High Jack movie review: This flight was better aborted
High Jack movie review: A messy narrative and over-done, cliched, and oft-judgemental jokes stop the film from becoming even a decent entertainer, leave alone a charming satire.
High Jack
Director: Akash Khuranna
Cast: Sumeet Vyas, Mantra, Kumud Mishra,
Rating: 1.5/5
Cinema can be fun when it has ‘losers’ as its focus – the subjects offer a great set-up for satire. Now, add the ‘stoner’ bit to this comedy and you have a mad-caper ready for release.
High Jack, unfortunately, is not that film. It has all the ingredients but fails to offer a delicious result. A group of amateurs attempt to hijack a plane, a failed DJ is trying to smuggle drugs, a middle-aged couple who has the hots but for other people and a teenager whose superpower seems to be curiosity – it is a brilliant ensemble but one that fails to come together.
Instead, High Jack is confused and judgmental, marred by sexist jokes and clichéd storytelling.
DJ Rakesh aka Rock-esh (Sumeet Vyas) wants to make it big as a DJ but his father would rather have him become a doctor. He meets the wannabe hijackers on his flight from Goa to Delhi and mistakes them for the cops. Afraid he might be arrested with a stash of drugs that he has been forced to smuggle, Rock-esh decides to consume them and gets high. He also makes sure others on the flight get high too. As expected, the rest of the flight – and the film – is a messy ride where everyone is on their own trip.
The scriptwriter has tried his best to incorporate ‘intelligent’ take on topical issues like the definition of patriotism, the usage of the term ‘azadi’ and the like. Only the entire narrative needed to be more cohesive to keep it all together and make it seem meaningful.
Sumeet, who is an online sensation thanks to the web series Roommates, is in his own zone - he plays the self-conscious, middle-class young man who has ambitions that are often tied down by expectations of parents. He makes effort to keep things funny and exciting but is unable to move beyond the clumsy narrative.
Mantra, who plays the leader of the group of hijackers, is perhaps the best pick among the lot in this film. He keeps his tone business like and maintains a no-nonsense air about him, even as his fellow hijackers start unraveling.
Kumud Mishra, an otherwise charming actor, seems to be wasting away his talent in a film that doesn’t offer him much except a few cliched lines about nationalism, patriotism and freedom.
The film remains half baked and chaos take away the fun element. The tone-deaf jokes on transgenders, women and the elderly leave us disgusted. Since when is bad taste funny?
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