After the stupendous success of their last film ‘Race’, it took the usually active director duo Abbas-Mustan 3 years to come up with their new film. This time they decided to take up the Italian Job and desi-fy it. For a change, the film is an official remake and not a copy as has been the trend over the last couple of years.

The first Italian Job (1960) was a fun filled comic entertainer. The same film was remade in 2003 as a thriller that is claimed to be one of the greatest entertainers in Hollywood. Players has used the 2003 version as its baseline. Unfortunately, the film leaves out the fun aspect. 

Charlie (Abhishek Bachchan) is an orphan brought up by a former con man Vinod Khanna. With the help of Vinod Khanna, he forms a team of skillful cons- Ronnie (Bobby Deol), Spider (Neil Nitin Mukesh), Riya (Bipasha Basu), Bilal (Sikander Kher) and Sunny [Omi Vaidya). They call themselves The Players. The team successfully pulls a heist when they rob gold bullion from Russia. But predictably, one of them double crosses the players .The film goes on to narrate how the team  along with a new mate Naina (Sonam Kapoor),  head out in search of the traitor to retrieve the booty and avenge the death of their captain.

While Players is the official remake of the Hollywood film, Abbas-Mustan have sprinkled generous portions of desi masala and their signature twists to cater to Bollywood sensibilities. Unfortunately, the film ends up too twisted. The first half moves fast with well planned and executed action scenes. The second half is the culprit where the timing of the songs plays the spoiler. The directors take the audience for granted by oversimplifying the plot. There are more than a few jumps in scenes which leaves you expecting answers at least towards the end. But the expectations are not met.

Abhishek Bachchan is a glamorous con. But he carries the same look throughout the film making his performance dull and boring.  Vinod Khanna delivers well in his limited role. Bobby Deol is sidelined but impresses when on screen. Bhipasha portrays elegance and confidence. Sonam Kappor takes on a role different from her other films. However, her problems with emotional sequences follow in this film too. Neil tries well but his character falls flat due to poor characterization. Omi Vaidya and Sikander Kher were to be the comic relief. Their antics and Hindi draw a few grins. But their humour fails to make an impact. Omi Vaidya struggles with his one liners. After several tries one or two of them click towards the end.  Johnny Lever has been Abbas Mustan’s lucky charm. Even without much scope, he does bring in a smile once in a while.

Technically, Ravi Yadav’s camera work is impressive. Action sequences have been carried out with tremendous skill. The chase sequences, escapes and train scenes were executed in style. Art direction by Ashish Ranade is a mixed bag. The train sequence was done very well but the villain’s lair was not well thought through, reminding you of sets from the 80s.

Music director Pritam delivered some good tracks in his last film Desi Boyz making you look forward to the music in Players. This again is a disappointment as no song leaves an imprint. 

Overall the film is a decent watch by Bollywood standards. A great theme with some very good action sequences. However, oversimplification, an overdose of twists and the absence of humour undo a potentially good film.

Verdict: Italian Job- fun = Average Entertainer