Alright, darlings, settle in, because I have just witnessed a cinematic catastrophe so grand, it deserves a post-mortem with a cocktail in hand. A free ticket to War 2 was the lure, and my dears, I'd ask for my money back even if I didn't pay for it!
Ayan Mukerji, who once gave us a delightful little trifle called Wake Up Sid, seems to have fallen into a rabbit hole of 'inspired' action and emerged with a chaotic, ill-fitting mess. The opening fight with the 'Japanese' seemed less a homage to Tarantino's Kill Bill and more a clumsy impersonation, complete with background choreography that looked like a bad school play. And a villainous organization named 'Kali' with Pakistan in tow? My God, the sheer lack of imagination is staggering.
Kiara, bless her beautiful soul, looks stunning, but since when do military intelligence officers wear bikini tops with saris to a gala? There are standards, darling, even in cinema. And that scene where she watches a video of her father's killing on a device next to his dead body? It wasn't emotionally resonant; it was just plain insulting to one's intelligence.
NTR Jr.'s entry on a drone was smashing, I'll give you that, but then the whole film descended into a bizarre checklist of Hollywood rip-offs. Casino Royale? Mission Impossible? Fast and Furious? Ayan seems to have an action checklist but no clue how to make it his own. The train scene was so laughably fake, you'd think Captain America himself was moonlighting as a stuntman.
And the plot? Oh, the sheer lack of originality! The whole orphan friends-turned-frenemies trope between Hrithik and NTR Jr. is so stale, it should come with a 'best before' date. It's high time our writers had a fresh thought. And let's not even get started on the criminally wasted female lead. Kiara is on screen for 15 minutes, only to disappear like a phantom until the end. Why cast a leading lady if all you're going to give her is a sultry bikini scene and a bit part?
The entire film is a chaotic pie a la Rachel from Friends—too much of everything, and none of it right. From the nonsensical speed boating on Fintrac to the logic-defying plane fight, Ayan seems to have told his team, "Let's do action on land, air, and water," but completely forgot the script. It's a mess, and unfortunately, Ayan Mukerji is the Achilles' heel. He's just not built for this, and this film proves it. What a tragedy, darling, what a complete and utter mess.