Romeo Akbar Walter - RAW Movie Review

The movie RAW: Romeo Akbar Walter is based on the true incidents that happened during the Indo-Pak war in 1971. ‘RAW’ is a tribute to all those secret agents who have contributed immensely for our country's security without caring about their lives. It is the story of ‘Romeo’ (John Abraham) who is sent to Pak-occupied Kashmir as an agent of ‘RAW’ to crack some essential information just before the initiation of the Indo-Pak war.

Romeo aspires to join the Indian Army right from his childhood days. However, after the death of his father (who is an ex-army officer), Romeo’s mother does not allow him to join Indian Army. The manner in which Romeo is chosen for an important military operation revolving around the Bangladesh Liberation movement seems pretty unrealistic. Nevertheless, the story idea of the film is genuinely good.

The Indian audience have already witnessed ‘Raazi’ last year which dealt with a similar concept. Both the movies share an uncanny resemblance; however, the treatment of the story in both the films is ways apart. ‘Raazi’ appeared to be much more realistic than ‘RAW’.

The film ‘RAW’ suffers from an average screenplay and poor depiction of the story. Moreover, the movie lacks adequate twists that usually supplement the menu of spy thrillers. Consequently, the movie appears to fall flat on several occasions just like the expressions of John Abraham.

We wish Robbie Grewal (director of the film) had paid more attention to these areas.

The film also failed to capitalise on the nationalist sentiments akin to movies like 'Uri-The Surgical Strike’ and ‘Manikarnika - The Queen of Jhansi’. The dialogues in the film are lackluster and mediocre. You can’t show secret agents talking about highly secret operation details in public places and expect the audience to gulp it down with ease. Such fundamental errors can’t go unnoticed.

The first half of the film is a tad too lengthy and boring in parts too. The first major twist of the film comes just before the interval. The second half of the movie is comparatively better than the first half. Although the climax of the movie is quite good, the movie fails to live up to its reputation.

The actors of this film did a decent job. John Abraham tried really hard to do justice to his role as an undercover secret agent. The lack of expressions (which is commonly seen with John Abraham) somehow worked in his favor for this role. John Abraham is certainly the best choice for these kinds of roles.

Jackie Shroff was impressive as the chief of ‘RAW’ (Research and Analysis Wing). Mouni Roy still has a long way to go in Bollywood. One of the highlights of the movie is the emotional bond between the widow mother and her son. Alka Amin, who has played the role of Romeo’s mother, is simply brilliantly.

The cinematography of ‘RAW’ is praiseworthy. The chase sequences have been captured brilliantly. The color tone used to portray the era of 1971 has been quite good. The songs of the movie are average, and you might not even remember anyone of those after leaving the hall. Thanks to the climax you leave the hall with a good message.

Our Verdict:

The movie ‘RAW’ is an average film. There had been huge expectations from the movie ‘RAW’ but it fails to connect emotionally with the audience. You can skip watching this movie in the theater and wait for a world television premiere; however, if you are a hardcore John Abraham fan then the ball is in your court.

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Our Rating: 2.5/5.0

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Movie: #RAW #RomeoAkbarWalter

Director: #RobbieGrewal

Writers: #RobbieGrewal , #IshraqShah (additional dialogue)

Stars: #JohnAbraham, #MouniRoy, #JackieShroff, #AlkaAmin

Genres: #Action | #Drama | #Thriller

Release Date: 5th April 2019

Run-time: 2:21 Hrs