As Intense & Thrilling As It Is Misguided & Exploitative

Rating: Null/10 (20 June 2019)

As intense & thrilling as it is misguided & exploitative, Hotel Mumbai dramatises the events of 2008 Mumbai terror attack that crippled India's financial capital & left over hundreds of people dead in its wake before culminating at the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel after a 4-day siege. The film captures the horrors of 26/11 with unflinching brutality however a few characters it opts to foreground is rather problematic.
Touted as a true story of humanity & heroism, Hotel Mumbai recounts the siege of the famed Taj Hotel by a group of terrorists in Mumbai, India that occurred on 26 November 2008. The plot focuses on the staff members who perform above & beyond the call of duty by making unthinkable sacrifices to keep their guests safe until help arrives, and also concerns a desperate couple who take grave measures to protect their newborn child.
Co-written & directed by Anthony Maras in what's his directorial debut, it's a good start to his filmmaking journey as the film retains its tense atmosphere from start to finish, and is a competently crafted thriller. But his inexperience is also why the graphic violence seems excessive & repetitive as if existing only for shock value, in addition to his struggle with what characters to keep at the forefront, for so many of them & their subplots were unnecessary.
The first act is where Hotel Mumbai is at its best & most effective. The production design team's recreation of the interior of Taj Palace is impressive to say the least. Editing only worsens as plot progresses. Pacing also falters in the middle portion. Performances from most are serviceable at best, with Dev Patel delivering better input than the rest. And also worthy of mention is the background score that ably heightens the film's grim mood & foreboding aura with its brooding tracks.
On an overall scale, Hotel Mumbai does get a few things right, and is a well-made example of its genre but for those who witnessed this horrifying tragedy from up close, it is only going to open old wounds. It never for once feels like a tribute to the staff who risked their own lives to protect their guests and unfolds more like a fictional thriller with heavy body counts made purely for entertainment purposes which still would've been fine if it was by all means fictional. But it's not. I can see why some may love it but I'm definitely not one of them.