It’s a War...on carbs, on an original screenplay and on virtually any estrogen. But it’s a slick, protein shake and testosterone-fueled action movie (releasing on Gandhi Jayanti of all days !) worthy of a big screen viewing (shot in Malta, Marrakesh, Italy, Australia, a frozen tundra and more) that doesn’t spare any expense and doesn’t come off as a cheap knockoff like many Hindi movies before it, when it borrows scenes from its various inspirational sources like Mission Impossible (1, II and III) and the Bond film Die Another Day.
Hrithik still has chiseled action hero cred and Tiger as his real and reel life protege and unabashed admirer (this level of admiring looks would have been illegal prior to the legalization of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code) manages to hold his own. Ashutosh Rana is his reliable self and thankfully there is no usual line up of actors like Prakash Belawadi, Adil Hussain etc playing Indian bureaucrats. A tad long at 2hr 30m, but with mercifully only 2 songs, it’s worth its weight in popcorn but you don’t have to fight a War over it.
October 2, 2019