Rocket Gang (2022) :
Movie Review -
Choreographer Bosco Martis makes his first foray into film direction with Rocket Gang by assembling a gang of Aditya Seal, Nikita Dutta, Jason Tham, Mokshda Jaikhani, Sahaj Singh Chahal, Tejas Varma, Aadvik Mongia, Jayshree Gogoi, Dipali Borkar and Siddhant Sharma along with many other dance and film superstars in cameo roles. Does Rocket Gang fly high with this much fuel? I would say NO! Except for money in the production, known faces in special cameos, and good dance numbers, it lacks everything that a feature film or a children-driven film needs. I am not asking for intellectually stimulating children-oriented films like "Jagriti" (1954) or "Taare Zameen Par" (2007). No, not at all. Even a time-pass entertainer would have worked, something like Chota Chetan or Bal Ganesha. But what the hell was this? This rocket takes you on a ride to hell, and let me warn you against entering it even with your kids.
Rocket Gang is about a group of five friends who are struggling to achieve their life goals and personal wishes. They go on a trip and visit a closed bungalow, where five children come to serve them. After a while of teasing the kids' gang, they realise that those 5 kids are dead and that they have been living with their ghosts all this time. The kids ask them to complete their last wish: to perform at the finale of a dance reality show. Although hesitant at first, those five agree with the kids and then sets the dance floor on fire with their moves. Not knowing even the ABCD of dancing, the five become professional dancers by allowing the souls of the kids into their bodies, but will that create a difference between them and their loved ones? Rocket Gang has a few more dramatic conflicts to follow that can't be revealed just now.
Firstly, it's a terribly written script. Bosco Martis should have acknowledged the fact that today's kids are not that foolish. They watch intricate films of Marvel, DC and Anime these days. They have become acquainted with the foreign cinema, and here you are selling them our 1950s trash under the name of "horror-dance-comedy." Seriously? This writing is childish, even for the children who are supposed to enjoy it, forget the adults. Critics are adults, so of course they are entitled to thrash this film, but I believe that if a kid could write a review, even he would have slammed it in his own way. What a terrible set of writing and an even worse screenplay! The first half of the film will force you to leave the auditorium even before the intermission block arrives. Then, the second half is even more annoying and illogical, but a few dance performances and emotional moments keep you from leaving the show halfway.
Performance-wise, were there any? I mean, the kids seemed to have been performing naturally well, and the known actors were behaving cluelessly. I'm not sure if I should blame the director for giving them such scenes or the actors for performing them. Aditya Seal has never gotten so cheap even in his struggling days. Nikita Dutta looks gorgeous, but if that is available on her Instagram page too, then why do you have to tolerate her performance here for that? Jason Tham, Mokshda Jaikhani, and Sahaj Singh Chahal were probably working on a low-level daily soap. But the kids-Tejas Varma, Aadvik Mongia, Jayshree Gogoi, Dipali Borkar, and Siddhant Sharma-have done fairly decent jobs here. Their dance moves are killer, but even some dialogues and expressions work on some occasions. Ranbir Kapoor, Nora Fatehi, Ceaser, Ahmed Khan, Farah Khan, and others are wasted in the cameo roles.
The best thing about Rocket Gang is the dance numbers. Yes, some are too artificial and creatively edited, which takes away the authenticity, but the viewing experience is decent. Scorpio and Rocket Gang both have some mind-blasting dance numbers. The music is pretty underwhelming here considering that it's a dance film, so it should have had hit compositions like the ABCD franchise had. However, that "Nachoge Toh Bachoge" is a good one. The cinematography, editing, and visual effects are cringeworthy. Nothing against Bosco Martis, but come on, man, filmmaking is not your forte. You are a choreographer, and a fantastic one; why direction? Prabhu Deva did so and got success in the early days, followed by disappointing results. The same happened with Remo D'Souza, Ahmed Khan, and now Bosco. Let's focus our efforts on what you're good at. Filmmaking isn't a child's job, even if you are making a film for children. I hope he gets his lessons now. Overall, a high-level crap that doesn't even match the low IQ expectations of primary school children.
RATING - 3/10*
Choreographer Bosco Martis makes his first foray into film direction with Rocket Gang by assembling a gang of Aditya Seal, Nikita Dutta, Jason Tham, Mokshda Jaikhani, Sahaj Singh Chahal, Tejas Varma, Aadvik Mongia, Jayshree Gogoi, Dipali Borkar and Siddhant Sharma along with many other dance and film superstars in cameo roles. Does Rocket Gang fly high with this much fuel? I would say NO! Except for money in the production, known faces in special cameos, and good dance numbers, it lacks everything that a feature film or a children-driven film needs. I am not asking for intellectually stimulating children-oriented films like "Jagriti" (1954) or "Taare Zameen Par" (2007). No, not at all. Even a time-pass entertainer would have worked, something like Chota Chetan or Bal Ganesha. But what the hell was this? This rocket takes you on a ride to hell, and let me warn you against entering it even with your kids.
Rocket Gang is about a group of five friends who are struggling to achieve their life goals and personal wishes. They go on a trip and visit a closed bungalow, where five children come to serve them. After a while of teasing the kids' gang, they realise that those 5 kids are dead and that they have been living with their ghosts all this time. The kids ask them to complete their last wish: to perform at the finale of a dance reality show. Although hesitant at first, those five agree with the kids and then sets the dance floor on fire with their moves. Not knowing even the ABCD of dancing, the five become professional dancers by allowing the souls of the kids into their bodies, but will that create a difference between them and their loved ones? Rocket Gang has a few more dramatic conflicts to follow that can't be revealed just now.
Firstly, it's a terribly written script. Bosco Martis should have acknowledged the fact that today's kids are not that foolish. They watch intricate films of Marvel, DC and Anime these days. They have become acquainted with the foreign cinema, and here you are selling them our 1950s trash under the name of "horror-dance-comedy." Seriously? This writing is childish, even for the children who are supposed to enjoy it, forget the adults. Critics are adults, so of course they are entitled to thrash this film, but I believe that if a kid could write a review, even he would have slammed it in his own way. What a terrible set of writing and an even worse screenplay! The first half of the film will force you to leave the auditorium even before the intermission block arrives. Then, the second half is even more annoying and illogical, but a few dance performances and emotional moments keep you from leaving the show halfway.
Performance-wise, were there any? I mean, the kids seemed to have been performing naturally well, and the known actors were behaving cluelessly. I'm not sure if I should blame the director for giving them such scenes or the actors for performing them. Aditya Seal has never gotten so cheap even in his struggling days. Nikita Dutta looks gorgeous, but if that is available on her Instagram page too, then why do you have to tolerate her performance here for that? Jason Tham, Mokshda Jaikhani, and Sahaj Singh Chahal were probably working on a low-level daily soap. But the kids-Tejas Varma, Aadvik Mongia, Jayshree Gogoi, Dipali Borkar, and Siddhant Sharma-have done fairly decent jobs here. Their dance moves are killer, but even some dialogues and expressions work on some occasions. Ranbir Kapoor, Nora Fatehi, Ceaser, Ahmed Khan, Farah Khan, and others are wasted in the cameo roles.
The best thing about Rocket Gang is the dance numbers. Yes, some are too artificial and creatively edited, which takes away the authenticity, but the viewing experience is decent. Scorpio and Rocket Gang both have some mind-blasting dance numbers. The music is pretty underwhelming here considering that it's a dance film, so it should have had hit compositions like the ABCD franchise had. However, that "Nachoge Toh Bachoge" is a good one. The cinematography, editing, and visual effects are cringeworthy. Nothing against Bosco Martis, but come on, man, filmmaking is not your forte. You are a choreographer, and a fantastic one; why direction? Prabhu Deva did so and got success in the early days, followed by disappointing results. The same happened with Remo D'Souza, Ahmed Khan, and now Bosco. Let's focus our efforts on what you're good at. Filmmaking isn't a child's job, even if you are making a film for children. I hope he gets his lessons now. Overall, a high-level crap that doesn't even match the low IQ expectations of primary school children.
RATING - 3/10*
