family man 2 movie review

The Family Man 2 Review: Manoj Bajpayee And Samantha Deliver An Onscreen Duet To Die For

The family man 2 review: given the sustained quality of the production, the above-average writing and superb performances from the key actors and the supporting cast, this is nothing if not binge-worthy..

The Family Man 2 Review: A promotional poster of the series. (courtesy familymanamazon )

Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Samantha Akkineni, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Sunny Hinduja, Sharad Kelkar, Darshan Kumaar, Dalip Tahil, VipinKumar, Seema Biswas, Asif Sattar Basra, Shahab Ali

Director: Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru

Rating : 3 stars (out of 5)

Those who have binged on the first season of The Family Man , deservedly one of the highest-rated Indian web shows ever, know full well what to expect from the second. So, does Season 2 of the Amazon Prime Video series created by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK deliver on the promise? It does. Does it surpass the fantastic first season in terms of excitement and intrinsic effervescence? Not quite.

The Family Man S2 is buoyed by an as-magnetic-as-ever central performance by Manoj Bajpayee and a sharp-as-a-needle star turn by Samantha Akkineni in the role of an unwavering Sri Lankan Tamil liberation fighter on a suicide mission. The show, however, takes a while - in fact, quite a while - to lay all its key pieces out on the table. The build-up to the business end of the show is slow and deliberate. But if you hang in there long enough, you'll do yourself a favour. The final act and the run-up to it do pack quite a punch.

When the nine-episode series (written by Suman Kumar, Suparn S. Varma and Raj & DK) explodes in the sixth chapter, it does so in style and sustains the momentum right until the very end. The last four episodes are as riveting and well-paced as anything that the outstanding first season had on offer.

A quick postscript encompasses the timeline of the pandemic era right down to the onset of the second wave in India and provides a pointer to what lies ahead for Srikant Tiwari, the intrepid secret agent and the constantly struggling family man. What transpires until this point has enough voltage to whet the appetite of the audience. The Family Man isn't done yet. Nobody is complaining.

The Family Man 2 Review: A still from the series.

Season 2 loses some of the fine explorative balance that Season 1 had struck between Srikant's tremendous work pressures and his family commitments. In the early episodes, we find that he and his wife Suchi (Priya Mani) are in need of counselling. In another scene, the school principal alerts Srikant to the fact that his son Atharv (Vedant Sinha) might be suffering from ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). His teenage daughter Dhriti (Ashlesha Thakur), too, is desperate to break free from parental control. But these burgeoning domestic hot buttons take a bit of a backseat when the male protagonist is inevitably called upon to protect national interest at all costs.

Sajid Ghani (Shahab Ali), Srikant's vicious foe from the Kashmir outing that culminated in a thwarted nerve gas attack on Delhi in Season 1, is still around, but the action shifts to Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu and London, where Tamil rebels have joined hands with ISI operative Major Sameer (Darshan Kumar) to plan another terror strike on India.

The enemies are out to scuttle proposed bilateral talks in Chennai between a feisty, impulsive Indian Prime Minister (Seema Biswas) - she is referred to simply as PM Basu, no first name - and the Sri Lanka President. The two nations are on the verge of signing a historic port construction deal in order to keep China out of the Indian Ocean. Here, too, the surface is skimmed.

The PM is projected as an impetuous lady. "She hates being cornered," somebody says. That is all we are allowed to learn about her. Seema Biswas is a fine actress, but saddled with an underwritten part, she struggles. No better is the lot of another accomplished actor, Vipin Sharma. He plays a close aide of the PM but isn't allowed to emerge out of the periphery of the plot.

Part of the story unfolds in London. That is the current base of two former Tamil liberation fighters who are now key members of a government in exile - Bhaskaran (Mime Gopi) and Deepan (N. Alagamperumal). And that is where Major Sameer establishes contact with them and plans a joint mission in India. Sajid, whose hatred for Srikant, goes back a long way, enlists the help of Raji (Samantha Akkineni), a trained commando and pilot.

Raji is a character that stands out thanks to the power that Samantha Akkineni brings to the portrayal. She is a scarred woman who has a score to settle with her tormentors and a debt to pay to her benefactors, the Tamil rebel leaders who rescued her and trained her to be as mean a fighter as any. When we first meet her, Raji is a timid worker in a Chennai spinning mill where she is at the receiving end of the unwanted sexual advances of the foreman. On the bus journey back from the factory, she is harassed by a lecherous male passenger. Neither of the two men have any idea until it is too late that they are playing with fire.

The fire that rages within Raji, conveyed with controlled intensity by an actress who banks on sustained restraint to create a silent, smouldering aura around herself, threatens to engulf everything in her way. The threat she poses forces Srikant Tiwari to quit an IT firm job and throw himself back into the thick of the action to help old mate J.K. Talpade (Sharib Hashmi) and TASC's man in Chennai Muthu Pandian (Ravindra Vijay) stop the rebels in their tracks.

Srikant isn't still able to shrug off the guilt that he feels for the killing of a Muslim student unfairly branded a terrorist. Milind (Sunny Hinduja), out of action since the Orion Chemicals fiasco, continues to hold himself responsible for the botched operation. And Zoya (Shreya Dhanwanthary, who has only a couple of sequences in Season 2) and Srikanth try their best to help Milind tide over the low phase. But these are at best marginal plot details. They needn't have been.

Season 2 lacks the wry humour that The Family Man served up so generously the first time around. The banter between him and JK and the showdowns between him and his wife Suchi (Priya Mani) are not as central to the plot as they were nor is the inchoate relationship between Suchi and her colleague Arvind (Sharad Kelkar).

Srikant has moved out of TASC and taken a 9 to 5 corporate job where he reports to a pesky 28-year-old CEO who keeps reminding him not to be "a minimum guy". He now has a bigger car - and more time for the family. Suchi, too, has quit her job. But is the Tiwari household any happier than they were in the past? Not a whit. The couple still has many issues that need immediate attention. A counsellor (Arif Basra), who steps in at the wife's behest, tries to help the duo but to no avail.

The domestic pitch is queered for Srikant by his rebellious daughter. As she, unbeknownst to her parents, begins to spend more and more time with a boyfriend (Abhay Verma), tension between her and her mother mounts, culminating in an incident that precipitates a family crisis that Srikant had always seen coming.

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The Family Man S2 telegraphs a lot of its intent ahead of time, which, needless to say, undermines the essential element of surprise at crucial junctures. But that's only a minor irritant. Given the sustained quality of the production (cinematographer Cameron Eric Bryson does a fabulous job), the above-average writing and the superb performances from the key actors (Bajpayee and Akkineni deliver an onscreen duet to die for) and the supporting cast (Priyamani and Sharib Hashmi are once again in excellent form), this is nothing if not binge-worthy.

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Home » Reviews » Web Series Reviews

The Family Man 2 Review: Go In For Manoj Bajpayee But Stay Back For Samantha Akkineni & Beware Of The Bullets!

Appreciate me for the fact that i am writing this review without a single spoiler, but i might end up telling you what happened in lonavala by the end..

Cast: Manoj Bajpayee , Samantha Akkineni, Sharib Hashmi, Priyamani, Sharad Kelkar, Sunny Hinduja and ensemble.

Creator: Raj Nidimoru & Krishna DK

Director:  Raj Nidimoru, Krishna DK & Suparn Varma

Streaming On:  Amazon Prime Video

The Family Man 2 Review: What’s It About:

If you are here without watching the first season, I would suggest head back. Delhi was on the verge of a gas attack by the end. Milind (Sunny Hinduja) and Zoya (Shreya Dhanwanthray) were stuck in the chemical factory. And what happened in the room in Lonavala stands to be the biggest mystery. Season 2 begins on the same note. Regret has led to Srikant Tiwari leave his job with the NIA and is now working in an IT company.

In the lands not so far away, the Tamil Government in exile plans to take revenge, and NIA is at the forefront of this new war to save PM Basu ( Seema Biswas ). Srikant has to get back as Raji ( Samantha Akkineni ), the face of the baddies, is not an average joe, as they say. Begins the quest of The Family Man!

The Family Man 2 Review: What Works:

Now, I am neither scholar in politics nor an expert in especially the Tamillian conflict here. So my review is that about the fictional story that Raj and DK have to tell with all honesty. To take ahead a show as massive as The Family Man, it must take a village. And in season 2, the village is expanded. We enter the lives of already existing characters in the universe while they are facing the aftermath of what happened in the season 1 finale.

Appreciate me for the fact that I am writing this review without a single spoiler, but I might end up telling you what happened in Lonavala by the end. First, the fact that creators Raj & DK were ready with the content of season 2 while filming season 1, is a winner. Unlike many other shows that end up going against their tonality in follow up seasons, The Family Man stays afloat on the same surface successfully. The universe is expanding more horizontally than vertically. This has also led to a drawback, but about that later.

The scale has, of course, gone up, and the pressure is too high. While season 1 was more compact in its approach, season 2 is spread wider. As writers, the team, including Raj Nidimoru, Krishna DK, Suman Kumar and Suparn Varma, must have faced the biggest trouble in connecting the antagonist to the NIA, and it is a very soft spot considering the real times. The writing makes sure that it reflects that the routes these people have taken are wrong, but the struggles and sufferings they have met aren’t something we should ignore. It is oppression and domination that creates monsters that someday come for the oppressors. We are reminded that at equal intervals.

The writing gets interesting every time the two leads (Manoj and Samantha) cross paths. By now, we know what mastery the two creators have achieved in conceptualising the cat and mouse chase story. It isn’t that the mouse is caught only by the end once, and that thrilling habit still prevails. God, it’s so difficult to not give out spoilers! A scene which has Raji and Srikant converse is such a treat and what follows is a punch in the gut. Credit to amazing actors and the team behind them.

The screenplay is woke and alert about the times it is set in. For example, Srikant’s daughter Dhriti being a pseudo intellect, or the rest of the country’s ignorance towards the South of India and a nod to WhatsApp forwards that suggest you keep your drenched phone in a rice container. Each character is layered, and no one is left one tone. Also, thank god, Tamillians talk in Tamil without the stress of the audience understanding it or not. It’s time we embrace subtitles. Cross-pollination of cultures is the need of the hour.

Talking of actors, Manoj Bajpayee reprising his NIA agent who can lie on the drop of a hat, a dotting father and a brutal officer continues to be his dashing self. The difference is that he isn’t hiding his identity as much as season 1. Bajpayee has now completely marinated himself as Srikant and he even breathes like the character. Watch his juggle between two lives when a closed one is hurt. See if you can find Manoj in any bit of it.

Someone has to tell Samantha Akkineni that she is a precious actor and we deserve her on screen. Samantha’s Raji has not just faced brutality at the hands of Sri Lankan soldiers but has also faced abuse by the men in day to day life. Men trying to get into bed with her in her workplace, or a random stranger trying to touch her inappropriately on a local bus. So you see, the angst is not only against the Indian/Sri Lankan Governments, but also the patriarchy, male oppression and society at large. The actor literally embodies all of that suffering and wears it.

We are introduced to her like a dumb person with no expressions. But slowly, she unfolds, and you see the darkest side of her existence. There is a reason why she is expressionless. Because she has seen the most brutal side of life at a tender age. Nothing moves her anymore, not even the happiest news. To emote her emotions, Akkineni does the smallest of the movements, and you are bound to capture them because she does it so effectively. And please give her the action star label already.

Sharib Hashmi only gets better as Talpade and is more romantic with Sri than Suchi this time around. Talking about Priyamani , she picks up where she left and compliments the show nicely. I am a fan of her accent for some reasons. Sunny Hinduja is set to break hearts again, and I am not spilling anything more.

I will not forgive myself if I do not mention DOP Cameron Eric Bryson, and his skills he has showcased in shooting the climax. Majorly one take, it seems like the camera had got a life of its own and was wildly following everything that was happening around.

Also, I could be reading too much between lines, but an observation. Sajjid is still alive and is caught at the similar location where the team had shot dead Kareem (Abrar Qazi). Seemed like a closure to the conflict to me.

The Family Man 2 Review: What Doesn’t Work:

I know many will come at me for pointing out bad in a show as good as The Family Man. But I cannot ignore the drawbacks however a big fan I am. The first and foremost is a dip the show suffers midway. A lot of it is to be blamed on the parts the show takes off to London. The weakest of the parts are always when we are taken to London and adjoining countries. The energy is pulled down almost by half and that ruins the experience a bit.

The Family Man 1 was throughout a slow-boiling broth that took its sweet time to become perfect. Season 2 also begins in a similar way. But somehow, it catches speed and doesn’t tend to slow down. To further dismay, the rush follows the climax too. Remember when Zoya ( in season 1) prayed for her life by the end minute, we were hooked. But season 2 rushed towards the end so fast that it came and went by without creating a huge impact. That was injustice to Samantha’s brilliant performance indirectly.

The Family Man 2 Review: Last Words:

There are drawbacks, but not enough to stop you from watching The Family Man 2. Watch it for a team who have put heart, soul, blood and sweat into making it. But watch it as a fictional show because it is one, and that is how it must be consumed. Oh, about Lonavala? You trust me more than you should. Watch the show for it! Also, I am in no mood to be in Srikant Tiwari’s bad books.

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The Family Man 2 review: Predictable with stylish storytelling

Season two of Raj and DK's much-hyped spy thriller series starts with a bang and ends with a bang (literally, in both cases), and also creates scope to leave a teaser about season three right in the end. Most of what goes on in between, over nine episodes, is guaranteed to give you bigger and sleeker entertainment than the first time around, though it may not necessarily seem as original.

"The Family Man 2" crafts its fictional action drama referencing subcontinental socio-politics. Mainly centred on the Sri Lankan Tamil rebel movement, the plot incorporates an Indian Prime Minister concerned about China's need to gain strategic advantage in Indian Ocean and Pakistan's swing towards ultra-Right as necessary mentions.

As the season opens, Manoj Bajpayee's Shrikant Tiwari has quit his job as a special agent and taken up a nine-to-five occupation. He is struggling at the workplace more than he did with guns and gore, while dealing with a much-younger manager who is ever ready to unleash pep talk on the importance of not ending up the "minimum guy" in office.

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It's the "new world", a friend tries explaining the corporate culture, prompting a hapless retort from our middle-aged hero. "New world? Same governments. Same wars. Same terrorists. Pakistan and ISI…" Shrikant trails off wearily.

Series creators Raj and DK have used politics as an undercurrent in the narrative, as the base for taut suspense. The screenplay sets up the portrait of Sri Lanka's civil war spilling into India, as the country's premier tells the Indian PM (Seema Biswas) that Subramanium Panivel (Srikrishna Dayal), "a wanted man of our country", is not only hiding in Chennai but also rallying support for elections. He adds that France and the UK are considering giving official recognition to Lanka's Tamil 'government', which operates in 'exile' from London.

For the Lankan head of state, crushing the rebellion is a matter of pride. For the Indian PM, this seems like a good chance to keep Sri Lanka from signing a pact with China that would give the latter a strategic control over Indian Ocean.

That backdrop is set crisply in the early half of episode one, setting the stage for pulsating action. Shrikant, saddled by his self-imposed corporate exile, would seem far removed from such matters of national importance anymore. Yet, he is forced to pick up the gun for the country again, as Tamil rebels find an ally in certain foes that he had made in season one. Worse, this time, the safety of a close one is at stake.

More than an original script, Raj and DK have scored with stylish storytelling that keeps you on the edge. The show is predictable, and yet it is amusing how the episodes keep you hooked all through. Fine acting from the entire cast -- notably Bajpayee and Samantha Akkineni as the arch antagonist Raji -- is an asset, as a solid technical crew bring alive some well-canned action sequences and suspense.

"The Family Man 2" is binge therapy for OTT addicts, more so in the time of lockdown.

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The Family Man 2 review

Manoj Bajpayee simply lives, and loves, the role -- of a man who life is fast passing by, and who continues to live the lie of a simple government servant, observes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.

What do you do when the Web series you made on an unassuming intelligence operative who thwarts a major terror attack turns out to be a sleeper hit?

Obviously, you work on its second season. You also bring in a fresh new brain to the helm to take the story forward.

Which is what Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK have done with The Family Man 2 , bringing in edgy director Suparn Verma (disclosure: he is an ex-colleague and friend) to steer the ship along with them.

And they could not have chosen a better pair of hands.

Still, I suspect, the makers were constrained by the way Season 1 ended, leaving them with not too large an arc to project the story.

For those who don't remember, S1 ended with a chemical factory outside Delhi spewing toxic fumes courtesy Al Qatl and Sajid, with some intelligence operatives trapped inside.

Did Srikant Tiwari, the protagonist, save the situation, as well as his crumbing marriage?

These are questions you have been wrestling with for the last two years, and if you expect S2 to begin by answering them, you will be disappointed.

Instead, it begins in northern Sri Lanka, where a band of Tamil armed rebels (or revolutionaries or terrorists, take your pick), are battle ready to take on the treacherous government of Rupatunga and his ally, the Indian prime minister.

Clearly, a lot has happened in these two years, one of which we have all spent locked up in our homes.

Tiwari, you realise, has graduated from a Hyundai Santro to an Accent, but it has come at a price.

He is now working for a tech company, doing heaven knows what, with his prodigy of a boss taking his case regularly for being the minimum guy. But Tiwari manages to keep his sanity, as well as retain his mouthful of MC/BCs and other epithets.

Nothing much has changed in his family either.

His marriage is still on the rocks, his children treat him like something unwanted and there's only one refuge left.

Former deputy and friend, J K Talpade, but instead of the dives they frequented in S1, Tiwari -- now on private sector salary -- can afford fancy restaurants, never mind that Talpade cannot pronounce the dishes on the menu.

You soon come to learn that the Delhi gas attack was thwarted with some casualties, but it has been passed off as an accident and not a terror attack, something the media has meekly bought into.

But you still don't learn what happened in that hotel room in Lonavla in S1.

Did Suchi and Arvind do it , or was it, to use a Mumbaiya term Srikant Tiwari is yet to unleash on us, KLPD?

Season 1 was based on verisimilitude, so you had Kerala youth returning from a stint with IS in Syria to exact revenge for Gujarat 2002 riots, ISI sleeper cells, university unrest, killings over beef, framing of innocent Muslim youth, etc.

Season 2 tries to walk down the same path.

So you have London being the second last refuge of scoundrels, a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel assassination plot with a lady killer at the centre, differences among the rebel leadership etc, which is all fine, but to extend it to a woman prime minister, and a Bengali at that... The makers sure have a sense of humour, or is it wishful thinking...?

As I said earlier, S1 didn't leave the makers with too a large arc to execute (but from the teaser, it is clear S3 will).

Sajid is in the wind, and will need to be pencilled in for whatever plot is being hatched.

So he gets sent off to Chennai to assist the Lankan Tamil rebels, and gets wasted as a glorified errand boy. His own mind is set on a needless plot in Mumbai, which only serves as a distraction from the main story, so when the final act plays out, he is nowhere around.

As for the main plot, the Tamil Tigers did have the run of Tamil Nadu once and did assassinate our former prime minister, but all that was 30 years ago.

The Tigers were neutralised 12 years ago.

The creative team could have chosen to go with something more contemporary, given that Sajid is still out there, but unfortunately for them, most recent internal threats to India have our western neighbour as agent provocateur, which would have made S2 a reprise of S1.

Choosing the Tamil rebels automatically meant sacrificing Sajid's importance in the scheme of things -- as putting an ISI agent in a Tamil plot would have sharpened the protests in Tamil Nadu.

As Tandav showed , good TV is not always safe from mob fury.

So as the terror plot unfolds, Srikant Tiwari is stuck in a job he hates, and in a marriage that needs a counsellor (go in peace, Asif Basra ) to tell them what's wrong.

A dinner with wife tells him their marriage is a sham (whose meaning he quickly looks up on google), and decides to get back to intelligence.

Sometimes, of course, you feel intelligence is something his job lacks in.

Just imagine, in S1, Al Qatl is hiding in plain sight and Tiwari fails to spot him.

He comes face to face with Sajid in Kashmir but doesn't disable him and use him as a cover to get past the restive crowd.

Again, when Sajid is fleeing with gas canisters, Tiwari's security team foils him but the terrorist vanishes right before their eyes, poof!

I mean, is that a dragnet or a sieve?

Once again, after activating the chemical factory, Sajid simply vanishes past our security phalanx that must be hunting him down, and resurfaces in London in S2, none the worse for wear.

This lack of intelligence seems to pervade the entire TASC unit.

A team of two goes to the factory to check it out but they don’t alert the HQ, and Tiwari in his hurry leaves his phone behind. So when his team is in trouble, they keep calling him in vain -- and never once Talpade, who is with Tiwari all the time. Clearly there is no SOP for the team to follow.

In fact, the factory's name had come up earlier but instead of storming it at once Tiwari plays it cool, leading to the near-death of his agents and the death of many others.

The same is the case in S2.

Tiwari and his team have Raji on the ground, she is surrounded on all sides by officers with guns, yet no one bothers to tie her up, or even shoot to disable. Naturally, she escapes.

Talpade and Muthu land up where the rebels are hiding, and spend an entire day there waiting for a warrant. Not once do they call back to the office to report what is going on, nor does anyone call them to check if things are fine.

Nor is there any great tech for the team, like body cams, ear comms, use of drones to spy, or even GPS-enabled cars which would all make the team's job easier. As Prime Minister Basu asks in a scene, 'All the budget that is sanctioned for you, where does the money go?'

That Tiwari is more than fallible is evident in the scene where they finally manage to apprehend Raji.

You know the area is full of rebel sympathisers, so what would your first instinct be? To take her away, to safe and secure Chennai, at once.

Instead, they decide to tie her up to a rickety chair in a room, not even a lockup, in a rural police station where the cops still use rifles from pre-independence era, and wait for security 'backup' to take them to Chennai.

This fallacy costs him another agent, whose end is shown almost operatically -- something the valiant Pasha did not get in S1.

Where S1 scored was in the big reveal of Al Qatl.

S2 doesn't have such a moment.

You know the plot has been hatched, there will be a cat and mouse game till the very end before the threat is neutralised.

Again, S1 left you with the big question: Did the plot succeed?

S2 too could have left the question up in the air, but that would be a repeat of S1.

Instead, Tiwari and team eliminate the would-be assassin, and even make it to the PMO for a private award ceremony; Tiwari even manages to win back his daughter's affection, so all is well one guesses, and S3 won't see him toiling away in a brokerage firm.

Talking of Tiwari's daughter (Ashlesha Thakur), a young star is on the make.

Through all this frenetic activity a love jihad angle gets squeezed in, so verisimilitude is well and alive.

Much of S2 is located in Tamil Nadu, and there is an awful lot of dialogues in Tamil as well Sri Lankan Tamil which is a sing-song, chaste version of what is spoken in Chennai.

Sub-titles help.

For ears like mine filled with choicest Hindi gaali s from Tiwari, a single Tamil expletive brought unbridled joy.

When Jebaraj spits out the word, I almost stood up to applaud. Like the popular four-letter word in English, otha is also multi-faceted, and can be used for a variety of emotions and expressions, from pure joy to threat to disbelief to curse to anything.

And, I must commend the exactitude displayed by the team in things Tamil, the accuracy of language, and even the plot.

A tremendous amount of research and recce has gone into the show to make it believable, and it works.

Few have got complex Tamil Nadu so right.

The playful joshing between north Indians and Tamilians was a joy to watch.

A hero works only as much as the antagonist.

In S1, Tiwari had Al Qatl and Sajid as worthy adversaries, and S2 ups the amp by roping in Samantha Akkineni as Raji the ruthless killer.

One can argue over the need for her bronzing but that distraction aside, she is perfectly cast. Both as the subservient employee with a secret and as the rebel with a deadly cause, she shines.

Personally, I wish she doesn't twist her lips to show she is a badass, something she had done earlier in the Tamil movie 10 Endrathukulla (2015) as well.

As Jebaraj tells her, just because you twist your face like that doesn't meant I am scared of you.

That for all her bottled-up rage Raji is not beyond vanity is shown at the toll gate where, despite having just recovered from a gunshot and living on abandoned premises, she seems to have found fancy togs and even managed a cornrow in her hair.

By being conspicuous when the need was for the exact opposite, she ends up attracting the male attention with all its consequences.

Srikant Tiwari has better etched scenes in S2 and is shown to internalise much more than he did in S1.

Manoj Bajpayee simply lives, and loves, the role -- of a man who life is fast passing by, and who continues to live the lie of a simple government servant.

But I wish he controlled the urge to go emo with the antagonists, be it with Raji in the police station or with Salman on the phone.

But then, he is just a fallible guy.

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The Family Man 2 Movie review: Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha took it on their shoulders

The second season of “ The Family Man ” has been the most awaited show among netizens in recent times. Created and directed by Raj & DK, the series is out on Amazon Prime Video . Let’s see how this nine-episode show fares.

After a few LTTE militant scenes, the second season shifts to the family of Srikant Tiwari ( Manoj Bajpayee). Due to family issues, he will quit TASC (Threat Analysis and Surveillance Cell) and joins a software firm as a regular employee. During this phase, Srikanth will be in contact with his NIA colleague JK (Sharib Hashmi). One fine day, Srikanth comes to know that the Indian Prime Minister is going to be attacked by Sri Lankan Tamil Rebels in Chennai at a peace meeting with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister. As a subplot, the characterization of a deadly and ruthless girl named Raji (Samantha) will be showcased. Who is Raji and what is her mission? Is Raji a part of the Tamil rebels? How will Srikanth Tiwari and his team crack and diffuses the entire assassination plan and saves the PM forms the crucial crux.

The show creators and directors Raj & DK did a lot of research for the series which is clearly visible while watching it. They presented what had in the hand with nine episodes series in 6 hours 53 minutes and did a good job.

The first four episodes in the show have nothing great to mention, the creators balanced it in the latter parts. The screenplay version and the funny dialogues created by the team will be loved by the viewers for sure.

In one word, The Family Man 2 has a fresh setup, great performance by Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha. If you are okay with the first four episodes, then surely the show will end up as a satisfactory watch.

Performances

Right from the first scene, Manoj Bajpayee takes over the show with his impressive screen presence and body language. He is extremely good with his one-liner dialogues and looks convincing in the frustrated family man’s role. All the family relationship scenes between Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani and their kids will add a lot of humour to the proceedings.

Samantha’s presence is definitely an added advantage for the second season of the show. She just lived in her role and did a fantastic job in the action sequences. Her intense acting as a girl on a mission will bring a lot of depth to the proceedings.

Sharib Hashmi did his part neatly as Srikanth’s colleague. Other artists like Seema Biswas, Priyamani nad kids are fine in their roles.

Technicalities

Director Raj & DK were successful in creating the hype and reached the expectations. The background score by Ketan Sodha played a major role. His work is clearly visible in the key action scenes. Cinematography by Cameron Eric Bryson is apt for the show and carries the flow smoothly. Sumeet Kotian’s editing work is cool as each episode in the series has been kept to the limits.

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Action , actor , bollywood , Bollywood Reviews , cinema , comedy film , director , Drama , film critic , film review , movies , Review The Family Man 2 Review: An ambitious return of Manoj Bajpayee stellar series The Family Man Review

Srikant Tiwari is missing the game. His action hero days are clearly over, and he now stagnates in a dead-end job at a software company. Aggressively bored, he calls up his old partner, JK (Sharib Hashmi), who’s leading a covert operation in Chennai.

JK gives him the lowdown: action, guns, hostages. Srikant’s face turns angry, desperate. It’s the look of a football player who’s been forced to grab a bench. Yet the coach is not to blame.

Srikant, played by Manoj Bajpayee, is on the slide. In the debut season of  The Family Man (on Amazon Prime Video). He was a star spy, a master negotiator capable of disarming angry fanatics with his stories and smile. His fortunes have dipped exponentially ever since: he’s left the NIA, and harbours immense guilt over his previous mission even though the day was saved.

Directors Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. don’t waste any more time tying up loose ends. Rather. In season 2, the drama turns to another taciturn soldier in exile.

Following an explosion in Chennai, Raji (Samantha Akkineni), a former Sri Lankan Tamil rebel living in the city. It is stirred into action. JK and his team of local officers prove inadequate in their surveillance efforts. And so Srikant is called in to help.

The show’s trailer, which dropped last month, has been at the center of a heated controversy over its subject matter. In it, Raji, dressed in military greens—the defining uniform of the Liberation Tigers (they’re simply referred to as ‘rebels’) is said to have teamed up with Pakistani agents. This much holds true in the series, though the actual collusion is more complicated than it seems.

Much of it rests on a conspiracy theory that’s as ambitious as it is provocative. For now, I’ll say this: if you enjoyed the first season, and would like to pick this one up in good faith, it might be worth a try.

That said, there’s little excuse for Samantha’s bronzed-up look as Raji (I also wish the makers had delved a little deeper into the character’s past, as well as the island’s complex history).

The pleasure of this series—and the Raj and DK brand—is in its unruffled lightness of approach. Season 2 continues in the briskly comic strain of its predecessor. It contrasts the make-do scrappiness of Indian agents with the larger-than-life threats they face. “Put it in rice for 24 hours, it will work,” a police officer tells JK apologetically after she unwittingly dunks his phone in water.

It’s a funny contrast, though what truly makes it work is the deadpan performances of the actors. Manoj, especially, goes all out, switching between humour and urgency with frightening ease. His adaptability is what makes Srikant so fascinating. He’s the reason it’s hard to categorize this as a spy comedy—or a simple thriller. It’s a wry, complex, many-Manoj-ed show.

I found the family story a bit glum this time—and repetitive in view of the first season. Srikant and his wife, Suchitra (Priyamani), have hit a rough patch again. They’re seeing a counselor (late actor Asif Basra in a touching cameo), but it’s not working out. Srikant, as before, is struggling to get down with his kids. With the focus trained so firmly on Chennai, these scenes begin to drag.

Manoj and Priyamani make a great team, though, and there’s a fine, charged moment when they quarrel over her birthday dinner (the cake arrives too late).

Tamil Nadu offers a rich backdrop to the show’s main action. It’s hard to recall a recent Hindi film or series that captured Chennai so vividly. “Summer’s not arrived yet,” his aide tells him. There are nods to city landmarks—the red-bricked façade of Fine Arts college. For example—as well as the perpetual water crisis in town. The supporting cast is extensively Tamil: Devadarshini Chetan and Anandsami stand out in their limited parts. The soundtrack is a mix of vernacular and Hindi/English tracks: Brodha V’s Vainko,  which closes Episode 4, lands wonderfully on key.

The action is both slickly choreographed and a tad the same. A chase sequence that utilizes everything from fishing nets to broken chairs could well have played out in Dharavi. This is followed, in the same episode, by a large-scale gunfight, reminiscent of the epic hospital shootout in season 1.

As inventive as they are, Raj and DK seem to run out of new ideas. Srikant, never the trigger-happy type is lurched into the center of big set pieces – nowhere is this more disappointing than the climax.

In two seasons,  The Family Man  has come to resemble something unique in the Indian mindset. It’s a big, brawny show about terrorists and spies; it’s also a show about the little man and his less-than-ordinary life. It’s baldly patriotic – yet rushes to suggest extreme caution in its wake. Srikant, his heart still in a moment of great personal hazard, is a rare child of popular myth: the level-headed hero. He’s an oxymoron, really, and we are glad to have him around.

We give the film 3 stars. For more updates stay tuned to UrbanAsian.

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The family man, common sense media reviewers.

Warmhearted tale about second chances; some sex, profanity.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

A wealthy Wall Street executive learns that love i

Though he does act self-centered and materialistic

In a corner grocery store, a character pulls a gun

Sexual references and situations, including adulte

Occasional profanity includes one use of "f--

Drinking at parties and at a bowling alley. Lead c

Parents need to know that The Family Man is a 2000 movie starring Nicolas Cage as a wealthy investment banker who is given the opportunity to experience what his life would have been like had he decided to stay with his college girlfriend instead of going off to London to study economics. The movie has some…

Positive Messages

A wealthy Wall Street executive learns that love is more important than the acquisition of material goods.

Positive Role Models

Though he does act self-centered and materialistic throughout the movie, Jack learns to value love, friendship, and the bonds of family over greed and financial success.

Violence & Scariness

In a corner grocery store, a character pulls a gun on the clerks, then points it at the lead character, threatening to kill him.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Sexual references and situations, including adultery and a one-night stand. A woman is naked in a shower; the glass and steam mostly cover up her nudity but there's a glimpse of buttocks and breast. A married couple tries to have sex, remains clothed. Open talk between two married characters about having an affair with each other. Lead character shown in his underwear.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Occasional profanity includes one use of "f--k" as well as "s--t," "prick," "hell," "damn," and "crap." Talk of one-night stands, affairs, and how a woman's husband "satisfies" her.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Drinking at parties and at a bowling alley. Lead character drinks booze quickly to try to process what has happened to him. He compares it to an "acid trip." Characters turn to liquor to relieve stress, and a character makes a joke about his wife's drinking.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Family Man is a 2000 movie starring Nicolas Cage as a wealthy investment banker who is given the opportunity to experience what his life would have been like had he decided to stay with his college girlfriend instead of going off to London to study economics. The movie has some mature themes, including adultery and one-night stands. A woman is naked in a shower; the glass and steam mostly cover up her nudity, but there's a glimpse of buttocks and breast. Jack and his wife start to have sex, but when he says something she finds inappropriate, she stops him. A woman suggests an affair, and Jack's friend tells him that it would be disastrous: "Don't screw up your whole life just because you're a little unsure about who you are." The movie does make it clear that loving, married sex is the ideal. Characters turn to liquor to relieve stress, and a character makes a joke about his wife's drinking. There is some strong language, including "s--t" and one use of "f--k." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (5)
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Based on 5 parent reviews

CommonSense neglected to mention a nude scene and an f***...

Looks can be deceiving, what's the story.

Nicolas Cage plays Jack Campbell, a man who is perfectly delighted with his life the way it is. He loves money, making it on Wall Street, and spending it on expensive suits, gourmet meals, and a snazzy sports car. He doesn't mind Scrooge-ily calling a meeting at the office on Christmas, telling himself it's for the employees' own good, since they'll be making so much money. But then he stops to buy eggnog and sees a man ( Don Cheadle ) pull out a gun when a store clerk refuses to pay off his lottery ticket. His offer to buy the ticket mysteriously catapults him into the life he chose not to have -- a life in the New Jersey suburbs, with him married to his college sweetheart ( Tea Leoni ), with two small children and a job selling tires. His old life has disappeared. It's his worst nightmare, and he gets many opportunities to be horrified by diapers and outlet-store merchandise and to completely deconstruct his old life before he begins to realize what he's missed.

Is It Any Good?

There's some predictability and awkward construction in this movie; it feels as if it were edited heavily after focus-group testing, leaving some characters and plot lines unresolved. Nonetheless, this is a holiday pleasure. Cage and Leoni are enormously appealing in their various incarnations. There are some funny lines and warm moments, especially when the one person Jack can't fool is his daughter, who knows this is not the daddy she loves and decides he must be an alien. And there is a satisfying resolution that incorporates the best of both options.

The grand tradition of "what if?" movies from A Christmas Carol to It's a Wonderful Life and the more recent Passion of Mind and Me Myself I show us an unhappy hero or heroine who finds out what life would have been like if he or she had made a different choice. Though in this version, Jack loved his life to begin with.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about some of the "roads not taken" and what they think their lives might be like now if they had made other choices.

Comparisons have been made of this movie to the 1940s Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life . How is this movie similar to and different from that classic film and other holiday-themed movies and stories in which selfish characters learn the importance of love and the bonds of family, friendship, and community?

How is marriage represented in this movie? What are the highs and lows, as well as the joys and difficulties, conveyed through action and dialogue? Do you think it's realistic? Why, or why not?

What do you think the angel will do for the young woman who accepted too much change?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 22, 2000
• On DVD or streaming : July 2, 2001
• Cast : Don Cheadle , Nicolas Cage , Tea Leoni
• Director : Brett Ratner
• Inclusion Information : Black actors, Female actors
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Comedy
• Run time : 125 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : sexual references and situations and language
• Last updated : June 2, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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The Family Man Reviews

The Family Man proves it is indeed entirely possible to make a crowd-pleasing, highly commercial romantic movie with teeth which respects the audiences intelligence and doesn't spoon-feed them the same old predictable, recycled mish-mash.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 10, 2022

Crowd-pleasing sap.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Dec 20, 2020

Its emotional core makes it easy to appreciate as a classical (if not classic) entertainment.

Full Review | May 25, 2012

Pleasant movie despite some predictability.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 28, 2010

Ratner isn't a capable enough director to work the alchemy needed to make this cheese into gold.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Feb 15, 2010

Leoni is a revelation. Vibrant and gorgeous, she plays her role of the determined mother in love with teasing, salty charm, providing just enough grit to save the film from Ratner's slushy direction.

Full Review | Sep 19, 2008

A hunk of sentimental fluff that boasts an often-overstated performance by Cage and an annoying turn by Leoni.

Full Review | Dec 30, 2006

Without Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni in the lead roles, the film would most likely have lost whatever charm and entertainment value it has.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 21, 2006

It's rare that an American movie lets slip such a snobbish distaste for the humdrum lives of its blue-collar audience base, but of course it doesn't last.

Full Review | Jan 26, 2006

I voted for the happy ending, thusly, my enjoyment was diminished.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Dec 31, 2005

If you're looking for a heartfelt, feel-good holiday movie, just give in and enjoy.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 6, 2005

One of the few films this season able to offer something likely to entertain almost everyone.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 6, 2005

The makers of The Family Man were trying to do a kind of reverse It's a Wonderful Life without ever realizing that it doesn't work on paper, much less on the screen.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 5, 2003

Redeems itself with raw emotion and the evocative force of love.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 14, 2003

A holiday film Joe Lieberman could love, unembarrassed by its wholesome, sugary pro-family message.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 10, 2003

Cage's delivery of the Big Final Speech is strained and uncomfortable, and the film's ending is unsatisfying, offering a conflicted message and only a meager chance of hope.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 8, 2003

Perfect feel-good Christmas-period family entertainment. Highly recommended.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 30, 2002

Cage and Leoni are cute together and struggle mightily, but they can't overcome this sinking ship of a script by David Diamond and David Weissman that telegraphs the ending in the first 20 minutes.

Full Review | Oct 21, 2002

There is not a lot wrong with The Family Man, except for an almost total lack of surprise and a nasty attitude toward exactly the people who are supposed to pay money to watch it.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 15, 2002

I was disappointed with its overly sentimental tone and rather questionable message. Are married men with children actually more deserving of happiness than single guys? According to this movie, yes.

Full Review | Aug 2, 2002

The Family Man 2 REVIEW: Not your ‘minimum guy’ Manoj Bajpayee, Sharib, Samantha starrer is G.S.O.A.T

Bhavna Agarwal

• June 4, 2021
• Comments off

The Family Man 2 REVIEW: Not your 'minimum guy' Manoj Bajpayee, Sharib, Samantha starrer is G.S.O.A.T

• Bubble Reviews
• The Family Man 2 REVIEW: Not y ...

Web Series: The Family Man 2

Cast : Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani, Samantha Akkineni, Sharib Hashmi, Sharad Kelkar, Neeraj Madhav,  Dalip Tahil, Sunny Hinduja, Shreya Dhanwanthary.

Director : Raj & DK, Suparn Verma

Where to Watch : Amazon Prime Video

First up, let’s admit Srikant Tiwari (Manoj Bajpayee) is anything but a ‘minimum guy’.

The Family Man Season 2 is back with a new mission this time. Between his tedious efforts to lead a ‘normal’ life playing the IT guy, Srikant sees himself following a new mission assigned to TASC. The Family Man 2 starts with the focus on the military training of the Srilankan Tamil rebel group members who plan to disrupt the bilateral talks between India and Sri Lanka. The TASC is ordered to find out its plan and neutralize the efforts. Away from all the action, Srikant is seen struggling to bond with his family and be the ‘minimum’ guy his obnoxiously self-centered IT boss refers to him as. Talpade calls it FOMO (fear of missing out) as Srikant enquires about the mission. I found it extremely endearing yet funny, Talpade (Sharib Hashmi) briefing Srikant in the midst of the mission, whilst being annoyed at him. This is a classic bromance on display, reminded me of Amar and Prem or Jay and Veeru, our poster boys for bromance in Hindi films. After failing to stay away from the action, Srikant is reinstated to TASC and what follows later is a rollercoaster ride.

The first season of The Family Man saw Srikant torn between being a ‘family man’ and ‘government agent’. This season saw him confronting one of his biggest fears after the said mission puts his family in jeopardy. Spread across 9 episodes with a run time of 40 mins each (approx), The Family Man 2 keeps you on the edge as TASC takes on the Srilankan Tamil rebel groups that include Raji (Samantha Akkineni)  who has received training in aviation and is crucial to the mission. Srilankan Tamil rebels group believes that their sacrifice is to seek freedom for Tamils and that ‘martyrs are never dead’.

Despite being warned by the intel, Indian PM Basu wants to hold the bilateral meet in Chennai in a show of her strength. The strength of The Family Man 2 lies in his intelligent writing and dialogues. In a light moment between two colleagues, Talpade says ‘I am ready to die for the nation but not for the politicians,’ to which Srikant replies, ‘Our job is towards the nation and the one who holds the power to run the nation, it doesn’t matter who is on that seat.’ It is in these scenes the conflict, the dilemma, and the sincerity towards their duty are highlighted and how. There is also a scene where the thin line between terrorists and extremists is discussed. What separates the two? Well, the show subtly makes you question your judgments as well.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Manoj Bajpayee (@bajpayee.manoj)

The screenplay for The Family Man 2 takes you back and forth between London (where the masterminds are operating) and Chennai, Mumbai, and then Chennai again. The cinematographer needs a special mention for ensuring the action sequences don’t look overly dramatized. The choreography and placement of action sequences are done with full details and full marks to the makers for that. Small details were focused on, from Srikant and Talpade’s struggle with the local language (Tamil) to sweaty arms (when Srikant visits JK at the hospital) from running throughout the day to the camera held free-hand in the climax scene, giving it a documentary approach. Absolutely loved the chase scene between Sajid (one of the rebels) and Srikant’s team in a society where commoners hide between windows to see the action as gunshots echo.

A lot of efforts were made to shoot at real locations. Raj and DK’s ability to effortlessly swift between action and humor and to lace it with thrill is exceptional. There were hardly any loopholes on that part and nothing seemed forced. Of course, no script is flawless but the ability to hide those flaws and rise above them is what The Family Man 2 does beautifully.

Manoj Bajpayee yet again tells us why he is no ordinary actor. He is one of those actors who can change the mood of the scene in seconds. He is effortless as he struggles to understand the new age acronyms (ROFL, Sham, GAL, FOMO) or has a ‘woke’ conversation with his family, and is equally confused about his wife asking for a break, meeting a marriage counselor, a concept many couples are oblivious to. His ability to react to a situation continues to surprise me. He is well supported by Sharib Hashmi as Talpade. Their comic timings together and alone will make you LOL (Laugh our Loud, I am learning too, you see).

Samantha is refreshing as Raji, a strong nemesis who has received military training. She is no damsel and doesn’t pretend to be. Scenes, where she has to practice, restrain to stop herself from exposing her identity are beautifully shot. There is a scene where she gets triggered after a man slaps her for not responding to his sexual needs. At that moment, Raji’s vulnerability is shown, and Samantha stands out for me in that. Samantha had a lot of shows as Raji, thankfully the writers did not let her character become caricaturish. Everyone in the supporting cast was well cast and performed brilliantly.

This is what makes The Family Man 2 G.S.O.A.T . No, it is not a typo. I meant Greatest Show of All Time, ya!

You can watch The Family Man 2 on Amazon Prime Video.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Samantha Akkineni & Manoj Bajpayee heap praises on Shahid Kapoor: He hasn’t done full justice to the talent that he has

Assistant Editor at Bollywood Bubble. An ambivert who is currently high on K-dramas and K-Pop. A forever Bollywood fan, who continues to gush over solid stories and characters. Hit me up for a fine conversation over chai.

You can also reach me on – https://twitter.com/filmybugB

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"A Family Man" is one of those films where a fast-talking forty-something upper-middle class husband and father who works too much and doesn't appreciate the simple things in life endures a catastrophic twist of fate and changes his tune. There are a few excellent films that tell that story, a number of watchable but forgettable ones, and so many bad ones that we'd better not start listing them here because we might not know where to stop. To greater or lesser degrees, even the better examples of this sort of movie can feel like veiled apologies by hard-driving Hollywood types (or the money folks who bankroll their work) for spending too much time on the set, in the studio boardroom, at the strip club, or whatever. They all ultimately rise or fall on the basis of their artistry. The less artistry there is, the more phony and self-serving the movie seems.

This one, directed by Mark Williams from a screenplay by former corporate headhunter Bill Dubuque , falls somewhere between the second and third categories. It's not great, not terrible, mostly bearable, occasionally insufferable; you might watch it all the way through if you were tucked into a blanket on a couch and weren't so thirsty, hungry or in need of a bathroom break that you felt compelled to get up. The photography is excellent; the direction is competent enough to pass muster on most cable TV dramas, and there are a number of sparkling performances in supporting roles. But the script wavers between convincing, mostly silent moments of interaction and cringe-inducing, spell-it-all-out dialogue. And the lead role of Dane Jensen has unfortunately been miscast with Gerard Butler . 

Butler has only himself to blame for that last error. Seeking to prove his versatility after years of global superstardom in action blockbusters ("300," " Olympus Has Fallen " and its sequels), Butler embraced this script, used his clout to get it made, and took an executive producer credit on the finished product. A tale like that should warm the hearts of movie buffs who love it when an actor known for one kind of role blossoms in something different. The gold standard is Burt Lancaster , a brawny sex symbol in film noir, action films, war pictures and Westerns who successfully cast himself against type in dramas that he coproduced, including the classic "Sweet Smell of Success," in which he donned horn-rimmed glasses and played many of his scenes while sitting at a table in a restaurant.

Butler is no Lancaster. As Dane, he does the 1980s-'90s Michael Douglas thing, spitting out cynical, acidic monologues on telephones and in boardrooms, his swelled torso and arms straining against tight-fitting jackets and ties, then heading home to dote on his cute children, Ryan ( Max Jenkins ) and Laura ( Julia Butters ), and flirt or fight with his wife Elise ( Gretchen Mol ), who loves him but wishes he'd spend more time with the family he supposedly adores. Then a kind but blunt oncologist named Dr. Singh ( Anupam Kher ) informs the Jensens that Ryan has leukemia and might not live, and the movie shifts into a message-y melodrama that essentially combines the Ebenezer Scrooge and Bob Cratchit plots in "A Christmas Carol" and makes poor Tiny Tim the engine of change by filling the audience with fear that he'll end up as a ghost. 

You've got to be astonishingly skilled, likable and convincing to put a role like this one over the top. And you absolutely  have  to put it over, because if the actor who's at the center of nearly every scene in a moralistic tearjerker isn't dazzling in every frame, the picture will just lie there radiating anxious boredom, like a dog that wants to go outside but can't get anyone's attention. Butler tries his best, but never strong enough to make you stop imagining what someone else could have done with the part.

He's unconvincing in nearly every scene except ones where life punches him in the gut and he has to be quiet and think about what just happened to him. He's supposed to be mesmerizingly charismatic and sly in the "Master of the Universe" scenes where he's bamboozling people, schooling eager underlings, and trying to win a cutthroat contest (Dane's boss, played by Willem Dafoe , pits him against a coworker, played by Alison Brie , with the promise that he'll promote the winner of a sales contest to the position of general manager). But this material, which might've been appallingly exciting if played by Douglas or Denzel Washington or Robert Downey , Jr. or someone else with devilish charm, never sparks to life because Butler too often comes across as domineering and self-involved, like one of those motormouthed meatheads you'd try to avoid talking to at a party. He has two default expressions, a determined scowl and a furrowed-brow "Oh, my gosh, what does this mean?" Mol partly humanizes Butler in the domestic scenes—almost heroically, considering what a nothing part she's been handed; this is the kind of suffering wife role where an actress has to say "Even when you're here, you're not really here "—but there's only so much that she, Dafoe, and the rest of the cast can do. 

There are a few intelligent, sincere, even wrenching scenes in "A Family Man," in particular the moment where Elise accuses her husband of wanting to prolong the life of a child who might not make it because he feels guilty about not having been around more. (That sort of accusation hits so close to the bone that it might make some parents in the audience shudder.) There are other, less dire scenes that also ring true, like the one where Dane pronounces himself "a goddamn American hero" for working late all the time and Elise laughs in his face and makes him laugh, too. Better still is the scene where Dr. Singh entertains theological questions from his young patient, who has suddenly and understandably become obsessed with God and the afterlife: the doctor tells Ryan that over the decades he's become convinced that "all religions are some version of 'what goes around comes around.'"

That's true, for the most part. And yet, like too many exchanges in "A Family Man," it also privileges its hero's moral growth over every other story that it tells, and ultimately makes them all seems like extensions of Dane's struggle. Is God punishing Dane's arrogance by making his son sick? When he struggles to find a cure or a better treatment for his son, or simply to ease the boy's suffering, or when he goes the extra kilometer to help a 59-year old, hard-to-employ client ( Alfred Molina , excellent as usual), is he doing penance? If he is doing penance, does that mean that if either or both stories—or other stories related to Dane—end happily, that God or the Fates or the universe are rewarding Dane for becoming a better person? If Dane's son dies, or if his client doesn't get that job, or if his wife divorces him, does that mean he deserves whatever misery befell him because he spent so much time at the office?

These are not questions the film seems too interested in exploring, and maybe it's better off for not trying. That kind of introspective philosophizing tends to lead a film toward ambiguity and open-ended storytelling, toward contradiction and complexity, sometimes towards audience frustration. None of those things would seem to be in the filmmakers' wheelhouses, or even in their temperaments. Whenever the movie reaches for poetry it lands somewhere in a chain drugstore's greeting card aisle, trying to choose between one that shows an adorable child laughing in a Photoshopped field of sunlit daisies, one that tries for gallows humor but isn't really that funny, and a third with a quote about mortality and wisdom only seems thoughtful because it's written in cursive. 

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Film credits.

A Family Man (2017)

Rated R for language and some sexual content.

108 minutes

Gerard Butler as Dane Jensen

Gretchen Mol as Elise Jensen

Willem Dafoe as Ed Blackridge

Alison Brie as Lynn Vogel

Anupam Kher as Dr. Savraj Singh

Max Jenkins as Ryan Jensen

Dustin Milligan as Sumner

Julia Butters as Lauren Jensen

• Mark Williams
• Bill Dubuque

Cinematographer

• Shelly Johnson

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Movie Review

Jack Campbell is a successful Wall Street trader accustomed to life’s “finer” things. Designer clothes. Gourmet dining. Willing women. Prestige. Power. Jack has it all … or does he?

After calmly thwarting a robbery on Christmas eve, Jack gets a surreal reward—the chance to see what life would’ve been like had he married his college sweetheart and become The Family Man . Jack wakes up Christmas morning in suburban New Jersey beside his wife, Kate, and is playfully assaulted by a rambunctious 3-year-old who calls him “Daddy.” He panics. It seems none of his city friends recognize him, yet strangers in Teaneck treat him as one of their own.

Some very funny scenes involve a jaded Jack reluctantly playing the part of a domesticated male. Walking dogs. Changing babies. Selling tires retail! But just as he begins to enjoy the routine and the people in it, he must return to the life he chose, which now feels empty by comparison. Imagine Capra with a twist: It Could’ve Been a Wonderful Life.

And this could’ve been a wonderful family film if not for profanity, sexual situations, alcohol use and fairly explicit nudity. That’s a shame because, like a holiday cordial, The Family Man has a sweet center. A balm for macho mid-life crisis, it makes strong statements in favor of personal integrity, the value of family and the foolishness of infidelity. It also romanticizes the idea of couples growing old together. If only the movie’s delightful themes weren’t unequally yoked with disappointing moments.

Bob Smithouser

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The Family Man 2 Review: The Only Sequel that Lives Up to the Expectations

My only fear is that The Family Man 2 being a partly Tamil show might struggle to hold the audience’s attention initially. 

The first two episodes make you think whether this is how the entire show is going to be and would you be able to understand what is happening here. Yes, the subtitles are there but when you are watching the show on your phone, you might read the subtitles but when you are watching it on TV, it hinders your experience. I strongly believe that when you read the subtitles for a long time, you cannot enjoy the show as your attention and involvement is somewhere else. While you read the dialogues, you miss out the emotions and expressions that are an integral part of the show when it comes to keeping you hooked. 

Having said that, I also believe that when your story revolves around a certain part of the country or world where people speak a different language, your dialogues shouldn’t be Hindi. Your focus should undoubtedly be on the local language and the local flavour. When the makers do not do that, they are not being realistic. 

Though having dialogues in the characters’ local language was right from the story’s point of view, from the audience’s point of view, it is somewhat painful (to decode). Also, when you do not understand an important part of the story, you easily get distracted and lose interest which had just started to happen with me. But then, a few episodes later, The Family Man 2 again becomes Manoj Bajpayee’s show and then the fun begins. So if you get past the language barrier, you will love The Family Man 2. 

In the initial episodes, before Srikant Tiwari rejoins the task, I observed a weird thing. There was haunting silence in the background for Manoj Bajpayee’s scenes which added seriousness even to the funny scenes. Music helps set the tone for the scenes. It also helps the performers deliver the right emotion to the audience. But here, in a few scenes where the Music was so needed, it wasn’t there. If not music, the sounds of the surrounding area would have also helped. For example, how would it feel if the scene is set in a crowded place and all you hear is dialogues without any chaos, how would that feel? It should sound crowded, right? If you have watched the show and felt the same while watching Srikant Tiwari’s scenes set in the corporate environment, let me know in the comments below. 

As the story’s new elements end, that is Srikant’s corporate job and the Srilankan background of the story is done and dusted, The Family Man 2 picks up pace. Till then, it might bore you. You might even struggle to keep yourself glued to the show and make sense of what is happening. I suggest you to hold on and be patient as once Srikant joins the task with JK and other team members, you will forget the initial boredom. 

Your involvement level will be super high. How involved will you be? 

Spoiler Alert: There is a scene where JK is in danger. He is surrounded by the terrorists which he and his teammate are unaware of in the beginning. As they get to know about it, they run towards the jungle looking for a place to hide. During the entire scene, my Mom kept prompting, asking JK to be careful. Whenever in danger, she told him to leave the place immediately. Then she kept on telling him to, ‘look back or sideways,’ whenever someone was around. That is JK’s magic and the show’s hold on you. 

In season 2, you feel more connected to the characters. They become your own. You want to protect them from the danger that you already see and sense but they cannot. You empathize with them and yes, at times, even blame the authorities for the condition these people are in. The Family Man 2 has done a fabulous job of silently shedding light on how our police or people from the intelligence department do not get the protection or help that they should. While the terrorists are well-trained and well-equipped, our people are almost always fighting bare-handed or with outdated weapons. You choke when Srikant Tiwari and his team are surrounded by a group of terrorists when they arrest Raji. When Srikant tells his team to lock the police station and take shelter inside the station, you cannot help but look at the station’s condition and wonder how this tiny, ready to collapse building will protect anyone from the ruthless predators? And then what you fear happens. Srikant’s precious teammates get killed. 

Another scene that gives you goosebumps is when Srikant’s daughter gets kidnapped. This nail-biting scene brings you to the edge of your seat and at a point, where you don’t want the show to end. Also you keep praying that they shouldn’t drag this part of the story to the third season. I cannot move forward unless I tell you what outstanding performance Ashlesha Thakur (Dhriti) has delivered here. Our child artists are more talented than most of the so-called superstars of Bollywood. Speaking of the child artists, what a charmer Vedant Sinha is! At such a young age, what hold he has over his character, and of course, the audience. May you grow up to become one of the finest and successful actors in the industry, young man. 

And last but not the least, Manoj Bajpayee. He speaks volumes with minimum to no dialogues with just his expressions and body language. Why is he so loved in The Family Man? Because he is no superhero like other actors pretend to be when they are offered similar roles. Remember Abhishek Bachchan in Dhoom? Zero expressions, zero acting, only faltu ka attitude. That makes you neither relatable nor intelligent, and not at all lovable. If you still didn’t understand what I am talking about, go back to this Mangalsutra Chor scene:

Real, relatable, funny yet talks a lot about the determination of this man on the job. That is Manoj Bajpayee for you. How effortlessly he becomes Srikant Tiwari. In Family Man Season 2, you would also see Srikant Tiwari break down when he loses his colleague but then when he speaks to his seniors or his wife, he pretends to be alright. That unlayers another shade of the character and you know why these people are so hard to crack or break in real life as well. Why do people from defense seem emotionless? Because every now and then they suppress their emotions. Not by choice, but because they have no time to sit with their feelings. If they do so, they will lose much more than they just lost. This is reiterated in the scene when Srikant finds his daughter and immediately gets back to work by sending her to the hospital with his associate. Even after that, he wishes he could have caught the daughter’s kidnapper alive as he had the information the team needed. That constant turning on and off of emotions is a tough and exhausting job. The portrayal of which has been fabulously done by Manoj Bajpayee. 

For JK, I would say just one thing: The Family Man is incomplete without him. 

Dear Musa, you were missed. 

P.S: For Family Man Season 3, start learning Chinese (The end of Season 2 suggests so). 

Streaming On: Amazon Prime Video

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The Family Man 2 Review - Manoj and Samantha sizzle in this cat and mouse battle!

Published date : 05/jun/2021.

Manoj and Samantha sizzle in this cat and mouse battle!

The much awaited second season of the highly rated show ‘Family Man’, has dropped on Amazon Prime! Starring Manoj Bajpayee as Srikant and actress Samantha as Raji, this time around we have a whole sea of Tamil and Hindi actors in various subplots. Have directors Raj and DK guaranteed entertainment the second time around? Read further to see what it has in store for audiences.

Even before jumping into this review, let us remind you of the fact that this is one India’s most watched shows across OTT platforms and the expectation meter is already off the chart. Manoj (Srikant) has retired from his TASC job with the Government and has set out to attend a day job. He takes every step towards being the ideal ‘Family Man’ but his wife (Priyamani), is not impressed with his efforts. Simultaneously, there is a parallel track about the Sri Lankan Tamils headed by Mime Gopi (Bhaskaran) and Azhagamperumal. They have had to face a lot of struggles to survive and have had enough. Enter Samantha (Raji), a rebel warrior who is ready to go to any extent to accomplish the mission set by her Eelam team. Does Srikant get back to his duty and try to stop Raji and her gang? Or is there a massive plan against the politics of an entire nation? These are the questions that get their answers in season 2.

Even though this can be termed a cat and mouse battle between two characters, Family Man Season 2 gets its soul from a lot of other supporting characters. As for the casting, Manoj and Samantha ace their parts and this is no surprise. Since a large part of the story is set in Chennai, a lot of Tamil actors including Mime Gopi, Devadharshini, Azhagamperumal to name a few get the meat. They have done well and have the characters that accompany Srikant and Raji in their respective missions. Special mention to Dhriti and her boyfriend whose sub plot had an interesting touch upon teenage relationships and their dangers these days. Full marks to the casting equation.

Right from the word go, the makers have ensured to provide a wholesome ride with a lot of entertainment. Within the first couple of episodes, we get introduced to a lot of important details and characters but the series takes its own course of time to give us ‘Raji’ and her plan. This is a conscious move to hold the audiences and one might say this has gone both ways. As much as we want to have the suspense intact, we also do not want to feel like we waited too long for it. But what makes up for this is the detailing that the team has given. What could have been a challenging task of having to maintain a realistic look and feel for the series, that shifts its geography between London, Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and New Delhi seems to have been achieved with ease. This is pure research and effort from the team’s end that deserves applause.

Family Man Season 2 is high on action and emotions. As you can say, the only form of humour is that of Sharib Hashmi and another Tamil police officer. Special mention to the shootout sequences shot within the police station as they were quite innovatively canned. The series touches upon a lot of aspects like domestic abuse against women at a workplace, the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils and the convenient ways of those in power. How all this is woven into a cat and mouse battle forms for this season.

As for the technicalities, cinematography by Cameron Eric Bryson is the sail of this ship. Right from natural angles, lighting to capturing fight sequences in an impactfully believable manner, his department scores full marks. The edit could have been a little tighter at points and a few sequences could have been done away with. Music by Ketan adds value and so does the action by the team of Aejaz and Yannick. Overall, a technically sound product is on offer for fans.

On the whole, this second season of Family Man is Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha’s show well supported by some good performances by most of the supporting actors. Even though there is predictability at some points, the engagement does prevail and sails the ship to its dock. Gripping fight sequences, an interesting layer about the Sri Lankan Tamils and some native vibes for the people of Tamil Nadu would attract fans without doubt. Directors Raj and DK strike a chord second time in a row!

Verdict: Yet another majorly gripping outing, for the ‘Family Man’ franchise! A worthy watch for fans!

Rating: 3/5

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The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time. The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time. The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time.

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In award-winning musician Baloji's solid directorial debut, a young Congoloese man brings his pregnant fiancée to meet his estranged family.

• Rich themes of culture, family, and personal identity are explored in this disjointed but thought-provoking film.
• Baloji, a promising director with a unique aesthetic, delves deep into the clash of tradition and modernity with a unique aesthetic.
• Omen 's intriguing narrative follows the journey of a Congolese man returning to confront his family and culture, with unexpected results.

Not to be confused with the recent release of The First Omen — though perhaps equally impactful — Omen (originally titled Augure in French, which means "oracle" or "soothsayer") is an exciting new indie. The film follows a doomed Congolese man who makes the unfortunate mistake of returning to his roots with his pregnant wife to discover a harsh reality: Ancient beliefs of sorcery and supernatural forces are still at work. What could go wrong with a little family reunion after all these years? Lots.

Omen was a hit at Cannes , became Belgium's Academy Award entry for Best International Feature , and is directed by award-winning musician Baloji. If you're in the mood for a deep dive down a particular rabbit role, you might learn that the Swahili word "baloji" refers to occult and evil forces, though it once meant “man of science" before colonialism led to a more daunting association. So with a stage name like Baloji, you know Omen has a lot of significance for the director. Now that you're primed and ready for this Belgian (but French-language) stunner, which happens to be Baloji's feature film directorial debut , brace yourself for a disjointed, perplexing, but ultimately thought-provoking feature about the clash of tradition, religion, modernity, and more .

Modernity and Tradition Clash in Omen

• Rich themes of culture, family, and personal identity.
• Baloji is a promising director with a unique aesthetic.
• The film is intentionally disjointed and can be confusing, with strange pacing.

Omen begins in Europe, where we see budding adult Koffi (Marc Zinga) getting his sizable afro trimmed by his pregnant fiancée, Alice (Lucie Debay). It's a striking image, seeing a single stripe/chunk of hair gone from Koffi's mane as she trims, and they discuss their journey ahead to the Congolese Koffi's birthplace of Kinshasa. The image of Koffi's wild hair effectively sets the eerie and sometimes even comedic tone of what's to come in this perplexing tale, which soon continues with them touching down in the Democratic Republic of Congo and confronting Koffi's long-lost family.

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It's already off to a rocky start for the couple when Koffi's sister Tshala (Eliane Umuhire) doesn't pick them up at the airport. It's a bit of foreshadowing, as Tshala gets her own chunk of the film all to herself later on. Baloji sets up an interesting four-quadrant tale here, where the overall end result is split between four central characters and how the notion of sorcery applies to each of them in different ways .

For example, when Koffi and Alice gear up to come face to face with the fam — with Koffi hoping to let bygones be bygones and amend past woes — Koffi's nose starts bleeding directly onto his relative's baby. The extended clan freaks, and next thing you know, a religious leader performs a sort of ritual on him to rid his presence of evil spirits. The more modern Alice doesn't buy it all, however, attributing the nosebleed to Koffi's high blood pressure. It's relentlessly relatable material about today's religious and political climates, no matter where you live in the world.

But why was Koffi ostracized from his family before this visit? Why were they estranged in the first place? Well, we also learn that Koffi has a mysterious birthmark that would give Damien from The Omen a run for his money. The birthmark scared the daylights out of his mom, Mujila (Yves-Marina Gnahoua), so badly that she shipped Koffi off to Europe. That's what you do when faced with a sorcerer, yeah?

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A Story of Sorcery in Four Parts

Baloji finds clever enough ways to transition his film between each of the four central personas. To get from Koffi to the next "sorcerer," we see Koffi and Alice pass through town and witness an outdoor wrestling spectacle led by a young lad named Paco (Marcel Otete Kabeya). Instead of letting the sorcery label put him in a funk, Paco tries to capitalize on it by selling it as part of his image during his public wrestling matches. Can't knock the hustle, folks! These kinds of elaborate exterior sequences are mostly captured with rickety, fast-moving tracking shots that show promise for Baloji as a burgeoning filmmaker , having already proven himself in the real-life music scene.

Then we're back with sister Tshala, who — similar to Koffi — doesn't necessarily feel like she believes in all the dated traditions of her community and family, even if she's been living amongst it all these years (unlike Koffi). She's having medical problems and visits the local priest, who we see on more than one occasion during this tale. Actress Eliane Umuhire is sharply appealing as Tshala, as are all four of the lead performers in their respective roles. And if you thought your mom was feisty, just watch out for Mujila and how she lays down the law for those beneath her.

The fragmented nature of the narrative here won't be for everyone , especially those jarring lapses in time that leave us double-taking and questioning whether we missed something. But sign us up for Baloji's next feature, please, whether it's based around the occult or not. The third act turns particularly artsy — watch out for an epic moment involving a bed in the middle of the desert, for example. Ultimately, the film is a fascinating and aesthetically distinct study of how culture intersects with family and personal identity.

From Utopia, Omen is now playing in select theaters. You can find tickets and more information here .