Rating: Summary: the best movie ever! Review: i absolutly LOVED this movie, it's a must see!
Rating: Summary: Asoka Review: A great film that speaks to the power of human redemption. Asoka, the main character, goes from being a warrior prince to an angry despot to finally discovering the magical transformance that can occur when one discover's their love for all of humanity. This is a movie that would be most appropriate for the present time in which our country wants to wage war on a nation (Iraq) that has done nothing to us. Asoka is a subject that should be discussed in all of our public schools and universities.
Rating: Summary: Violence, love, peace, war, armies and royal families. Review: A 150 minutes of humor, battles, blood covered swords and pretty females dancing. Musical numbers, lovely landscapes, strong themes about peace, war, good and evil. Following the development of Asoka from big mouth, spoiled, Prince to married man, then from warlord to man of peace is amazing and really pulls you into the film. Nice extras, including a couple of behind the scenes featurettes.
Rating: Summary: Does the king really shine? Review: Asoka really was reviewed as a magnificent portrayal, but I have to disagree. Shahrukh's acting was good, but his producting and directing skills alongside Juhi Chawla is hardly eyecatching. I'd have to say Kareena Kapoor delivered the best performance, especially with the female fight scene, even though she did end up being like the Indian Britney Spears, by taking off her clothes. It isn't shown, but the film shows a lot of violent and sexual themes, amidst the chaotic action. The music is excellent though, except for the annoying "Aa Tayar Hoja". I wouldn't waste my money on this, it really isn't too great at all.
Rating: Summary: Put down the sword and be enlightened! Review: -- the phrase and the story of King Asoka (A1yu4Wang2) are found in classic Buddhist teachings familiar in many cultures (e.g., Chinese and Japanese) with Buddhism influence besides India. I watched the DVD with great anticipation and mostly satisfied. It has a true epic feel with exiled prince/princess, love, conspiracy, revenge, cruelty, great battles with elephants and... enlightment. It's like a biblical tale, albeit more subtle and less pedantic :) The acting and cinematography are impressive but the bollywood music and dance does distract from the story -- just imagine britney spear wearing quasi-period clothing breaks out dance numbers in contemporary beats from time to time in a remake of Ben Hur :). The DVD (First Look) is in widescreen anamorphic video and DD 5.1 sound, BTW, as it's not mentioned. But the video quality is considerable worse (much more blurry with more interlace artifacts) than Lagaan, another recent Hindi film, which is longer than Asoka. Recommended.
Rating: Summary: You want this movie. Review: Asoka is like gladiator, but with morals, awesome indian dance sequences, and the hottest girl in the world. you will be crying like you did for titanic (yes, that means you toughguy). True to Buddhist ideals, this is an epic and moving story. You need to see it.
Rating: Summary: Spectacular Review: I was pleasantly surprised when I watched this movie. It has excellent action sequences and a great storyline. This movie is about the great emporer Asoka who leaves his throne to spread Buddhism throughout India and the world. Historically, some of the movie is accurate. In the beginning and the end of the movie, they specify which parts of the movie were reality and they let us know on the cover and during the beginning of the movie that some of the movie is dramatized. The songs for this movie are worth listening to. The acting of ShahRukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor is amazing, both of them fit their roles perfectly. If you are tired of of Hindi movies with repetive story lines, you should definitely watch this movie!
Rating: Summary: Asoka, such a great film...minus Bollywood Review: I have been so very impressed and touched by this film. I only wish for a version that would enable me to turn off the "Bollywood" music scenes. The "music video" quality of these inserts is very silly and trite to western eyes. This film has geat quality, excellent casting, and an important message. It could have succeeded as a major western release without the musical vignettes. I do love this film and will seek a way to edit it myself for my own use.
Rating: Summary: Melodramatic and silly music videos, but I liked it. Review: The overall story line was great - I won't ruin it for you. There are many poignant moments in the film. I especially liked the ongoing story between Prince Arya (a little boy) and Prince Asoka, as well as the romance between Asoka and Kaurwaki. Kaurwaki was a great character - feminine, beautiful and strong. For me, her character was what really made the movie worth watching. The description on the box might make you think that the action is very good - it's not. Throughout most of the film, the sword fighting was really, really bad, comparable to the Lee Van Cleef Ninja movies. The final battles were actually pretty decent though. The music videos seemed almost totally out of place and peripherally related to the film. When the first one hit, I had to rewind to see where did THAT come from? I fast forwarded through the rest of them. The cinematography was excellent, although the cameras did not seem to have wide angles to capture the beauty of the landscape. Parts of the tape were lower quality, but this was not very noticable. All in all, the movie has a great story line. That's why even though it has shortcomings, I still recommend it.
Rating: Summary: Did I watch the same movie as all of you? Review: What's with all the glowing reviews here? Is this the movie with Kareena and ShahRukh Khan and the bad sword fighting and horrible acting and a rerun of all the song numbers you've ever seen in every other Hindi movie. I suppose we can just write off all of these negative elements by saying it should just be enjoyed as a typical, horrible masala movie. Yes, since it is a Bollywood movie, we expect it to be totally void of any substance or original thought. Yes, if you go into this movie thinking, "I want to see some really bad acting and bad lip-synching and bad plot line for 3 hours because that's what masala movies are all about and that is why I love Bollywood so much", then you will enjoy this movie.
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