Tiger 3 Review: The third film of YRF’s Tiger franchise stars Salman Khan as Tiger/Avinash Rathore, Katrina Kaif as Zoya, Emraan Hashmi as Aatish Rehman, and others. Directed by Maneesh Sharma, the story is by Aditya Chopra, and the screenplay is penned by Shreedhar Raghavan. The music is by Pritam, and dialogues are written by Anckur Chaudhary. It is the fifth film in the YRF Spy Universe.
Tiger 3 Trailer
Tiger 3 Review: Plot Summary
Tiger and Zoya are back, and this time the mission is personal. Not just the family; even the country is at stake. The 2 hours and 35 minutes focus on how they get into action to defeat the enemy.
The movie starts with a flashback scene, and then comes the first mission. Tiger’s first mission is called “Mission Timepass”. Considering the little value it added and how forgettable it was, it seemed like the makers decided to be self-aware, hence the funny name for it. When Mission Timepass ends, we anticipate that the story will start with a substantial issue. Alas, we are left with nothing but disappointment.
There’s a Pakistani ex-militant named Aatish Rehman who wants to seek revenge on Tiger because of a big mistake Aatish himself committed in the past. His vengeful demeanour cost him someone very dear in his life. In the movie’s present timeline, Aatish reveals that he goes to a psychologist, who tells him that his dreams about seeing the colour green mean he’s healing. Why didn’t the psychologist tell him to stop being in denial of his own actions that made him suffer instead of blaming others for his situation?
The story jumps between different timelines and various places. You can follow the first few time jumps, but when it happens constantly after every 20 minutes, it’s tough to keep up. The audience is seeking grandeur, glamorous action, and Tiger-Zoya magic in the movie. It isn’t fair to make them feel like they’re watching a history lecture where dates and places are to be remembered.
Furthermore, the world-building of the agents’ “tough” personal mission is dull, lifeless, and unserious. Aatish seems like a superficial villain with a frail purpose and no impact on a large scale. The character seems so forced that someone randomly playing the part would’ve made no difference. The emptiness in the narrative was similar to the silence in the theatre filled with the audience, mostly comprised of Salman fans. The first half doesn’t establish sufficiently where the story is heading and why Tiger and Zoya (especially Zoya) are risking their lives.
After an exhausting first half, one hopes the second hour accelerates the screenplay. We all knew Pathaan, played by Shah Rukh Khan, was going to be a part of YRF’s Tiger 3. So when Pathaan makes that cute musical entry, you expect the narrative to elevate itself from the dead. But even SRK’s cameo can’t save this dud action thriller. It was during the second half that I realised that Maneesh Sharma severely struggled to make the action look fascinating. The choreography and execution were underwhelming. Salman played it safe with his action scenes, giving no single sequence for the viewer to clap, whistle, or cheer at.
The personal mission suddenly becomes a story of saving someone important in Pakistan who is neither related to Tiger nor Zoya. The duo is also compelled to carry out the mission to save Avinash Rathore from “desh ka gaddar” tag. Basically, the story goes the Pathaan way for a while. However, in the SRK starrer, the entire “gaddar” factor was played out so well, with the spy agent giving his heart, soul, and lots of blood to prove his loyalty to the nation. Here, all the major hard work is done by Zoya.
Speaking of Zoya, it’s unfair to make Katrina Kaif deliver all the powerful kicks and punches (the best ones) while having no mention in the movie title. Katrina sweats it out in every scene with remarkable action sequences, making Zoya interesting and relevant (to the franchise). It makes you wonder how the makers didn’t even add a single dialogue featuring her in the Tiger 3 trailer.
Along with the story and action, the dialogue is also one of the weakest aspects of the movie. There was one dialogue that I liked, but Salman’s single-toned delivery ruined its meta-moment. The dialogue goes something like this: Chote screen pe dekhna chodo bhai jaan, main aapko bade screen pe live action dikhata hoon. I wonder if people will ever remember several Diwali and Nana-Nani lines after sitting through the movie for more than 2 hours.
Along with Katrina Kaif’s action scenes, the music was also the saving grace of this sinking ship. There are two songs, one played at the start and one at the end. Leke Prabhu Ka Naam helps you break free from the doomed vibe in the cinema hall.
Overall, Tiger 3 fails to create the spark that the first two, especially Ek Tha Tiger, commenced with its short but solid story and breathtaking action. The threequel starts with the mission timepass, but the overcomplicated narrative and endless characters make you wonder when the time will pass. When the audience in the theatre preferred playing games on the phone, editing their mirror selfies, and chatting with people on Snapchat instead of watching the movie, you know the mission of YRF to entertain and engage the audience unfortunately failed.
PS: There’s a post-credit scene in the movie. Try not to miss it.
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