The Ghost (2022)
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The Ghost (2022)
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Ghost is a 2022 Indian action movie in which a former Interpol officer goes to war against criminals who are trying to kidnap his sister and her daughter. It's a two-hour-and-18-minute epic action movie with constant stylized violence. Fighting with sniper rifles, assault rifles, guns, swords, knives, punches, kicks. Characters are shot and killed at close range, stabbed, and decapitated. A young boy is killed during a hostage standoff. During a flashback scene, a young boy is nearly killed by a man wielding a bloody sickle. Teen girls are drugged and taken prisoner, with the lead teen girl almost sold to sex traffickers. Villains use cocaine. Teens are shown drinking shots and wine and smoking from hookahs. The lead character binge-drinks whiskey. Cigarette smoking. Cigar smoking. Strong language throughout, including "f--k." In Telugu, with English subtitles.
What's the Story?
In THE GHOST, Vikram (Nagarjuna Akkineni) and Priya (Sonal Chauhan) are romantic partners who also work together as Interpol agents. But when a hostage standoff results in the death of a child, a distraught Vikram decides to leave his life behind in the hopes of destroying the criminal underworld that thrives on kidnapping the children of wealthy family members. Five years into his disappearance, he receives a call from Anu (Gul Panag), his sister from when he was adopted by an officer in the aftermath of his parents getting killed during the Hindu-Muslim riots of the 1980s. Anu has been receiving death threats and ultimatums from unknown sources and her security detail and the police are unable to help her. These threats are also being directed at Anu's teen daughter Aditi -- whose spoiled and entitled behavior is causing problems. As Vikram works to protect Anu and Aditi, he learns that the men behind the threats are the same he has been pursuing all this time, and as he fights desperately to stop them, he also finds help from a source from his past.
Is It Any Good?
This is an action movie that is way too long and way too violent. The Ghost is an Indian movie that clocks in at two hours and 18 minutes, and it could easily be 45minutes less than this without sacrificing any important story points. There's an excess and bombast to this that's so over the top and obnoxious, even Michael Bay would blush at it. Killing, shooting, stabbing, decapitation, blood, and explosions. This movie "has it all," but what it doesn't really have is a worthwhile story.
It's a lot of excess for what amounts to a run-of-the-mill action movie story about a hero trying to make things right after a tragic incident during a hostage standoff. After that, it's more or less a story of said hero going after the villains and taking them down, one at a time, with each battle more detailed and "satisfying" than the one that preceded it. There are side stories and story threads that do little except make a long movie even longer. The result is too much of everything, resulting in over two hours of not much.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about action movies like The Ghost. How was it similar to and different from other action movies you've seen?
This movie has a ton of violence. How does the violence compare to that in other action movies, and how much of it was really necessary for the story?
If you could edit this movie, what parts would you cut? Why?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: November 1, 2022
- Cast: Nagarjuna Akkineni, Sonal Chauhan, Gul Panag
- Director: Praveen Sattaru
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Run time: 138 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: December 21, 2022
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For kids who love action
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