Hotel Mumbai - Review

Hotel Mumbai

A gripping true story of humanity and heroism, HOTEL MUMBAI vividly recounts the 2008 siege of the famed Taj Hotel by a group of terrorists in Mumbai, India. Among the dedicated hotel staff is the renowned chef Hemant Oberoi (Anupam Kher) and a waiter (Academy Award-Nominee Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire) who choose to risk their lives to protect their guests. As the world watches on, a desperate couple (Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name and Nazanin Boniadi, "Homeland") is forced to make unthinkable sacrifices to protect their newborn child.

REVIEW: First I highly recommend seeing this in the theater. The reimagining of being in real time the events leading up to, during and in the end makes for highly effective viewing. It keeps you thoroughly engaged minute by minute to this horrific event for all of its 2 hour running time. Secondly, if you are squeamish stay at home as the film for all of its 2 hours is essentially watching people being slaughtered with copious amounts of blood at every turn.

Overall, the film hauntingly and impactfully moves on two parallel track story lines. One of which chronicles the sinister evil perpetuated by naïve fanatical ideological young men executing - murdering randomly any and all victims in their path. The other track tells the heroism of ordinary hotel staff who put up a desperate fight for their survival. Especially, actor Dev Patel as the kitchen staffer “Arjun”. He turns in a solid performance as the empathetic Sikh who saved countless lives that day. In some measure he embodies the conscience of all good people regardless of their faith who abhor and renounced violence.

Now there are flaws in the film. One in which was the seemingly idiotic nonstop conversations and mindless actions that occurred in the early stages of the attack, largely between the hotel guess. Specifically, their insistence to carrying on loud argumentative conversations behind lock doors and rooms, either with one another or on their cell phones. 

Lester Note to Potential Victims. When terrorist show up with guns and they are trying to kill lots of people, the first thing they are looking for are people who are hiding, talking and making noise behind doors. It was very ironic that a retried Russian Special Forces Soldier who was there on his holiday finally said what I was thinking the whole time………………”If you people don’t shut the “F” up you going to get us all killed”.

The other matter I found annoying was the over use of people hiding with a crying baby. I mean I know it was meant to be portrayed as the ultimate tension dilemma moment of “what do you do”, but to keep doing it more than once in the film got to be a bit much.

In the end, “Hotel Mumbai” vividly reminds up madness is everywhere in the world and it exists in scary, intense, dramatic and violent ways. It also reminds us that heroism also exist and it can comes from the most unexpected places and unexpectant of people who when thrust into life and death situations rely on an innate bravery, humanity, decency, compassion and expressions of self-sacrifice as their only armor to preserve and survive.

3.50 Stars