'Bruce Lee - The Fighter' review: Ram Charan's out and out commercial potboiler is a fun watch

Film: Bruce Lee - The Fighter

Director: Srinu Vaitla

Starring: Ram Charan, Rakul Preet Singh, Kriti Kharbanda, Arun Vijay, Sampath, Brahmanandam

Rating: ***

What it's about:
The movie starts off with showing how a brother and sister are brought up on in a middle-class home. The father wants the son Karthik (Ram Charan) to be an IAS officer. So he plies him with gifts and wants to enrol  him in a school towards this goal. But the daughter wants to be an IAS officer. So the brother flunks school to allow his sister (Kriti Kharbanda) to fulfill her ambition.

Karthik grows up to be a stunt man in films (his nickname is Bruce Lee and he even has a tattoo) and during an incident where he appears in a cop uniform, he meets Rakul Preet Singh. Rakul believes he's a real cop and the two end up in situations where Ram Charan ends up catching bad guys from Arun Vijay's gang. Meanwhile, his father's boss, Jayaraj (Sampath), meets the family as his son wants to marry Kriti. Things start going wrong then. Rakul's dad is an IB commissioner and he gets Ram Charan involved in a mission. What is the mission? Who are the people involved in Arun Vijay's group? How are Sampath and Arun Vijay connected? How does Bruce Lee aka Karthik help catch the bad guys? And does he actually have a double role in the film?

What's hot:
Director Srinu Vaitla has ensured that Ram Charan looks good and exhibits his fighting and dancing prowess to the hilt. Ram Charan is a delight to watch when he dances and has performed well as Bruce Lee. There has been a lot of effort put into the action scenes in the film and it shows in the end result. Rakul Preet Singh is more than a glam doll in the film which is a positive. It's good to see Arun Vijay as the villain in this film, a role he seems to have mastered post 'Yennai Arindhal'. However, there is a danger he might get typecast post-Bruce Lee.

The movie is quite breezy to watch and has plenty of action and comedy to keep you engaged. The visuals are also a treat. Thaman's BGM for the movie is apt and two of the numbers in the film  - title song and 'Leh chalo' - are a must mention. They are peppy and have been well-shot. The cinematography in the movie is a major plus.

What's not:
The story by Srinu Vaitla is not new or exceptional. The movie gets trying to watch at times because the twists and turns are a little too many. The number of characters in the movie are also too many to keep track of. Some of them just come for a scene or two and don't make any impact. In terms of running time, the movie can be trimmed down as some scenes are a little long-drawn especially in the second half.

What to do:
If you are a Ram Charan fan and also want to catch Megastar Chiranjeevi after years, then Bruce Lee is it.