Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

I spent eight years in Afghanistan (not military) and this movies shows the country side and the people. The only issue I have is the depiction of the Hazara.I have been to most of the places shown in the movie and they are factual.Great movie when viewed from the perspective of someone who has been there.

I saw this movie lately and must say that this was the best Hindi movie of 2006. It was superb direction and storyline which was right on track from beginning. John, Arshad and others have good roles. The storyline is practical and realistic. Director must had guts to show such film as it involves many international political agendas.. but they were plotted briefly and nicely along with the human being shades. I enjoyed this movie though i watched it late after 2006. All real messages were conveyed from film through simple truck (jeep) journey. It had good light comedy as well. Over all it was really nice movie and I am happy i saw it at last.John was good in his role in second half of the film.

I remember many, many years ago, someone said to me, "I don't think Andy's coming - do you want his place?" Before even the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, before the middle east became a constant war-ground, a number of my friends would follow the 'hippy trail' - overland to India through the strange and wonderful lands on the way like Afghanistan. I didn't go. I often dreamt of the strange civilisations of Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, lands of jinn, ancient cultures, strange customs. Today, visiting Afghanistan for a Westerner is almost unthinkable - travelling there overland probably suicidal. Understanding the country through anything but a western political lens almost impossible.How refreshing to see a film made there with care and attention to authenticity. A film that is half thriller, half comedy. And one that conveys some of the complex attitudes of a warring people for whom it is the only home they ever know or want.Indian director Kabir Khan, although with considerable security, is able to come and go much easier than any Westerner could. I can't imagine even Mel Gibson going out to Kabul to make a motion picture right now. Khan's actors are all cast according to their nationality.Two Indian rookie reporters make the strangest roadtrip ever - trying to get an exclusive story on the Taliban following 9/11. They meet up with an Afghan driver, a gorgeous American Reuters photographer, and a Pakistani 'Talib' who by turns holds them hostage or doesn't. They are waylaid by police, bandits and mujahedin as they make a treacherous trip across a vivid no-man's-land through breathtaking scenery to the border. On the way they discover much about the complexities underlying Afghanistan as well as about themselves and each other.Kabul Express is the first feature film to be shot extensively in Kabul after the official end of the Taliban's reign and demonstrates the director's love of the country and its people, as well as an incredible sense of humour that both accurately portrays and caricatures all the various races involved.The film seems to have no particular political agenda, and if the Taliban and Pakistan probably come off a bit worse than anybody else, the locals who reinstate fairly barbaric time-honoured sports and customs are not a picture of civilised thinking either. The different reactions of our travellers to a game involving tearing an animal to bits, or beating a couple of Talibs to death with bare hands, speak volumes.In one particularly moving scene, the extremely resourceful Taliban fighter is re-united with his daughter. I found the moment where she only lifts her burka (veil) secretly watching him depart particularly heart-wrenching.Kabul Express is a film made by an Indian company and not totally divorced of bias - there's no love lost between India and the Taliban over Kashmir, for instance - but as it's not the bias we are used to in the West it is nevertheless a invigorating look into a country that has become almost unintelligible. It may be uncomfortable or even disjointed viewing for anyone emotionally locked into a politicised and over-simplified picture of Afghanistan, but if you can put that aside for an hour or so it is truly an eye-opener.While not exactly a blockbuster, the film comes across as warm, genuine, exciting and displays a range of humour I've rarely come across. I am also indebted to several Indian members of the audience without whose laughter I would have missed several subtle and very Indian-type jokes.Kabul Express is a rare film experience and I strongly recommend it.

The goal of this movie is quite clear, its another attempt by a star to prove that he is an actor by doing a festival circuit movie. Whats not clear was whether or not he read the script before choosing this movie as his artsy vehicle.Also I would like to make it clear that I did not want to see this movie and was dragged to the theaters by the demands of my sister and Bhabhi.I find such artsy movie painfully simple to understand especially when the motives are so clear.I figured out the formula of the film by just looking at the posters, the all so standard one where are the actors are compressed into a row with the accolades (participation in this case) are displayed in wreaths on the top.So we have John the star who wants to be an actor, Arshard who is going to going to be the funny sidekick in the next billion movies, the pretty foreign thing who will play the typical American woman (as if all foreigners are British or American), the afghan (named Khyber wtf), and the Omar Shariefish looking actor who will probably be Pakistani.The moment the movie starts you feel that the filmmakers are trying a satire and starting with the humour....BUT THE TRAGEDY IS SO Predictable THAT YOU KNOW IT WITHIN MINUTES AND THE HUMOUR CONTINUES THROUGHOUT.John has a lesser lines than even Arshad who quite clearly steals the show, the acting is good especially from the Afghan who doesn't look awkward in his first movie.Whats both endearing and weird is the way bloodshed is tackled in the movie.For the battle-hardened Afghan death and destruction is a way of life and its eerie to see how casually they talk about it.But for Indian news reporters on their first war assignment to act like nothings happened is stupid.For a satire on war you never really feel the squirm that you are supposed to feel, the message if any is clearly lost in the sea of humour and predictability.You have a miserably failed attempt by the actors on the ideals of journalism which made the shortcoming of the entire effort even more glaring.The movie is bugged with plot holes and inconsistencies and is badly edited.The movie has one special moment though when the father meets his daughter but that about it, the movie makes a couple of attempts at special moments but fails.By and large the only parts where this movie succeeds is the humour and in this regards Arshard Warsi clearly steals the show, all his one liners are great and you are constantly smiling and laughing at them, brilliant ones are the conversations in the car on cricket and its after-effects, in fact for a small period this movie looked like it would rise above the ordinary, on the basis of the conversations between 3 parties that takes place in the car, BUT THE LARGE BORING AND HIGHLY PREDICTBLE PARTS RUIN THAT CHANCE.Cinematographically this movie is pretty sound some of the shot of Afghanistan are breath taking and shooting in the cramped interiors of a car is much more difficult than it looks.The soundtrack is ordinary and background score is forgettable.The editing is poor you can notice the breaks and the cut dialogs, a lot of stuff is left unexplained and unnecessary stuff left in.On the virtue of its inconsistency performance this movie will end up being strictly OK for all parties, albeit the people who like call their movies cinema and like them as tragic and boring as they come, the hardcore commercial lovers who are seeing this movie for John, the movie lovers who will see just about any movie etc etc.Overall this movie is strictly OK, I may have liked it more than other because I too have this habit of finding humour in the worst of situations like Arshad but others may find him a bit of a annoyance.The performance of this movie is exactly like the careers of Kapil Dev and Imran Khan (seeing the movie will help) who were mostly ordinary but showed flashes of brilliance, and had one big moment that defined their careers (the lifting of the cups).This movie is best watched in the matinée show at multiplex, paying full admission especially at night will guarantee disappointment.-s HIGHLY PREDICTABLE (even dialogs by less experienced movie goers), fails at everything else but humour, many inconsistencies, large boring parts, bad editing (very?).+/-s John Abraham (only a distraction ?),unanswered questions.+s great humour, good acting all around, good cinematography.total 6/10 (factoring in that I expected less(added points) and the fact that I am biased towards seeing humour in everything (reduced points))