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Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is a movie about a young man in India who goes onto India’s version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” in order to get his love interest’s attention. This movie has taken on the role of this year’s “critics darling” for the Oscar run, so I figured I had better check it out to see what all the fuss is about.

Generally speaking, it was a good movie. The first half was ripe with hardships and humor as your thrust into the realities of how some people are forced to live. The young actors do an amazing job running from bad situations to worse situations. In fact, it almost feels like the whole first half of the movie is spent on the move, which is why the second half of the movie becomes a little stale. The main characters grow up as the film takes a turn to your traditional love story.

Was it feel good? Yes. Was it an emotional roller coaster? At times. Was it the best movie of the year? No. Slumdog is a fully capable film. But by the end, I felt it didn’t quite deliver what the first half had promised. Not to mention the traditional Bollywood sequence during the credits completely removes you from the reality you were just expected to believe. So when you leave the theater, you’re unfortunately left with a cheesy recount of the film.