#664 – Bombhaat – The Power of Time (2020)

Bombhaat – The Power of Time (2020)

Film review #663

Director: Raghavendra Varma

SYNOPSIS: Ever since he was born, Vicky has caused everyone around him to experience bad luck. Now a student in robotics engineering, he becomes wrapped up in a malicious plot involving his Professor friend, his daughter, and his own girlfriend…

THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Bombhaat – The Power of Time is a 2020 Indian sci-fi film. Vicky is a robotics engineering student who has been cursed with bad luck ever since he was born, to the point that his parents don’t want him in the house when something important is happening. While he has troubles with his girlfriend, a mad scientist is out to get his Godfather for some sort of evil scheme, dragging Vicky into a whole host of shenanigans. Mixing romance, comedy and science-fiction, Bombhaat is a mish-mash of ingredients that are far too diluted to stand on their own or as a credible story. The romance has the depth of a puddle, the comedy is incredibly bland and never actually stretches to make an actual joke, and the science-fiction is just scraps of different things thrown together, most notably a villain who is a complete cartoon character, and just doesn’t fit anything else in the film. It somewhat feels like the filmmakers took inspiration from Jim Carrey’s portrayal of Dr. Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog, but that’s a completely different film with a completely different target audience. I think this film is for young adults, but the comedy is just so bland and timid it lacks any kind of impact.

Vicky’s relationship with his Godfather, the scientist who the villain wants to steal his inventions from, definitely tries to emulate a Marty/Doc Brown dynamic from Back to the Future, but has no chance to develop anything meaningful. By the time the film gets to it’s actual main plot point concerning the Professor’s android daughter that the mad scientist wants to kidnap and sell to military contractors, too much time has passed to rescue the film. There’s little moments of flair and style, but nothing overarching, just bits and pieces that always feel out of place. There’s a few neat action scenes, but nothing special. Overall I just felt a general sense of boredom watching this film: it really fails to inspire in anyway. The story structure is all over the place, the characters are weak and no coherent style or direction means nothing really sticks.