A Manifestation of Western Ideals

Accompanied by a good group of good friends, all on vacation themselves in the States, I attended a viewing of the movie Slumdog Millionaire. This film, hailed by some a great piece of cinematic work, failed on many levels to impress me. In fact, it did quite the opposite, in that I was rather disappointed with having spent money on the film. This film lures one in, appearing oddly interesting and even captivating, only to dissolve into a cliched love story. The film does not do the locations, wherein it was filmed, justice. I was enticed by images of poor India and the thought of being given some sort of view into a world that it may be difficult for one as myself to view. However, one of the main plot points is that the main protagonist is a contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. So, perhaps, I should revise my previous statement pertaining to my being somewhat interested at first: I was not, rather I was doubtful, then only to be lied to (for about five minutes), in that this film might actually be worth-while. The skewed western story, shoved into an exotic setting, is by all means replaceable. This film is nothing special. The good guy gets what he wants and the what-could-have-been-valuable story is lost. As for how one is enticed: the cinematography is acceptable in certain parts and the thought that the story will not revert back to the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire point does an excellent job. This film is certainly not up to my standards. I resent the possibilities that could have been exploited therein, and find this as a rather often occurrence, especially with "hip" or "independent" films that are popular in the USA. Watch a better movie.