The Darjeeling Limited

If you need to catch up on some sleep, I would highly recommend this movie. For me, I love adventure movies and was anticipating lots of action, especially when you have a film with three middle-aged men. Unfortunately, the action-packed, shoot ‘em up adventure I anticipated turned out to be nothing more than a scenic tour across India with some predictable humor.

When you’re checking your watch during a movie, that’ s a tell-tale sign that it’s more than likely not going to be one your favorites. I’m often told that I have a different sense of humor, so perhaps some of the humor was lost because I was focused on looking for some action parts which were few and far between. After the death of their father, the three pill popping brothers arrange to have some bonding time with their mother in India. Francis, the oldest, plans a trip to the foothills of the Himalayas where their mother is now residing. The personalities of the three brothers are relatable, yet once again, predictable for the genre. Francis is the older, controlling brother of the two who takes on the bossy role. The other brother Francis brings along his assistant, Brandon, who has planned every waking hour of the trip. Then you have Jack, who is depicted as the typical womanizer, embarking on this journey after a recent breakup with his latest fling.  It doesn't get more stereotypical than that.  Next, you have Peter, the remaining brother, who is married with a child on the way. In an adventure, I expect more interesting conflicts from three middle aged brothers rather than stereotypical behaviors of the characters in this film.  Travels in the exotic land of Jodhpur were nothing like I anticipated for an "action" movie. 

At the first stop the train makes the three men visit a temple and end up getting blessed. Along the way, there are a few memorable scenes that aligned with the characteristics of an adventure movie.  For example, I was somewhat engaged when Francis had a three thousand dollar shoe stolen by the shoe shining boy and also when the brother’s poisonous snake escapes and gets loose on the train creating a frantic search for the reptile.  This put me more to the edge of my seat.  This is what adventure should do.  When the brothers are given a warning and are limited to their rooms, once again, the genre fell flat because the action sequence was non-existent. After the next stop the brothers end up getting blessed again. A physical altercation ensues between the two brothers, which eventually gets them kicked off the train and deserted in the middle of nowhere.  This particular sequence meets the criteria for adventure and climaxed a bit more when Francis and Brandon part ways. The three brothers come across some young rafters attempting to cross a raging river, which leads to another cliché moment, but fits the genre. Peter, Francis, and Jack have to rescue the boys whose raft ended up flipping in the raging current. The cliché presses on: one boy drowns, while the other three survive providing the ultimate formula for a family bonding moment for the three brothers.

The saga continues as they are unwelcome to attend the funeral of the deceased boy, but of course, an expected change of heart takes place and allows the brothers to attend, pushing them even closer together. Finally, the brothers reach the Himalayas where they find their mother. The meeting between the three brothers and their mother was brief but served as a springboard for the circular ending where they find the key to their life through these experiences and a culminating mountain hike. Will Francis learn a lesson in humility? Will Jack come to terms with his wild ways and realize he cares about the girl he left behind? Does Peter come to grips with the reality of having a child?

Don’t get me wrong, the movie wasn’t horrific, but several of the scenes just didn’t match up to the expectations in my head for an action movie, nor the high dollar blockbusters you see roaring across the screen in the theater these days. If you’re expecting computer generated images that you see in many action packed adventures, like Avatar, spoiler alert, you’re going to be disappointed. Too many of the scenes played out in my mind before they happened, but I found moments of humor that kept me somewhat interested and half awake. Compared to other adventure movies I’ve seen¸ I’d give this movie two and half star rating out of five.