Movie Review: A WEDNESDAY (2008)

There’s a variety of suspense filled terrorist plotlines in films. Very few of them tread a different path when it comes to that kind of drama. However, A WEDNESDAY decides to go completely off the beaten path and forces a new twist on the genre.

Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

The Police Commissioner of Mumbai gets a mysterious phone call from a man threatening to blow up 5 different points of the city, unless his demands are met. Pretty straight forward so far. What ensues is a mad cap banding together of all the Police force, in the typical rallying and barking orders kind of thing that usually takes place.

Majority of A WEDNESDAY plays out like the typical urban terrorist, suspense thriller. It’s enjoyable as hell to watch as the pacing and the performances are bang on to keep one on the edge of their seat to get to the conclusion.

Comissioner & Cop… planning…

Naseeruddin Shah is the evil baddy, threatening to destroy the lives of hundreds of innocents until his terrorist buddies have been released from prison. The good guys start rallying to make sure they can catch up, while playing along to his demands in the meantime.

look at him, hatching his evil schemes…

The surprise in the entire film comes near the end, which is a major twist, so I can’t even discuss it without a Spoiler warning.

You’ve been warned.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Naseeruddin Shah isn’t the bad guy… AT ALL!! There’s this awesome new twist on this genre that has Shah’s character as being an every day common man, trying to rid the world of terrorist scum, but trying to kill them himself. He does this by pretending to be a Terrorist himself, so that the Police hands over those other, actual evil men to him, so he can blow ‘em up!

There’s his great exchange between two legendary actors such as Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher’s Police Commissioner character… that reveals how frustrated the every man has become by this constant threat of Terrorism in India. The parallels drawn between Shah’s characters and actual Terrorists are amazing.

The entire monologue of Naseeruddin Shah gives us a unique and original storyline where there is no Terrorist threat, just an everyday man’s frustration at being victimized constantly, and taking matters into his own hands.

PURE FUCKING AWESOME!!

*END SPOILER*

The cast of A WEDNESDAY isn’t massive. The two leading men obviously stand out as being legends in their fields. Anupam Kher as the confident Commissioner is awesome as always. I would say that Naseeruddin Shah as the Terrorist is even better, seemingly mild manners and helpless at first, however showing his prowess and cunning as the film continues. Jimmy Shergill in an unusually violent portrayal of a loose cannon Cop is refreshing.

Over all A WEDNESDAY is a great watch, as it not only fucks with the formulaic thriller films, but also provides a unique viewpoint to the whole urban Terrorism topic.