Direction, Story and Screenplay by: Kabeer Kaushik
Starring: Sonu Sood, Naseeruddin Shah, Neha Dhupia, Vinay Pathak
Rating: **
Maximum could have been an engaging cop thriller but it is not. Most of the movie is boring and slow and only the end becomes interesting. Yet, it is a sad and depressing movie you do not want to spend your money on.
Image: Sonu Sood from a Maximum movie still | Courtesy: Kabeer Kaushik.
The movie exposes the nexus between the underworld, politicians, construction companies, cops, encounter specialists, and the media. Sometimes there are too many characters, which make it a tad confusing. The movie revolves around encounter specialist rivals played by Sonu Sood and Naseeruddin Shah. Vinay Pathak plays a politician who is friends with Sonu's character. Neha Dhupia plays his wife. Amit Sadh plays a journalist who narrates the story of the film. Arya Babber is part of a construction company.
Let’s talk about the good things first, Sonu Sood is perfectly cast in the role of a tough cop and he looks incredibly fit and smart. Naseeruddin Shah has little screen time but makes an impression. Sonu holds his own opposite him. Vinay Pathak gets into the skin of his character. Neha Dhupia is pleasant in the role of a wife. Amit Sadh has no energy and has a single expression face throughout the movie. The item song by Hazel Keech is catchy and infuses some life into the movie. The supporting cast does a good job too.
Though, what doesn’t work for Maximum is that it should have been a quick-paced cop thriller but it is slow and lacklustre. The characters hardly connect. The background score is repetitive and makes no impact. The scenes also with mobiles ringing and people being shot offer nothing new. This entire connection has been shown many times before and this film offers nothing new. One feels like walking out post interval because the movie doesn't hold your interest. Or you keep checking the time. There is not much to remember when you walk out. The twist in the end is the saving grace of the movie, if we can call it that. Maximum does not deserve your time or money. For the movie review I am going with 2 out of five stars.
