Looop Lapeta Movie Review: It is a relief as a reviewer to write about a remake and say 'don't run away from it'. I had my reservations when Bollywood wanted to remake the German cult hit Run Lola Run that too, 24 years after its release. Looop Lapeta, starring Taapsee Pannu and Tahir Raj Bhasin in the lead, might not be the ground-shattering phenomenon as the original, but it scores a win in being a nice and enjoyable remake that modifies itself for the desi audience while also not letting down the original, which includes a cute little meta nod near the climax. Looop Lapeta Movie: Review, Cast, Plot, Trailer, Streaming Date and Time – All You Need to Know About Taapsee Pannu, Tahir Raj Bhasin’s Netflix Film!

Savina (Taapsee Pannu) is our desi Lola, a former national-level sprinter from Goa. In a nice animated opening credit sequence, we see her rise as a sprinter, making her father-coach proud, and then how an injury on the track crashes her career. She meets Satya (Tahir Raj Bhasin) in an unusual circumstance and begins a live-in relationship with him.

Satya is a compulsive gambler and in Savina's words, a low-life. On Savina's birthday, where she makes an unexpected discovery about herself, Satya botches up an assignment for his crime boss Victor (Dibyendu Bhattacharya). Now Savina has to figure out how to make Rs 50 lakhs within 90 minutes to save her boyfriend's skin.

Watch the Trailer:

If you have seen the trailer of Looop Lapeta, you know the movie deals with time loop mechanics, something last year's Tamil movie Maanaadu did with entertaining gusto. There is no particular explanation as to how it happens in the movie, just as it did in Run Lola Run, and if you are someone who can't let that go off, the lack of answer would be a sore point. Or maybe you can seek solace in the fact that the movie slyly makes Savina-Satya into a Satyavan-Savitri story from the Mahabharata. 'Cos for all the time loop hijinks, Looop Lapeta is a love story. Well, make that three! And a smart one at that. Even the title hides quite a few hints in it! Looop Lapeta: Did You Know Run Lola Run, The Inspiration Behind Taapsee Pannu’s Film, Was Already Remade in Bollywood?

TBH, I didn't take into liking Looop Lapeta in the beginning. The crazy camera angles and crazier transition shots might have made the movie look cool - something it also borrowed from RLR - but Guy Ritchie and his many apers have already made those shots redundant post-Snatch. The black humour and the handful of the supporting characters that the movie drags in to complicate Savina's problems were ho-hum in these scenes. Even both the lead characters weren't that appealing, despite the actors trying their best to make them to be so different. The snide critic in me snorted to myself that Taapsee might have just run off from the sets of Rashmi Rocket to be here.

Boy, the snide me was so wrong! Looop Lapeta trapped me in its loop, well, when the first loop ends, and I began to have a renewed sense of admiration hereon for the film. It's as if director Aakash Bhatia (Inside Edge) wanted me to have this false sense of distrust for his film, before he dropped in the surprise. From the moment the Looop (pun intended), the human element of the story begins to get better, Savina and even Satya became better characters, and I also began to have a liking for the other characters like the opportunistic jeweller Chaddha (Rajendra Chawla), his two bumbling sons Appu (Manik Papneja) and Gappu (Raghav Raj Kakker), Savina''s father (KC Shankar), jilted cab driver Jacob (Sameer Kevin Roy), and the confused bride Julia (Shreya Dhanwanthary... so fantastic in that anguished monologue scene). The writing had become smarter, and any loophole that comes in when scenes don't match with logic can be blamed on the butterfly effect. ICYMI, there is a CGI butterfly to drive that point! Looop Lapeta Title Track: Taapsee Pannu and Tahir Raj Bhasin Are at Their Wackiest Best in This Crazy Song (Watch Video).

It is fun to see Taapsee have errr... fun with her character. Savina may not be a prude's delight; the opening sequence sees her snorting cocaine, while taking care of a wheelchair bound geriatric. It is the writing and the actress's immensely likeable performance that make you root for Savina when she fights her own personal demons to win the race of her life. This is one of my fave Taapsee Pannu performances.

Boy, what a year Tahir Raj Bhasin is having! He was really good in Netflix's other offering Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein, was decent enough on SonyLIV's Ranjish Hi Sahi, and here, he puts up a crackling act as the goofy, blustering Satya. Manik Papneja and Raghav Raj Kakker should gain more attention for their performances here.

Yay!

- Taapsee Pannu and Tahir Raj Bhasin

- The Second and Third Act

- The Supporting Characters Get Better

Nay!

- The First Act Is More of a Mixed Bag

- Length Could Have Been Trimmed

Final Thoughts

Looop Lapeta is, of course, not going to be the ground-breaking, rule-shattering cinema that Run Lola Run was in 1998. But this Netflix film whips in a much enjoyable remake treatment that is palatable for our viewers, while throwing adorable glances at its inspiration, led by a delightful performance from Taapsee Pannu. Looop Lapeta is streaming on Netflix.

Rating:3.5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 04, 2022 02:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).