Sincere, But Never Power-Packed!

Rating: 5/10 (22 January 2016)

Based on a courageous true-story, 'Airlift sadly isn't half as powerful as its story actually is. Director Raja Krishna Menon delivers a sincere tale, but the Writing lacks the sharpness & the urgency a film like this strongly needs. It only appeals in parts, that's it!
'Airlift' Synopsis: Ranjit Katyal (Akshay Kumar), a Kuwait-based businessman, carries out a biggest civil operation of evacuation of Indians based in Kuwait during the Iraq-Kuwait war carried out during the reign of Iraqi emperor Saddam Hussein.
'Airlift' is about a man's struggle to protect his people in the middle of a war-zone. But, for some odd reason, there is barely any tension in the film. Raja Krishna Menon, Suresh Nair, Rahul Nangia & Ritesh Shah's Screenplay is a mixed bag. It begins superbly, but 30-minutes into the film, the pace drops. I wasn't tensed or aghast by the way the war erupts nor was I particularly rooting for the Protagonist in his mission. And its the Writing to blame. Also, The first-hour moves on a slow-pace & the story doesn't move forward. The second-hour picks up momentum & fares better in comparison. But overall, 'Airlift' never soars! The Writing needed to be stronger & more urgent.
Raja Krishna Menon's Direction is decent. Cinematography is gritty & nicely mounted. Editing is mostly crisp, although the first-hour is slow-paced! Art & Costume Design are average. Action-Sequences are raw & rustic. Background Score is top-class.
Performance-Wise: Akshay Kumar delivers a committed performance, enacting the heroic protagonist with honesty. Its his performance that acts as a major plus point to this otherwise ordinary film. Nimrat Kaur is okay. Purab Kohli is very good. Kumud Mishra is terrific, as always. Inaamulhaq & Prakash Belawadi ham it up in supporting roles.
On the whole, 'Airlift' works in parts. A great opportunity, lost!