Right of the bat and this is one of the times that phrase is perfectly appropriate, Dhoni is a legend among men, I’m not a fan-boy nor some Dhoni-bhakt, but an avid sports fan and I can differentiate between the good, the bad, and the ugly in sports and Dhoni is definitely the good.
The movie isn’t as great as it could have been. Following its strong first half, the movie collapses dramatically in the second half. The story lacks that certain punch that keeps the audience engaged and it is during THIS half when you start to look at your watch and realize “This is a very long movie! ” As a slight additional negative to the movie are the weak special effects, where SSR’s face is forcefully transposed in places, which do take away a little from the movie. Though it’s a small flaw and can be overlooked.
A good sports biopic ideally should be balanced and the movie does score on all aspects. It’s a good encapsulation of Sports, Drama, Emotion, Action, Suspense and Thrill. The movie is more than just a biopic and it is more an ode to friendship, to standing tall in the face of adversity and struggle, about dealing with responsibility, making compromises and “playing each ball on its merit” and all this, is the first half. The second is sheer crap.
I’d recommend for some of you to wait till it comes on the television and save yourself some money.