Kill is an Indian action film with an economy of storytelling, screen-time, and even action. Its a quick hour and forty minutes and gets to the point very quickly with some gnarly, brutal action scenes. And even some surprising story beats. This is a great pure action flick.

It’s about an Indian soldier on a train when an organized gang of bandits take over. Our stoic, buff, and angry hero must take on the gang and save his fiancé and future in-laws.

Yes, this is Die Hard on a Train… or to get 21st century about it, a much less apocalyptic Snowpiercer. Its viscous action is not trying to be fancy or a showpiece for its choreographers either…. and since it’s on a train, it’s basically one corridor fight after another. Think more season 1 Daredevil’s exhausting hallway fight and less The Raid’s. But also think The Raid’s “holy shit!” moments when a particularly brutal kill happens. This flick is full of those… while occasionally dipping its toes into horror.

The hero is not invulnerable or infallible. In the first half, he gets clocked hard and often. In the second half… he’s a monster. But even then, he still gets his bell rung. He’s the kind of action hero I like… not invulnerable, not a master at everything, able to get hurt and make mistakes. It elevates this kind of action film by makings its hero more human. Think Die Hard (on a train).

The whole vibe of the movie and all its action scenes are nowhere near as over-produced, unlikely, or melodramatic as other Indian action films I’ve seen. The fights are raw, brutal, and efficient as the blood flows. You can tell its not an American film since the bad guys have only one gun between them and the hero none. Every bit of raw carnage is from a fist, knife, or fire extinguisher. And the movie is BRUTAL in the best kind of way.

There are a few problems like some of the logic behind the sudden appearance of cops and where and how and when the train stops. Maybe I missed something… maybe there were cuts or I don’t know what. It’s not enough to hate the film, just to keep my rating from going even higher (and its plenty high already).

For giving me a dozen “Holy shit!” moments followed by appreciative chuckles, I’m going high on this one. I was engaged in the drama and the fallibility of its monster of a hero. The villains were also pretty hateable and I was very happy when they got sliced ‘n diced. This one’s worth the subtitles and is charitably not a three hour slugfest. Check it out.

Score: 90