but not the least, you made the robbery seems pretty easy. People watch Mission Impossible franchise in India now. If not making the mission impossible, at least make it difficult.

Note: The objective of this blog is to pick only loop holes and not so great things about the movie and NOT TO review the entire movie. General ratings from different critics holds true about the movie.

Major Improvement on Italian Job but sucks after Interval

[caspian_troy · 5/10 · 4 March 2012]

I will give this movie 5 stars because I really enjoyed this movie until Interval....When I went to see this movie I was very open minded because of the cast and director duo and I was very impressed by the twist and turns writers added to this movie inspired by original Italian Job (One of my favorite heist movie) however I don't know what happened to writers imagination after first major heist pulled by top players in the world....It seems first half of the movie written by professional writers and second half written by spot boys in Bollywood industry.

This could have been one of the best heist movie in the Bollywood history but they just wanted viewers to enjoy meals and drinks in Interval and go home laughing about same old bad Indian Imagination for ending movies and making the hero smarter than villain.

All style and no substance!

[GaneshKSalian · 10 March 2012]

Players directed by Abbas-Mustan is an awful movie.The movie is said to be an official remake of The Italian Job.Although I have not seen The Italian Job,I found Players to be boring.

Since the movie is a copy of Italian Job,so the story does not offer any originality.So no points for that.

Story:- PLAYERS is about a team of skilled and sharp group of people -- Charlie (Abhishek Bachchan), Ronnie (Bobby Deol), Spider (Neil Nitin Mukesh), Riya (Bipasha Basu), Bilal (Sikander Kher) and Sunny (Omi Vaidya) -- who rob the gold bullion from Russia successfully. But one of them double crosses the players and the team sets out, with Naina (Sonam Kapoor) also included in their task now, to retrieve the booty and also settle scores.

Neil Nitin Mukesh's performance is the only one that stays in your mind ever after this bad movie ends.So 1 point for that.

Filmed at the panoramic locales of Russia, Netherlands, New Zealand and of course, India, the DoP (Ravi Yadav) bestows the film with an international look. In fact, it's an incredibly good looking film.So 1 point for that.

Johny Lever(a guy common in Abbas-Mustan movies),even though has small role,still registers an impact.Half mark for that and the other for Sonam Kapoor,please don't mistaken me,its not for her acting but for her styling.

Direction,Screenplay,Music and Dialogs are bad.

Performances:- As mentioned above except Neil Nitin Mukesh and Johny Lever,none of them actually act well.Abhsiehk Bachchan is bad.Sonam Kapoor overacts.Bipasha Basu is average.Bobby Deol does not get to register an impact since because he is killed before the intermission.Sikander Kher is passable.Omi Vaidya is irritating this time.Vinod Khanna is fine.Aftab Shivdasani in a special appearance is subtle.

On the whole Players is a let-down.

Comical Masterpiece

[silvan-desouza · 1/10 · 2 November 2013]

Abbas Mustan have made their career remaking Hollywood films but we got some great suspense thrillers like Khiladi(1992), Baazigar(1993). Humraaz(2002) some average films like Baadshah(1999),Ajnabee(2001) some novel concepts like CCCC(2001) and some duds like Daraar(1997), 36 China Town(2006), Naqaab(2008).

How do I classify Players? The film has such a non happening cast(that isn't really a deterrent normally but here it's an issue), The film tries to remake The Italian Job which was remade twice in 50s and in 2003 but there try too hard to Indianise it, making it a mockery. For morality issues, the film shows a motive behind the robbery, And of course we have to have our song, dances, romance, back stories.etc The film tries too hard to add up on everything ending up being neither here nor there. There are several scenes that make you cringe, like the first robbery scene, The climax where we come to know the cars are made of gold(Stupidity at it's height)

Direction by AM is ordinary, some scenes are well handled but overall the film falls short Music is ordinary but looks forced in the film.

Abhishek Bachchan who was going through a bad phase(when isn't he) does his normal act like in many films, nothing new Bobby Deol is hardly given importance(that too by Abbas Mustan), Sikander Kher lacks screen presence and is ordinary, The worst casting is of Omi Vaidhya who has become too repetitive in the same act he has been doing since 3 Idiots. Neil Nitin Mukesh tries very hard but tends to overdo Sonam Kapoor as in her most films before Ranjanaa is hardly anything great, Bipasha Basu is nothing great either. Johny Lever's role is nonsense and he is hardly funny. Aftab has a cameo,Vinod Khanna has a brief role and is nothing great, age is finally showing on him, rest are nothing great

What did I just watch????

[nathon117 · 1/10 · 29 June 2013]

I watched, in agony, this film last night and I had to watch the Original Italian Job twice just to get over this, a poor attempt to make a classic remake, even the Hollywood remake was acceptable and above all else: Abhishek Bachchan is a disgrace to Michael Caine, this film only had nice effects and that was it, Bipasha and Sonam were unnecessary and the betrayal was poorly executed. This film had rights to the original, it could have been an instant classic, but somehow Abhishek is worthy enough to do the role Michael Caine did? This was a terrible film in general, and a remake of a 5 star classic not taken seriously. It'd be asking someone to remake Goodfellas and him giving you Adulthood, or asking them to remake Die Hard and they give you Singham , just a terrible film

Italian job rip off

[chaudary · 2/10 · 17 June 2020]

Very bad version of the Italian job, hurts to watch!!!

An average movie that could have been done better..................

[SonalSudeep · 3/10 · 13 January 2012]

For an Abbas-Mustan Burmawala Bros. movie,you expect thrills with twists & turns.Players has those,but not enough to surprise the audience to a great extent.With movies like Soldier,Ajnabee,Race there were shocking moments which had the so-called "woooooo"factor in it.Players fails in this aspect.More to say the music was highly uninteresting ,to be fair unnecessary. "The Italian Job" was a great movie with everything-story,direction,actors dealt with perfection.While Players did copy its story ,direction-wise it was all rite,but the major problem was its casting.You may be shooting in Russia,New Zealand or any other wonderful place,but when you have an inexperienced and weak cast,the movie shows its sign of bleakness.While Abhisek,Neil,Bipasha were good,Sonam,Sikander and Omi Vaidya(the all-time irritating guy) were wrongly casted.Bobby Deol,a tremendous actor by himself(likes of Barsaat,YPD,Soldier) was wasted.Comic timings of Johny lever seems to be deteriorating day-by-day.

All-in-all Players did try to repeat the feat what The Italian Job had,but failed due to some insensitive decisions(casting,music).

One time watch movie............hey,just a second........not in theatres,just wait for its satellite release

Is this the same AM jodi who made Baazigar, Khiladi, Soldier and Race???

[jay-techie2007 · 3/10 · 8 January 2012]

This was not the kind of start expected for 2012. The movie lost its audience in the first 20 minutes itself. Poorly scripted dialogs, complemented with pathetic dialog delivery, below par acting by people who have been in the industry for more than a decade now (especially Abhi and Bips), poor punches and lot of technical mistakes is what you see in the first half n hour of the movie.

The only three stars that I give to the movie is because of slightly better second half where the execution of the plot was slightly better and the twist in the climax - the only original thing about the movie.

The biggest difference between Italian Job and Players is the build up of the story. While the English flick detailed each and every step of the robbery and provided logical and believable reasoning for the same, Players just rushed through the execution with many steps unexplained. The story was build up very poorly with many loose ends. Is it really necessary in Bollywood to portray Hero as good? Why would thieves be good at heart? Goa police can actually sue the producers for their portrayal.

After watching the movie I kept wondering if this is the same Abbas- Mustan jodi which made Baazigar, Khiladi, Aitraaz and Race? They even made a good Soldier out of Bobby Deol. It's time they do some retrospection on what they are doing.

A Nutshell Review: Players

[DICK STEEL · 7/10 · 6 January 2012]

There are some Bollywood films that have gained notoriety for being unofficial remakes of recognizable Hollywood films, and a handful comes to mind, even for blockbusters like Ghajini and Krrish. But there are some in the industry who will go the legitimate way of seeking rights and having their films become official remakes, such as Farah Khan's Tees Maar Khan (remaking After the Fox starring Peter Sellers), and now the Alibhai Burmawalla brothers Abbas and Mastan's Players, a remake of The Italian Job, which in itself was given a fairly recent makeover starring Mark Wahlberg to which this film is more closely aligned, compared to the Michael Caine starred original.

What does Bollywood then bring to the table in a remake of a film? For starters, the song and dance sequences had to be naturally weaved into the narrative, otherwise without which it couldn't have come from India's filmmaking machinery. Running almost three hours long, the film contains of cleverly inserted pieces especially used when the female characters have to seduce their way into fulfilling their objectives. Those involving Bipasha Basu worked since the actress is known for being sultry although one can tell of her losing some weight and curves, while Sonam Kapoor seemed to have bulked up a little (for the better rather than being painfully pencil thin) but for her dances to be a little bit awkward when she was supposed to be sensual.

Like most Bollywood treatment, a fair deal goes into the build up prior to the intermission, and in this case the film had taken its time to introduce all its key characters, starting with the top player in the business, the thieving Charlie Masceranhas (Abhishek Bachchan) who together with Bipasha's Riya form a tag team of sorts who go out to raid from the most unsuspecting of victims, in a prologue taking place in Amsterdam. They soon get onto an opportunity for the heist of some stolen Romanian gold bars which are en route back from Russia to Romania, and under the guidance of jailed mastermind Victor (Vinod Khanna), become part of a star studded team of talented individuals brought together to pull off the robbery. This ensemble includes Bobby Deol as Ronnie the magician and illusionist, who are very technically creative folks, Neil Nitin Mukesh as Spider the computer hacker, Sikander Kher as Bilal Bashir the explosives expert and engineer, and Omi Vaidya (who shot to fame with his debut in 3 Idiots) as the actor and make up artist Sunny.

If you're already familiar with The Italian Job movies, the team gets double-crossed from within after successfully pulling off the job of their lives through meticulous preparation and planning, leaving in actual fact most of the story about how this lack of honour amongst thieves had the survivors of the betrayal band together to exact revenge through, you guessed it, another heist of their own against the betrayer. In this Hindi remake however, the double crossing goes on for quite a fair bit, and as such allowed room to stretch the narrative, which no thanks to a very verbose, dialogue laden nature having everyone explain their one-upmanship to their opponents, became a little bit of an unwelcome drag, sacrificing an action packed finale, for one that's marred with plenty of stand offs, posturing and bogged by the ol' villain/hero monologues stating the very obvious, which the directing duo tried to painstakingly show that they didn't really cheat by showing that they had clues planted in the scenes all along.

With all masala entertainers, the film has its fair share of carefully crafted set action pieces to wow and to thrill, especially its central piece of having a turbo charged train in hot pursuit of their mark, and the iconic Italian Job mini cars that zip through insanely crowded road traffic. In some instance the chases involving the minis got overshadowed somehow and didn't play a big part in the film, though credit to the filmmakers for tossing things up and adding a new flavour of their own even to surprise those who have watched the originals. Romance also features heavily in this Hindi version, with a love triangle set up between Charlie, Riya and Victor's daughter Naina (Sonam Kapoor), though it had the latter bogged down with jealousy for the most parts, and had its focus distinctly split down by the interval, with Charlie and Riya's arc in the first half, followed by the growing affections Charlie has for Naina when it calls for some sacrifice to be done.

Players is an adequately stylish remake of The Italian Job, with high production values that didn't scrimp on making this one giant, jet setting epic, hopping between countries and cities, from Russia to New Zealand, from St Petersburg to Moscow, Auckland to Wellington. Action thrillers coming from Bollywood have improved leaps and bounds with recent offerings such as Don 2 pulling out all the stops in terms of locales and stunts, going beyond the shores of India and doing their utmost to appeal to an international audience by meeting the standards set by the best in the business. It may not be that flawless action flick, but it certainly contained all the right ingredients necessary to be so.

Bizarre start to 2012

[kireet84 · 4/10 · 7 January 2012]

OK!! So abbas mustan are here after a long gap of 3 years with a remake of Italian Job which surely deserves a Bollywood remake!! A little nuance here, a spicy song there and some desi style comedy but all that we got is a khichadi of Hollywood and Bollywood. Director is surely the captain of the ship but this time even the charismatic duo of a abbas- mustan were also unable to save the ship. The male protagonist played by Abhishek Bachhan is the most weakest of performances. Probably he is not tailor made for such action flicks and cheesy dialogues. Bobby Deol who has played so many blinders in duo's thrillers has a very little role and dialogues to impress the audience but still he does a decent enough job. Bipasha Basu and Sonam Kapoor are mere pieces of eye candy and thus don't have much to play with. Although Bipasha did justice with her role. The only saving grace about the movie was Neil Nitin Mukesh. I mean this boy has got some real talent and with this antagonists role he has done no damage to his image whatsoever. The technology part that is shown in the movie is all superficial and the director never tries to show the audience how particular thing is happening although its practically impossible to show each and every part but at least an effort was required there. Even the hardcore Bollywood lover would also say that there are too many bloopers to ignore. Even the songs are of average level and no signs of them even getting to a hit level and the most that they manage to do is to break the rhythm of the movie just when you think, OK, the movie is catching some pace. All in all a disaster from Abbas-Mustan and not even a one time watch for many. PROBABLY, bollywood film makers should now think twice before remaking such high intense projects.

Brilliant Start of 2011 with Players

[user-107-982434 · 8/10 · 5 January 2012]

A very good opening of 2012, with Players. Players is based on Italian Job, one of Hollywood's most fascinating thriller films. Twists & turns of Players will hold you during whole movie. Direction of movie by Abbas- Mustan is brilliant. And, story is also very good. Songs have not make good impression, but background score is good. Players is a pure experience of a Hollywood movie with tadka of bollywood.

Star cast of movie is also excellent. Abhishek Bachchan as a charlie, Neil Nitin Mukesh as Spider, Sonam Kapoor as Naina, Bipasa Basu as Riya and not to forget Omi Vaidya as Sunny have made fantastic pair of players. Bobby Deol as Ronnie is also good. Omi Vaidya's comic punches will made you laugh many times during movie. And Johnny Lever's comedy in movie is also excellent.

Full mind review: Players - Not Gold level, but Bronze.

[pearlsreya · 6/10 · 14 January 2012]

I'm a movie lover, I like all kinds of films, so this isn't a fussy review only complaining about bad things.

We all know what this film is about. So here I come to the main part:- I expected a lot better from this film, but yes it didn't stand up till the expectations BUT it stood up from what bad I expected from it.

Let me tell what I found in checkpoints:-

Difference in the remake - The plot is basically the same as the Italian Job but the character backgrounds, back-story and locations are different.

Theme - This movie has many twists. Most are good but unfortunately VERY predictable. Any other movie has them. Many of the scenes were unnecessary and twists were overdone which made them bends.

Cast & Acting - The main characters are Abhishek (Charlie), Sonam (Naina), Bipasha (Ria), Neil (Spider), Sikander (Bilal), Omi (Sunny) and Bobby (Ronnie).

Starting, Abhishek has maintained the SAME style from Dhoom series which is normally fine but here its unacceptable with his cop look. Sonam, sorry to say, but she performed worst here. Her dialogs and acting just wasn't fine, even her taunting in the film was better. Sikander, I don't know, not much of a big star. The good ones were Bipasha & Neil. Bipasha's some elegant acting was like a foil to Sonam's bratty attitude. Omi was okay, he provides the comic role. Neil I would say was good but directing little destroyed it. Now surprisingly Bobby was nice, but sadly he didn't get a decent role (you'll know why). There's also Johhny Lever in a small role, he's also comedy but somehow seems by time he doesn't get good punches..

Songs - In film very bad, on TV or internet, very good. Look on internet, you'll find some decent songs like "Jhoom Ta Hoon Main" & "Dil Ye Bekaraar". But in films they MOSTLY used the less better ones. Songs are a BIG thing to hit a film, I'm surprised why didn't the directors include them.

Directing - This is what didn't fit. The director duo who're great did very wrong things in the film. They DID add nice scenes but COULD NOT present them well. The using was wrong. Some copies, many improvisations, good idea, not great presentation.

My opinion - After seeing my not so favorable comments, I surprisingly say that Players was NOT a bad film. It was okey-dokey. It was long and the first half was boring, second half picked up better but twists broke it. Some unneeded melodrama makes its little shabby, but has pace IF you haven't seen the Italian Job.

Verdict - As said, okay type. LOT of editing needed, but not terrible. 6.25 out of 10.

P.S. - 1 very important thing I want to say that this film doesn't has that much thriller supposed, but contains nothing bad. If you have any intention to watch the film you can surely go for it on discount weekdays or something. Nowadays people don't see the film and only judge by the cast even BEFORE watching a film, like a book's cover, please DON'T. If UTTERLY HORRIBLE USELESS and almost BRAINLESS films like Ready can be a super hit JUST because of Salman, then India is unfair. This is AT LEAST better than Ready, depends on your taste.

Believe me, I watched it and I know its underrated. Films like Chandni Chowk to China & Love Story 2050 are also underrated. No, they don't deserve to be hits but what was bad in them? They tried something new and they were fine for watching on TV like this movie is. :|

Another copy

[csadangi · 5/10 · 12 January 2012]

So, guys get ready to watch a repeat telecast of The Italian job (Wahlberg, Statham 2003 movie) with a last moment twist and songs :D

The complete story is just a copy of the Italian job and Nothing new. Initially, i thought it would be a great movie. The actors did a good job though especially Sonam Kapoor (she is looking hot) and Omi Vaidya with his coming timing.

The background score of the movie is good.

I was expecting more from the director Abbas Mustan but they have the same thing to give i.e. one of the lady in the movie would turn out to be on the villain side (Remember Race).

All in all don't expect too much from this movie.

If you don't have any movie to watch then go for this.