Runway 34 Review: Enjoy first half of Ajay Devgn-Amitabh Bachchan's film, run away in the second one

Runway 34 is about a MayDay call that Captain Vikrant Khanna makes when he loses hope about saving his flight and its passengers. However, with some risky decisions and maths calculations at 35000 ft, he managed to save the lives of all of his flight members by dramatically landing the aircraft. Ajay Devgn performs skillfully as the heroic captain, who is borderline snobbish and wouldn't miss a chance to show off that he has a photographic memory. 

The two halves of Runway 34 are essentially two different films. The first part is an aerial thriller detailing how Captain Vikrant glided the plane onto the frigid runway of Trivandrum in extreme weather conditions successfully saving the lives of all 150 aboard. After the intermission, the investigation takes over and the edgy thriller turns into a banal courtroom drama dissecting the judgments made by the Captain and his First Officer Tanya Albuquerque played by Rakul Preet Singh.

As the Captain was being celebrated by the public and the media for his unprecedented feat of aviation skills, an investigation was unfolding in corporate offices and government boards that threatened to annihilate his standing and his career.

Ajay Devgn who also directed and produced the film is phenomenal. A man of few words and expressions, he makes sure you feel the nervousness when you're watching the scenes inside the flight. Rakul as the terrified First Officer adds more drama to it. Close-up shots, bombastic sound effects and adequate VFX successfully give you the jitters of the horrid situation. Devgn seldom frustrates you with his arrogance and devil-may-care attitude but he grips you in the situation. Watching him operate the aircraft calmly you'd want to shake him up a bit but little do we know that it is the most energetic that we see him in the entire film running over two hours. 

Amitabh Bachchan is introduced in the second half of the film and how! He's a menacing investigator who holds an aura of his own. Big B as Narayan Vedant is charismatic on the screen. However, when he keeps translating his dialogues in the film it eventually gets on your nerves because the investigation lacks finesse. You'd probably have more valid questions in your head than Mr Vedant asks Vikrant.

Although the story keeps moving in intensity with expected twists and turns full of jeopardy and a heartwarming resolution, it doesn't keep you interested for long. When you expect a full-throttle altercation between the two leads, you get a heartfelt speech by Devgn saying, 'Galti humesha pilot ki hee hoti hai'.

The cast also includes Boman Irani as the owner of the airline, Angira Dhar as Devgn's lawyer and Aakanksha Singh as his on-screen wife. There's YouTuber CarryMinati too who adds some humour when the aircraft starts going haywire. 

Talking about Amar Mohile's background score and music they infuse with the backdrop effortlessly. Thankfully, there aren't any unwanted item songs or filler dance sequences. Instead, there's Devgn's introduction rap, which goes well with the persona of his character. Easily reminds you of Hansal Mehta's Scam 1992's theme music. 

To sum it up, the film impresses you when it shows you the insides of the aircraft and the Captain's drudgery efforts to save everyone on board during the 'MayDay' situation. However, as an audience, you miss the charge and the build-up as soon as you step inside the courtroom. 

You can watch the trailer of Runway 34 here: