So Overblown

Rating: 5/10 (7 June 2009)

After all of the hype and awards for Slumdog Millionaire, I expected more. The film is really quite average in every way. It has three things going for it: 1) Freida Pinto is drop-dead gorgeous, 2) the ending 'music video' at the train station is fun and invigorating, and 3) Freida Pinto is drop-dead gorgeous. That's about it.
From beginning to end, the story zig-zags around like a snake in a traffic jam. Sensible dialog is lacking much of the time, character development seems like an afterthought, and the film is often ploddingly slow and boring.
The plight of the poor in Mumbai is a topic worth exploring, but Slumdog does a poor job of it. There is little depth to the storyline, aside from the outhouse scene. I have to admit -- that looked pretty deep to me!