Knock Out Movie Reviews

Will the barrel of a gun trigger change or will conscience call for it: That is the question that confronts the viewer as he sits through the gritty encounter between the would-be assassin (Sanjay Dutt) and the potential victim (Irrfan Khan). The gun-toting anonymous vigilante seems to have just one motive: He wants the dubious investment banker to confess and come clean about all his crimes and misdemeanors that have cost the nation dearly.

It may be a rip off but it isn’t bad, is timely and contextualized to suit India. Sanjay Dutt and Irrfan Khan starrer Knock Out has been directed by Mani Shankar and produced by Sohail Maklai. The film is said to be made at a budget of about 300 million rupees. What you can expect from this film is an engaging and though provoking experience. And for those of you, that haven’t watched Phone Booth, the movie will be novel and different.

Several factors compel you to ponder over your decision whether or not to watch KNOCK OUT...There's talk that KNOCK OUT is a blatant copy of PHONE BOOTH. If you've watched the original, why watch its clone? You rush to a nearby cineplex only if the film excites you and in this case, the buzz is missing. Sanjay Dutt - the lead actor - hasn't been a part of a worthy film, post MUNNABHAI. That automatically robs the sheen from the film.

Knock out is a complete rip off of Phone Booth. Like most Bollywood copies, Knock out shamelessly steals the main idea, then adds its own bunch of brainwaves, ending up with a strange pastiche. If you have seen Phone Booth, then you know that the entire film is centered around a man trapped in a phone booth by a deadly sniper on a busy street corner. Well, I have never seen any phone booth like this in India yet, so the basic premise of the film is immediately off.

By no means is Knock Out original, except perhaps for the message it conveys. Mani Shankar does a mix of Phone Booth, A Wednesday and the formula behind his previous films to create this one. It works to a point but a film of this genre needs fine detailing. Any questions left unanswered and the impact is lost. Tony Khosla aka Bachchu (Irrfan) plays an investment banker and wheeler-dealer for a politician Bapuji (Grover). A sniper (Sanjay Dutt)

The phone booth was both an important instrument for communication, and a popular Joel Schumacher film in the early 2000s. Much in the world has changed since. But for plagiarism in Bollywood! Knock Out is a Hollywood knock-off. And that’s the least of its sins. A smartly suited investment banker (Irrfan Khan; poor guy, has to scope the West for more original work: The Namesake, Slumdog Millionaire, A Mighty Heart…) is stuck to a PCO phone here.

In 'Knock Out', director Mani Shankar's brain-dead, blatant rip-off of the American thriller 'Phone Booth', Irrfan Khan stars as Bachchu, a sleazy investment banker who helps transfer illegal money for corrupt politicians. He's trapped in a phone booth on a busy Mumbai street by a sniper who threatens to shoot if he steps out. Sanjay Dutt plays that patriot who wants Bachchu to confess his crimes before a crowd that has gathered around to watch the tamasha

What do you think a film will be remembered for when it has a screeching reporter who wears a tube dress and 5-inch stilettos on field duty; an unknown deshbhakt who will do anything to get the black money stashed away in Swiss bank accounts by crooked politicians, and a shameless investment banker and womaniser who lends a helping hand to these politicians? Nothing. Sound entirely uninteresting, right? That’s what Knock Out does

After debuting with a good film like 16 December, director Mani Shankar could not create the same impact with the films that followed -- Rudraksh, Tango Charlie and Mukhbir. They were, mildly put, disasters. Sadly, his new film Knock Out also fails to impress. The primary reason is that it is a copy of the Colin Farrell film Phone Booth, which was a terrific thriller. And secondly, the film's climax was not only unrealistic but also comical!

An old joke about Indian politicians goes that a corrupt politician isn’t one who takes bribes. He is one who takes bribes and still doesn’t get the work done. After watching Knock Out, I thought we should apply this to filmmakers also: so a mediocre filmmaker isn’t one who steals blatantly. He is one who steals blatantly and still can’t come up with a half decent film. In Knock Out, writer-director Mani Shankar takes the 2003 thriller Phone Booth

Knock Out is a well-made thriller but it won’t do much at the box-office as it has limited appeal. Sanjay Dutt u...