To Strike

After watching the theatrical trailer of Waar a month or so ago, I was extremely excited about watching this big budget, action movie. Its not everyday that a slick looking film comes out of Pakistan.

However, after sitting through the nearly 140 minute film, I felt Proud and Don't really expected that it will be a Blockbuster and record broker Movie of Era and A solid stand to our Country and Film Industry as well.

The cinematography is Marvelous, with some Extra ordinary action sequences which was never been scened before in our Films.

It will take Revolution to Pakistani cinema after a long time. The signs are positive, but there is still a long way to go.

In my submission, I have not seen a Pakistani film before, but as the fame of Waar had reached my country as well, I decided to watch it, for another approach on terrorism matters (I have learned to avoid US films on the said topic). In spite of some clichés and Hollywood action influences (including Tarantino), I find Waar giftedly created and performed: directing, photography, music background and leading performances were all up to scratch, flashbacks were not annoying and were logical part of the script, religion did not dominate and was expressed in a decent manner, the apparently huge budget helped to create ungarbled thrill, etc.

The "problem" for me was to distinguish some actors at times (especially in dark/night environments), as well as to assess reliability-reality of the plot. Therefore, I followed the film as a distant outsider, enjoying the creation and obtaining additional information of this large and beautiful country.

This is my first ever movie review so if there are some mistakes then i would try to do better in the future review. for me the movie is a 10/10. Waar was the most anticipated movie for a lot of reasons, for example the amazing cinema-tics shown in the trailer , the dialogue's with patriotism in them , a strong cast , and a young and talented director. For me it was the same like every other Pakistani movie freak and i had to watch it the day it got released. As expected the movie met my expectations and even surpassed them at times. It was a complete action packed entertainment flick with minor flaws, The direction and editing for instance was superb and Bilal Lashari showed the audience that he is one of the best in Pakistan and for me , even better than any Indian director at present. The editors have done a great job. The score in the movie deserves a standing ovation because it was brilliant . The cast did exceptionally well and Shan,Ayesha,Shamoon and Hamza were simply outstanding. The one thing that is worth mentioning is the patriotism in the movie. The downside of the movie was it's story , it was soft gripped and its would have been a perfect one if the story was better , the anti India thing wasn't the thing i was worried about but the sudden change of the feeling between scenes and the action sequences suddenly changing to drama scenes made it some what off balanced. The thing that got me glued to the chair was the acting , direction , the music and the beautiful cinematic experience of the movie. In the end i want to say that nobody is perfect there were some small flaws in the movie but over all it was Amazing and at times it made me wonder, if it was seriously a Pakistani movie , A job well done by Bilal Lashari and i hope that he would carry on his great work. and Shan should sign only good movies cause his talent has been wasted for years.

After years and years of wait, a recursive cycle of the typical local movies showing the badmaashs and gandasas depicting a shallow culture, its almost impossible for us to think that something else can be created. But then comes these new crop trying to defy the conventional wisdom and creating something with heart and soul.

year is 2013 and there is a list of movies starting with Mein hoon Shahid Afrdid, then Oscar selection from Pakistan Zinda Bhaag and now Waar. I must say things are not same.

Waar (to Strike) is the story of Pakistan and its people. Telling the events during the ongoing war on terror. Its the story of courage, loss and harsh realities that haunts all the Pakistanis day and night. Capturing the events based on real events is never easy but Director Bilal Lashari needs bravo marks here for finding the right balance of story by telling events in an authentic way but with simplicity.

Camera work is great (comparing to our own standards rather than the highs sets by masters from around the world).

Acting is good, shan (Major Mujtaba) is good so as Hamza Ali Abbasi as Ehtesham.

On the way back from the cinema.. feeling proud and hopeful with the Pakistani Cinema taking its shape. Bilal Lashari has done tremendous job by producing this great movie Waar, which has every thing to keep the viewer glued. Great visuals, excellent acting and spectacular action makes "Waar" a must watch.

From beginning to an end its a complete entertainment. The background scores and sound effects are great. For me the movie which takes applause, laughter and screams is the movie for masses and Waar got it all. My experience in Cinema watching the movie was great.

Had it been a better video quality would make Waar fairly comparable to any Hollywood movie.