Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta in Soldier Click for bigger pic!

Yes, Abbas-Mustan have done it at last!. They have proved that even talent has its limitations. They have directed, in all probability, the most painstakingly made and painfully viewed movie of the year. They have proved that if they can enthrall the audiences with a Baazigar, they can frustrate and torture equally well with Soldier.

They say well begun is half done...And Abbas-Mustan's latest offering is off to a bad start. For one, the title is not apt, but that dawns on you only after the film's very end.

The story drags like this, err, I mean, goes like this.

An army general, or was it colonel, finds his comrades smuggling Indian Army ammunition. A fight on the picturesque sand dunes of Rajasthan ensues and yes, since it is the beginning of the movie the good man gets killed by the evil trio of Dalip Tahil, Sharad Saxena aka Raunak Singh of Ghulam and the husky-voiced Suresh Oberoi, so that the son can seek revenge in the 21st reel. There is also Salim Ghouse, trusted driver of the patriot army officer (Pankaj Dheer).

Two decades later, we see Bobby Deol make an impressive entry as Ashish Vidyarthi's contract killer, who in turn was a trusted friend of Pankaj Dheer. The den in which Bobby makes his entry, is reminiscent of Sly Stallone's in The Specialist. Btw, for some unknown reason Deol and Vidyarthi communicate throughout the movie by fax.

As the movie moves on the plot gets more and more confusing. You lose track of the characters as well as who's doing what. So what one ends up doing is appreciating the breath-taking locales. Bobby suddenly finds himself Down Under and hops around in search of Preity Zinta, daughter of Suresh Oberoi who has become an international arms dealer based in Australia.