I am actually surprised to see that the film has such a low rating. This film is not as bad as I expected it to be. Agreed it is cheesy at times, melodramatic and illogical at places but the film packs some wonderful action scenes, excellent production values, lush locales and some decent twists. The pace of the film is slow in the first hour but the second hour, which is more directly lifted from "The Italian Job", is fast and leaves no space to think.Abbas-Mustan's previous film "Race" was a box office success and it was a decent watch. The same is the case with "Players". They have not changed their style of screenplay and storytelling. The only field they have improved in is the production values, which is too good this time. The story has its share of twists, some from the original, and some Abbas-Mustan's own trademark ones. The leading lady turns out to be a villain much like "Race".There are many plot-holes, unnecessary justifications, some illogical twists, horribly bad acting, and senselessly melodramatic scenes yet "Players" is an enjoyable watch. The action sequence on the train and the car chase sequence filmed in Wellington are outstanding. The editing in these scenes is very good. The background score by Saneep Shirdorkar was equally good. Despite having watched "The Italian Job", I enjoyed "Players", even if not thoroughly.Pritam has had a rocking 2012 which started with "Players". The actual good songs were "Jhoom Jhoomta Hun" (the two male versions) and "Dil Ye Bekarar" but they were not used in the film at all! Rest of the songs are above average and in no way Pritam's good ones. Abbas-Mustan repeat their work again and again with no variety at all. Their direction is not at all up to the mark.Of the actors, it is only Johnny Lever who impresses even in his three scene role. Neil Nitin Mukesh is fair but he could have pulled it off a lot better. Bipasha Basu is the same seductress with a dark side but she is watchable. Rest are all irritating. Sonam Kapoor should ideally retire from movies. Abhishek Bacchan is no good. Omi Vaidya gets some comic lines, and that's about it."Players" is a time-pass watch on the whole but the tremendous budget seems like a waste in the end.

'Players' is the official remake of the Hollywood classic 'Italian Job'. The director duo, Abbas-Mustan who are well known for churning out thrillers almost every year fail miserably this time in their attempt to recreate their magic.The movie is quite stylish and the cinematography by Ravi Yadav is mind boggling. But the problem lies in the screenplay. Abbas-Mustan have tried to put too many twists and turns in the plot that at the end you feel tired and want to walk away. I wonder why Abbas-Mustan have tried to tamper with the original source with so many unwanted twists. Why didn't they just simply replicate the story of the original when they had the official license to do so? As far as the movie stays true to the original, it is watchable. Once the typical Bollywood formula of twists and songs and dances pop in the latter half, it simply sucks.As for the performances, Abhishek Bachchan looks like he can't get over his 'Dhoom 2' and 'Game' hangover. His mannerisms and facial expressions are just the same as they had been in the aforementioned flicks. The only best performance definitely comes from Neil Nitin Mukesh. Not only does he look handsome, but his acting can give seasoned actors a run for their money. As Spider, Neil proves once again that he is in his best form after his debut 'Johnny Gaddar' and ' New York'. He proves yet again that good looking actors can act really well too. Bobby Deol is terribly wasted in this film. I wonder what made him choose such a minuscule and insignificant role. He wears a sad expression on his face throughout the movie. Thank god, he's only in it for half an hour. Bipasha Basu is always cast in a negative role in all Abbas-Mustan flicks that she has done so far. 'Players' is no exception. Still, she impresses with her acting with a new level of maturity and proves that she's really getting better with every film. Sonam Kapoor is horrible! That girl can't act to save her life. She sports a glamorous look for the first time but an actress she is not. The worst scene of Sonam in the movie was when she brags about being an ethical hacker. She seems so annoying and cannot emote with her eyes. Her emotions look fake and contrived. Sikander Kher looks bored and ready to walk away any time. Omi Vaidya irritates. Vinod Khanna is wasted. It was a delight to see Johnny Lever after such a long hiatus. He's the only one who provides relief with his comic timing in the horribly boring second half.The length of the movie is also a minus point. The first half moves at a brisk pace once all the characters are developed. But it is the sluggishly paced second half that gets under your nerves.Pritam's music is disappointing, unlike the previous Abbas-Mustan flicks where the music elevated the mood of the films. Dialogues are contrived and bad.On the whole, 'Players' disappoints. Given that the film was hyped and was the first release of the year, this film might find a tough competition in the box office. I advice Abbas-Mustan to think of more 'Races' than 'Players'.

I usually find myself inspired to review movies that compel me and in a way, Players did compel me, but for the wrong reasons. This movie is simply Terrible! It's so terrible that the word 'terrible' has been replaced by 'Players' in the Oxford Dictionary! The consistency is beyond poor and slack. When Sonam Kapoor is chatting with Abhishek Bachan, she is talking to him through a webcam in her car while he is on his phone chatting with her in the traditional way, phone to ear. How has she got him on a webcam then? How is he not aware he is on a webcam? Why is he talking in to a phone if they are talking through a computer? You may think i'm nit-picking but then there is the scene of the gold heist. Two trains running parallel to each other and Abhishek Bachan has a fight with two Russian soldiers and manages to pull them out of the train and drops them behind him. Logic would suggest they land under the wheels of the train running parallel to the 'Gold Train' but no.....they land comfortably in some snow. In the following shot, there is NO SNOW between the trains! Still nit picking? OK, when they manage to steal the bars of gold, packed by 10 or 12 in a packet, they handle them more like chocolate bars rather than gold bars. At one point, they carry the packages with ONE HAND! If you aren't finicky on the consistency of a movie or the lack there of, then bring some Nachos when you watch this movie. That way you can enjoy the cheese that oozes off the screen! Just be ready to choke yourself when Neil Nitin Mukesh starts talking to his home computer, 'baby'!Even new comers Sikander Kher and Omi Vaidya, the bright spots, couldn't save this blatant copy of the Italian Job. In fact, you couldn't even call this 'The Poor Man's Italian Job.' It's more like a Leper stricken Fakir's Italian Job! The ONLY good thing about Players, was that it ended! Abysmal!

This was not the kind of start expected for 2012. The movie lost its audience in the first 20 minutes itself. Poorly scripted dialogs, complemented with pathetic dialog delivery, below par acting by people who have been in the industry for more than a decade now (especially Abhi and Bips), poor punches and lot of technical mistakes is what you see in the first half n hour of the movie. The only three stars that I give to the movie is because of slightly better second half where the execution of the plot was slightly better and the twist in the climax - the only original thing about the movie. The biggest difference between Italian Job and Players is the build up of the story. While the English flick detailed each and every step of the robbery and provided logical and believable reasoning for the same, Players just rushed through the execution with many steps unexplained. The story was build up very poorly with many loose ends. Is it really necessary in Bollywood to portray Hero as good? Why would thieves be good at heart? Goa police can actually sue the producers for their portrayal. After watching the movie I kept wondering if this is the same Abbas- Mustan jodi which made Baazigar, Khiladi, Aitraaz and Race? They even made a good Soldier out of Bobby Deol. It's time they do some retrospection on what they are doing.