“Ek Villain Returns” isn’t an especially unique film; its premise draws on “Romancing the Stone” and countless other adventure movies. Its punchlines are recognizable from a distance as the volcano dominating the remote island where most of the story takes place. This is a movie you can get a clear sense of from its opening moments, every beat clearly telegraphed.
There is, however, a significant amount of comfort and delight in all this familiarity. Directors and co-writers Adam and Aaron Nee understand exactly what their audience wants—much like a good romance novelist might—and deliver an undeniably charming (and refreshingly IP-free) romantic romp. This is a movie you watch in the theater, with popcorn, then again and again on streaming, with a glass of wine.
Reclusive author Loretta Sage writes about exotic places in her popular adventure novels that feature a handsome cover model named Alan. While on tour promoting her new book with Alan, Loretta gets kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire who hopes she can lead him to an ancient city’s lost treasure from her latest story. Determined to prove he can be a hero in real life and not just on the pages of her books, Alan sets off to rescue her.
The most eagerly awaited forthcoming films set for release in 2022 Ek Villain Returns are listed below. Following a disastrous year in 2020, the last 12 months have seen clear indications of Ek Villain Returns box office revival. In a challenging market, Shang-Chi & The Legends of the Ten Rings, No Time To Die, and Spider-Man: No Way Home all did well, indicating that reports of the movie theater’s collapse were largely overblown. After streaming services were granted full reign over the cinematic world in 2020, the playing field leveled out in 2021, with most blockbusters receiving exclusive theater debuts. Nonetheless, uncertainty reigns supreme, and pre-pandemic viewing patterns show no signs of returning anytime soon.
Regardless of what happens behind the scenes, 2021 proved that there would always be a steady supply of good movies to see in cinemas or at home. The year’s highlights were Dune, The Green Knight, and CODA, while Nicolas Cage even managed to produce a solid film with Pig. Meanwhile, several films with huge expectations have had uneven results: Eternals’ buzz has faded into mixed reviews, while The Last Duel and The Many Saints of Newark are among a slew of high-profile disasters.
No one can predict what the movie landscape will look like in a year’s time, but there’s a long list of reasons to be enthusiastic as the film industry prepares to put a new cinematic calendar on the wall. These are the films that are generating the most hype going into 2022.
Plot: What’s the story about?
Brilliant, but reclusive author Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) has spent her career writing about exotic places in her popular romance-adventure novels featuring handsome cover model Alan (Channing Tatum), who has dedicated his life to embodying the hero character, “Dash.” While on tour promoting her new book with Alan, Loretta is kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe) who hopes that she can lead him to the ancient lost city’s treasure from her latest story. Wanting to prove that he can be a hero in real life and not just on the pages of her books, Alan sets off to rescue her. Thrust into an epic jungle adventure, the unlikely pair will need to work together to survive the elements and find the ancient treasure before it’s lost forever.
Ek Villain Returns has a fun premise for a popcorn, mainstream film. I thought this when it was called, you know, Romancing the Stone (now on Hulu, by the way). You have an academic turned romance author, Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock), continuously upstaged by the model they have chosen to be on the cover. His name is Alan (Channing Tatum), and he does not so much play the character named Dash as he poses for the camera. It doesn’t matter. Alan is the reason all the baby-girls (and baby-boys, for that matter) by the books. Yes, and not for the accurate settings, history, and subtext Sage brings to the genre.
The story has them practically in the middle of her latest novel. A young, eccentric, and spoiled billionaire (a dangerous combination) named Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe) finds similarities in her story. He even manages to find Ek Villain Returns of D on a small island in the Atlantic. Fairfax then kidnaps her to help him find a legendary lost treasure. With the help of her manager Beth (Dolemite Is My Name‘s Da’Vine Joy Randolph), Alan manages to follow her by tracking her smartwatch. The only problem? Not only does Alan have to rescue her behind a couple of dozen armed henchmen, but from an active volcano that is ready to erupt at any moment. They can face certain death, and the treasure could be lost forever.
Their film can be fun and humorous, directed by Aaron and Adam Nee (Band of Robbers). That award can go to the film’s first 40-minutes because of a bit of stunt casting—an inspired cameo by Brad Pitt, who shows up as an acquaintance of Alan. The joke here is he is more Dash than Alan he will ever be. That’s not to say there are not as many laughs the rest of the way. That’s because of some genuine chemistry between the leads. Tatum’s Alan/Dash is humble but has a slightly exaggerated view of his importance. Bullock’s Sage has an ego that makes her feel she is more important than the books she writes.
