Time machine is not an alien subject to Bollywood. "Krish" had touch- based on it to a certain degree. Had Shekhar Kapur devoted more time and conviction we would have seen Aamir Khan/ Raveena Tandon/ Naseeruddin/ Rekha in our own desi version of "Time Machine". Period drama, nostalgia, fashion, expensive sets, music, gaffs you name it, the time travel subject offers vast potential to deliver a well rounded entertaining product. Sadly "Action Replay" concentrates only on costumes (predominantly the prints and the polka dots) and the of course the sets. The screenplay is the biggest culprit and it appears as if it has been written and shot in parts making the narrative appear disjointed.
Akshay Kumar:: Very bad characterisation. The underdog personality was not fleshed out properly. The hairstyle was a big downer and so were his buck teeth.
Aishwarya:: Again her tomboy personality could have been worked upon. She was okay but only at a few places.
Adiya Roy Kapur:: Attempts hard to come across naturally but it shows.
Ranvijay Singh:: Should have watched a few more yesteryear villains (likes of Ranjeet/ Prem Chopra) to create a believable character.
Randhir Kapoor:: As a mad scientist, he was OK in his job.
Neha Dhupia:: Hardly any meat in the role.
Om Puri & Kiron Kher:: Completely wasted.
Rajpal Yadav:: A few good one-liners but predominantly irritating character.
The entire team should be lauded for keeping the diversion alive in the media circles that "Action Replay" was a copy of "Benjamin Button" while they were cooking a blatant plagiarised "Back to the future" behind the closed doors. Keeping the words "Back to the future" away from the media deserves a second round of applause and perhaps a quarter of the entire budget.
Music which is generally a strong points of Vipul Shah is a downer too. On the whole, "Action Replay" fails to delivers. Vipul Shah, you need to pull up your socks!!