War 2 Review: On an undercover mission, R&AW secret agent Kabir finds himself facing accusations of betraying his nation and is hunted by a relentless agent, Vikram. However, there are more secrets buried underneath that meet the eye.
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War 2 Movie Cast
Hrithik Roshan, N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Kiara Advani, Anil Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, Varun Badola
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War 2 Director
Ayan Mukerji
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War 2 Writers
Shridhar Raghavan (Screenplay), Abbas Tyrewala (Dialogues), Aditya Chopra (Story)
The film has a runtime of 173 minutes.
War 2 Review
The YRF spy universe is getting kookier by the day, and one can’t help but question why. In the second film in the franchise, Kabir is back, and this time, he’s up against a deadlier nemesis who will leave him (and us) shocked, bringing up a tough rivalry unlike any we have seen before.
With a runtime of around 3 hours, Kabir hops, skips, jumps and dances with men and women alike and fights the baddies like his life depends on it, because it does. Surrounded by a shroud of patriotism, he’s destined to save India from everyone who threatens its peace, and we are just mere spectators who see the carnage and his eventual victory (because obviously).
The film is far too long and far too unbelievable to be taken seriously. However, after what was Jawan and Pathaan, I would be lying if I said that I had many hopes with this. With nary a memorable song in sight, Kabir’s dance is suave but unmemorable, just like Kavya’s existence in this movie.
The film, obviously, has nothing realistic about it, so I don’t know how to write my review other than with abject disbelief. Wolves recognise Kabir as the alpha of the pack, and his mere presence makes them want to walk by his side. Over twenty mercenaries shoot Kabir and Kavya in a cramped parking lot out in the open, but not one bullet touches them. Raghu drops down from the sky on a ship in the middle of the ocean from an unmanned aerial vehicle and then kills hundreds of terrorists without a gun or his shirt and comes out unscathed.
It’s just moments like these that populate the film that make you roll your eyes and, simultaneously, accept your fate because you chose this, and choices have consequences.
However, credit where credit is due – the action is smooth, Ayan Mukherji’s direction is great, and Roshan looks fantastic as Kabir. I am unsure about the point of both Junior NTR and Kiara Advani, but that’s besides the point, I guess. There’s a point when the two characters, after having very important and secret discussions in a crowded market, start to dance like that’s the only way for them to save India from the big baddies. It’s not; I am still unsure about the point of the sequence or why it even exists, but then again, that’s also my question with this film as well.
The problem I have, though, isn’t with the fact that it’s illogical. I mean, it is, but my primary problem is how bored I felt throughout the film. I could feel the time ticking by because War 2 is needlessly long, with an entire sequence surrounding Kabir’s childhood that made me want to skip through desperately. If nothing else, I think cutting out a few stupid, long music would’ve helped, but I guess then we would have had to concentrate on the central plot, and we can’t have that, can we?
Final Thoughts
Listen, we all know what War 2 is, and we all know why we went to see it in theatres. Unfortunately, it’s not even a good time pass and is so long that it’s insanely boring. I enjoyed the action and the cinematography, but everything else is generic, illogical and stale. Hopefully, the War 2 post-credit scene hints at a female-centred spy universe, maybe that time Kabir will let someone else be the centre of attention, for once.
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