As the latest Hindi reincarnation of a Hollywood blockbuster, Karam is yet another remake that fails to successfully make the leap from La La Land to Bollywood. Sanjay F Gupta's blood-fest/love story revolves around John Abraham's jaded young assassin, who is forced to eliminate five targets within 36 hours before he can reunite with his kidnapped wife Shalini (Priyanka Chopra). Unfortunately, you might be begging to be taken out yourself by the closing credits.

Taking inspiration from Collateral and Kill Bill, Karam kicks off with conscience-striken hitman John (Abraham) promising his wife Shalinli (Chopra) that he'll give up his day job after he accidentally kills an innocent child during a botched job. But sadistic mob boss Captain (Bharat Dhabolkar) won't let John quit until he's got rid of a rival don and four of his accomplices - and takes Shalini hostage as a handy insurance against the evil deed. Enter into the equation Inspector Wagh (Shiney Ahuja), a young cop hot on their trail, and what follows is a cat and mouse chase through the murky streets of Mumbai.

"FAILS TO IMPRESS ON MULTIPLE LEVELS"

Despite a great soundtrack and two of Bollywood's sexiest young actors in the lead roles, Karam fails to impress on multiple levels. Poor dialogue, dodgy editing and Gupta's decision to switch randomly between animation, colour and black-and-white end up giving the film a fractured look and feel. Not even an over-the-top villain with an odd taste for recreational sports can help make sense of this cinematic mess.

In Hindi with English subtitles.