Fateh Review: Sonu Sood's wannabe 'Animal' could've been a 2-minute cybercrime awareness commercial

Fateh Review: Sonu Sood's directorial debut hits theatres today and the actor also plays a titular role in it. Is the movie worth watching? Read our review to know the same.

Fateh Movie Review: Sonu Sood has made his directorial debut with the film. The actor is also a part of the action thriller film. The actor co-wrote the screenplay and dialogues with Ankur Pajni, while Sankalp Rawal, Rudra Anand, and Shyam Nirmal contributed additional screenplays. Vincenzo Condorelli has worked as the cinematographer, whereas John Stewart Eduri and Hans Zimmer have composed the movie's score. Is the movie worth watching? Read our review to find out.

Fateh Review

Release Date: January 10, 2025
Where to Watch: Theatres
Cast: Sonu Sood, Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Raaz, Jacqueline Fernandez
Director: Sonu Sood
Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Rating:
Rating : 1.5 out of 5

Fateh Movie Review: What is it about?

When a girl named Nimrat (Shiv Jyoti Rajput) goes missing from his village, Moga, in Punjab, Fateh (Sonu Sood) takes it upon himself to find her. Nimrat vanishes as a result of falling victim to fraudulent loan applications, which she recommends to some villagers, ultimately leading to someone's death. Along with seeking revenge, our protagonist also attempts to create awareness about cybercrime and how it ruins the lives of thousands of Indians every day.

Fateh Review: Discussion and Analysis

The movie's opening scene depicts Fateh killing hundreds of men inside a room. Yes, you will definitely get an Animal movie flashback. But what's intriguing is that it doesn't happen once. The story then shifts to a flashback from a month earlier, during which he explains the precise reason for his brutal killing of so many men. Sadly, the reasoning never comes across as impactful. The poorly executed and disjointed tragedy leaves us desperate for the story to make some sense.

Following Nimrat's disappearance in Delhi, Fateh also makes his way to the city, where he kills the wicked guys with ease. What's hilarious is the man who talks about right and wrong easily gets away with killing people, despite the cops being suspicious. In Delhi, he meets Khushi (Jacqueline Fernandez), a hacker who has been tracking these fraudsters who are scamming people. We discover that Raza (Naseeruddin Shah) is the individual responsible for operating these illicit applications. The movie is filled with so many elements and random characters that, at one point, you only see things unfold randomly, without any real understanding of cybercrime.

In the film, people often ask Sonu Sood's character, 'What does he do?' He responds, 'Everybody wants to know the same.' At times, it seemed as though he was answering a common question during the pandemic, when he generously provided financial assistance to a large number of people. Many wondered what he does that he can easily help people, while most politicians also don't do it. Sadly, the reel version is unbearable because of the terrible screenplay and execution that leave you frustrated with nothing making sense.

To compensate for the awareness factor as excessive killings take the forefront, Sonu talks about the cybercrime affecting the middle-class Indians and scamming them, causing financial losses with voiceover. The voice sounds so robotic that you think this movie could've been just a 3-minute commercial or a documentary on the subject. What's weird is that Fateh's ruthless killing of the bad guys is justified by his fight for the nation. Yet, as a viewer, you never feel that because the cause that he claims to be fighting for is completely sidelined.

Fateh appears to be an attempt to showcase Sonu Sood as a potential action hero, but it falls short in this regard. If you think Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal had mindless killings and lots of bloodshed, well, we have a competition because Sood's film does it after every 15-20 minutes. You simply don't take the cause seriously enough. I don't know if it was a joke or self-awareness, or if the makers really thought their story was that immersive and impactful, but the intermission comes with the text that reads, 'Brace yourself. You will need this break'.

Coming to performances, Sonu Sood does action in style and you sometimes enjoy it. But it is so overdone that you again go back, trying to make sense of it. It's disheartening that an actor of his calibre must resort to such extreme measures to show his ability to deliver powerful punches and kicks. The movie wastes Jacqueline Fernandez, much like her character Khushi, who claims to be a hacker but lacks any survival skills and personality. What's disappointing is to see someone like Naseeruddin Shah be a part of this mess.

Fateh Movie Review: Final Thoughts

Overall, Fateh fails to provide us with any meaningful content throughout the film. The unnecessarily loud music, murders, and bloodshed in the film do little to raise awareness about cybercrime. The climax sequence, in particular, evoked a sense of a wannabe Animal. A story that talks about the middle class being scammed due to such loan app scams and technology keeps the real people away completely and focuses more on the violence aspect, which is quite tormenting to watch.