Housefull 5 Review {3.5/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Akshay Kumar, Abhishek A Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, Nargis Fakhri
Director: Tarun Mansukhani
Housefull 5 Movie Review Synopsis:
HOUSEFULL 5 is the story of a murder in a cruise. United Kingdom's seventh richest person, Ranjeet Dobriyal (Ranjeet) is all set to celebrate his 100th birthday in his luxurious ship. The head honchos of his company - CFO Maya (Chitrangda Singh), COO Bedi (Dino Morea), CMO Shiraz (Shreyas Talpade) and CEO and Ranjeet's son Dev (Fardeen Khan) - are in attendance, along with Captain Sameer (Nikitin Dheer), cruise officer Batuk Patel (Johny Lever) and Aakhri Pasta (Chunky Panday). Suddenly, Ranjeet passes away. The lawyer, Lucy (Soundarya Sharma), arrives and reads the will of Ranjeet. As per the will, Ranjeet has bequeathed all his wealth to his son from his first wife Shakuntala Devi (Archana Puran Singh), Jolly. Jolly is all set to arrive on the ship the next day. To the horrors of Dev and the rest of the team, three people arrive, all claiming to be Jolly - Jalabuddin aka Jolly (Riteish Deshmukh), Jalbhushan aka Jolly (Abhishek A Bachchan) and Julius aka Jolly (Akshay Kumar). They are joined by their respective spouses, Zara (Sonam Bajwa), Sashikala (Jacqueline Fernandez) and Kanchi (Nargis Fakhri). Dev decides to conduct a DNA test to find out who the real Jolly is. At night, all of them party. They consume a drink mixed with a mysterious powder and as a result, they forget what happened at night. At the same time, Dr Aman Joshi (Akashdeep Sabir) is murdered. All clues indicate that the murder is committed by one of the three Jolly's. From the UK mainland, two cops, Bhidu (Sanjay Dutt) and Baba (Jackie Shroff), arrive to investigate. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Housefull 5 Movie Story Review:
Sajid Nadiadwala's story has all the trappings of a blockbuster. Sajid Nadiadwala, Farhad Samji and Tarun Mansukhani's screenplay has a few rough edges but overall, it works. Kudos should go to the writers as there are so many characters and motives. Yet, they have managed to flesh them ably. Farhad Samji and Tarun Mansukhani's dialogues are a highlight. A few one-liners are below the belt and even slightly racist. But the frontbenchers and those who don't mind such humour will have no complaints.
Tarun Mansukhani's direction is supreme. His biggest achievement is that he has retained the essence of the HOUSEFULL franchise, though he comes from a different school of filmmaking. He has also succeeded in keeping the interest levels high from start to finish. Moreover, it's unpredictable. The identity of the killer in both versions will shock viewers.
Housefull 5 | Official Trailer | Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh | Sajid Nadiadwala
On the flipside, after a rocking first half, the interest level drops post-intermission. The jokes of the cops don't land properly. Certain scenes had no relevance to the overall plot and it made no sense to have them in the film. Also, the use of ChatGPT type stills for the very final scene could have been avoided.
HOUSEFULL 5 begins on a bloody note and it gives an impression that one has come to see a slasher film. The scene that follows sets the base. The use of a medley of the old HOUSEFULL songs will put a smile on the face of the viewers. The introduction of Jolly's is superb and also the track of the bird, Gucci. But the real fun begins when the protagonists wake up with no memory of the last night. The scene of Jalabuddin and Kanchi especially will bring the house down. Even the intermission point is too funny. Post-interval, the entry of Dagdu Hulgund (Nana Patekar) is massy. The ending is full of madness.
Housefull 5 Movie Review Performances:
Akshay Kumar, as expected, kills it with his humour and badass performance. Riteish Deshmukh comes next and is very entertaining. Abhishek A Bachchan plays a character that has quirk. Though he is fine, he gets overshadowed by the rest of the cast. Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, Nargis Fakhri, Soundarya Sharma and Chitrangda Singh are entertaining and add to the glamour quotient. Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff are lovely but are let down by the writing. Nana Patekar has a late entry. Yet, he leaves a mark. Fardeen Khan and Dino Morea lend able support. Shreyas Talpade is sadly wasted. Chunky Pandey, Ranjeet and Johny Lever are funny while Nikitin Dheer and Akashdeep Sabir are okay.
Housefull 5 movie music and other technical aspects:
Songs are well woven into the narrative. 'Laal Pari' is catchy while 'Dil E Nadaan' and 'Qayamat' are foot-tapping. 'The Phoogdi Dance' is based on an interesting idea but it doesn't come out as intended. Julis Packiam's background score is exhilarating.
Manikandan Velayutham's cinematography is cinematic. Parvez Shaikh's action is appropriate. Rohit Chaturvedi and Sanam Ratani's costumes are very glamourous. Rajat Poddarr, Rajnish Hedao and Iain Andrews' production design is grand. Do It Creative Ltd and NY VFXWaala's VFX is satisfactory. Rameshwar S Bhagat's editing could have been slicker in the second half.
Housefull 5 Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, HOUSEFULL 5 is a paisa-vasool killer comedy that works due to the performances of the lead cast, subject, humour quotient, unpredictable climax, franchise value and unabashed madness. If you are in the mood for mindless fun, this one hits the sweet spot.
