MR-9: Do or Die – Review
“An untameable daredevil spy of Bangladesh Counter Intelligence. On secret missions he travels the globe. His life is queer. His movements are mysterious and strange. His heart, a beautiful mix of gentle and tough. Single. He attracts, but refuses to get snared. Wherever he encounters injustice, oppression, and wrong, he fights back. Every step he takes is shadowed by danger, fear, and the risk of death.
Come, let us acquaint ourselves with this daring, always hip, young man. In a flash, he will lift us out of the monotony of a mundane life to an awesome world of our dreams. You are invited. Thank you.”
That’s the opening to the a long-running series of Bengali spy novels by Qazi Anwar Hussain books based on Masud Rana. Think of Masud Rana as Bangladesh’s answer to James Bond – suave, sharp, and deadly, with a knack for getting himself out of sticky situations while saving the day. The “MR-9” codename is essentially his 007.
The Masud Rana novels first appeared in 1966 and became a cultural phenomenon in Bangladesh, much like Ian Fleming’s Bond books in the West. In fact a lot of the over 450 books are almost straight copies of western thriller novels. Rana, like Bond, is known for being a master of espionage, with a love for danger, adventure, and a certain charm with the ladies. But unlike Bond, Rana’s character has a more distinctly local flavour, blending the glamour of international espionage with stories that often nod to Bangladesh’s cultural and political landscape.
MR-9: Do or Die is essentially an attempt to bring Bangladesh’s most famous fictional spy to an international audience. While the idea is ambitious and intriguing, I mean, who wouldn’t want to see a Bangladeshi James Bond go head-to-head with global villains? The execution, well… it’s a mixed bag.
The story is your classic spy-action fare: MR-9 (played by ABM Sumon) is assigned to stop a global terrorist organisation that’s plotting mass chaos. Along the way, there’s high-octane action, exotic locations, gadgets, double-crossing, and, of course, suave espionage. You’ve got to hand it to the filmmakers for attempting to launch Masud Rana onto the international stage. They’ve got a couple of big hitters Frank Grillo and Michael Jai White on board, which gives the movie a bit of star power. The fight choreography and set pieces have their moments. Michael Jai White, being the martial arts powerhouse he is, gets to show off his skills and his mildly annoyed/bemused facial expressions.
It’s rare to see Bangladeshi cinema go global, and this film is a step in that direction. Masud Rana is such a beloved character in Bangladesh that seeing him on the big screen, interacting in an international setting, will be thrilling for fans of the original novels.
But, it’s CLEARLY low budget. Think Youtube Bond meets TikTok Bourne.
The writing is clunky, with dialogue that feels either overly cheesy or just downright flat. It’s like they couldn’t decide if they wanted a serious spy thriller or a camp comedy action flick. As a result, it ends up falling awkwardly between the two. A baddy essentially kicking himself off the side of a building, a foot chase where men go through cardboard boxes like a Sweeney car chase, bad guys who just hold peoples necks awkwardly you get the idea.
While ABM Sumon does his best as MR-9, the character doesn’t really leap off the screen in the same way Bond or Bourne might. The charisma that’s so key to spy heroes is basically missing. And while Frank Grillo and Michael Jai White try to bring some gravitas, you can tell they’re mostly there for a payday, Jai White looks consistently bored and some of his fight scenes are choreographed like a dad play fighting with his kids.
It’s clear the budget wasn’t massive. Sparsely populated fight scenes and sets that feel a tad cheap, with walls wobbling like an episode of Crossroads and the whole film doesn’t quite have the polish you’d expect from a globe-trotting spy thriller. That being said, some of it looks beautiful, which leaves you feeling they just shot many takes of a load of separate scenes and then couldn’t quite work out which ones to use and how to piece together a cohesive film.
The film sometimes drags in places where it should be sharp and snappy it’s clunky and they could have easily chopped a good half hour off the running time. Spy films thrive on tension and fast-paced twists, but this one meanders a bit, which doesn’t help when the plot itself isn’t all that original.
You’ll know in the first ten minutes if this film’s for you. If you’re into B movies or you’re looking for a popcorn action flick that doesn’t take itself remotely seriously, you’ll have a laugh with it. There’s a certain charm in seeing a Bangladeshi spy character enter the international action scene, even if the execution is far from perfect. Hardcore fans of Masud Rana might enjoy it for the novelty alone, but if you’re expecting something to rival James Bond or even Mission: Impossible, you will be disappointed. My interest was very much piqued by the closing scenes too…
Think of it as an underdog film – scrappy, trying hard, but not quite hitting the bullseye.
On UK digital platforms 20 January 2025 from Plaion Pictures
