- Date of Release: 14 August 2025
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: Theatres Only
War 2
Introduction
If this movie represented an Indo-Pak clash, it would have been stopped by a certain Mr Trump. If this movie was an Indo-Pak cricket match of legends, it would have been stopped by the legendary Indian players in the name of patriotism. But sadly this movie is a part of the YRF Spy Universe – and so there is no stopping this film. However, I wonder on who named this film War 2 and not Call Me By Your Name: Kabir And Vikram, given the textual tension (on paper) between the two leads. War 2 is one of those films that are so lame and committed to a fixed template, that it never makes sense when you recall the events in the hindsight. Given how the film eventually shaped up, you wonder – why was an important character of the Spy-Universe killed in the first placed by Kabir? How was another character who was related to the deceased fine, after everything that did transpire by the end of things? What was even the point of the whole drama if you needed to flip the narrative at the end? Why am I even writing this review? Too many unanswered questions, and too little time to care….. lol
Story & Screenplay
Written by Aditya Chopra and Shridhar Raghavan, one of the worst traits of the characterization remains that you cannot question the cause (or logic) of the duties in a drama that casually globe-trods to Japan, Spain, Srilanka, Pakistan, and India. So when you are introduced to a spy turned freelance mercenary and soon-to-be traitor Kabir (Hrithik Roshan), the setting remains an old Japanese temple that soon turns red, because it is the action-intro-set-piece of his to own, even if it is suffers from poor VFX. Elsewhere, Kabir is soon to be inducted in a corporate terrorist group called Kali, a direct epitome of capitalism with a commentary on power lust and greed, but his KYC includes shooting a veteran of the Spy-universe (because that is the only way out; but why? DM me with logical reasons if you find any). The other VFX-Driven-Intro-Set-Piece is reserved for Vikram (Jr NTR) because you also need to expand your demographic to the viewers from the South of India. It is a classic North meets South Pan-India actioner, that relies on too much of the star-power and too little of the story. But circling back to my main point here – Kabir never once is allowed to question the motive behind his induction in the ‘Kali’ organization, and Vikram isn’t allowed to question his arrogance as a spy agent. It is always ‘India First’ – yes, we get it!
The template of the Spy Universe is fixed now – two introductions separated by a slender conflict, a dance number out of nowhere, some action stunts with a green-screen effect, a predictable twist at the halfway mark, another dance number, random conflict including a game of one-upmanship, a final face-off, and a post credit scene for the next YRF Spy universe outing. It is kind of frustrating given that none of the characters are treated as humans – either they are derivatives of James Bond, or simply bots who just cannot shoot in a straight line, and and instead shot in the blink of an eyelid. And this is particularly true, when there is no story to tell in the first place. You are labeling the Kali organization as the madness of terror but if hardly any terror is felt, then it is because the emotions aren’t laid out.
It is kind of frustating witnessing a few of the characters here – Kavya (Kiara Advani) is a spy agent who has probably the most ‘personal’ stake in the story, but she is reduced to the background, almost objectifying her in a flashback sequence that is dated ’15 years ago’, wherein she ‘may’ have barely been an adult, but you can’t even distinguish her looks. But the only logic in place – India First! You are introduced to another sidekick Gautam (KC Shankar) who is introduced as an antagonist only to later be eliminated and make way for the ‘actual’ antagonist. Likewise, Col. Luthra (Ashutosh Rana) is only shown given syllables of patriotism before being upgraded….err eliminated for Col. Kaul (Anil Kapoor), who gets to fire a machine gun just like his son from another film Animal (2023). And you have a minister who is hardly in the film, just like another real life minister who is hardly ever in India.
This also brings me to the lead pair of Kabir and Vikram, in a ‘steamy’ relationship with a twist that is as predictable as night and day! The reason why the character of Jim (John Abraham) worked in Pathaan (2023) was because the character suffered a personal loss, only to make him go rogue. The reason why Khalid (Tiger Shroff) in War (2019) worked was because he remained a Muslim character who was called a traitor. But there is no logic here, hell there is not even a story in place here. So when there is no story what do you get? An extended flashback about Kabir and Vikram from their childhood wherein both characters are like chalk and cheese. One is slightly more righteous, and the other is brash. There is a good case of dividing the viewers here based on their personalities – except that the root cause for their conflict is hardly inspiring, no scratch that – it is purely lame and ridiculous to put it in a good way!
As a result, the second half just doesn’t make any sense – given how both Kabir and Vikram get ample opportunities to kill each other at various instances. But the textual tension on paper is so high that all you get is exchanged glances, some fist-fight fetishes, a machine boat on an F1 track, a mid-air RRR-esque bromance, and two bodies on one rod (naughty naughty; no puns intended). It is kind of exhausting to witness these action set-pieces simply because the primary conflict is reduced to the background without any emotional pull. On the hindsight (hindsight, remember?), you would think Kabir is the most ‘paidal’ (idiotic) spy ever given that the one person he trusts turns against him, whilst all others he doesn’t, are eventually on his side.
It is laughable on how this script was even past, given how there was a bail-out at the end just to please a certain demographic from the South, and by doing that, nothing further made sense too! It was baffling how everything was okay even as an ice-stick was inserted into the bodies of one of the characters (naughty naughty; no pun intended), only for that character to be okay in the next shot and join hands to bash the bad guys at the end (perhaps, he did apply an ice pack after his injury). And while that homage sequence was atleast promising, there was no logic as to how the bad guys were tracked in the first place. Oh, I almost forgot – no logic, just India First! My brain cells are sold!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues by Abbas Tyrewala aren’t as sharp as the one-liners you did witness in Pathaan (2023). And I couldn’t really tell on whether the sharpness missing was due to the writing, or the dialogue delivery. We make this a tie – both were to blame! The music is instantly forgettable wherein no ‘ghugroos’ are broken unlike in War (2019), wherein even the Janab-e-Ali song felt more like a romantic track between Kabir and Vikram more than anything else. And it is safe to say that the line of bromance was successfully breached into an unwarranted territory that felt unintentional and moderately creepy. The BGM though is a banger and it tries really hard in elevating some ridiculously choreographed action sequence – involving a tacky VFX animal at a tacky VFX Samurai Temple, or a tacky VFX ship, or a tacky VFX train, or a tacky VFX motor boat that suddenly airdrops on an F1 track, or a tacky VFX ice cave that itself remains an intimate setting for an explosion to take place (naughty naughty; no puns intended). But hey, you get the gist! The cinematography is woeful except in that one hand to hand combat sequence involving Vikram, wherein the stationary camera just moves 360 degrees to capture a promising action sequence. Barring that, none of the frames in action set-pieces standout, and how long would you keep adoring the outdoor locations? And in times when there are in-camera action set-pieces in films of the Mission Impossible franchise, the camera work here is nothing short of a joke.
The editing is extremely patchy, a consistent trait that lowers the impact of several action set-pieces. In fact, there are so many jump cuts that I actually lost count of the number of blows that a character takes from every POV. Director Ayan Mukerji is just not meant for the big screen action extravaganza. While there were cracks in his previous directorial venture Brahmastra (2022), he is woefully exposed here, even in the basic construction of action set-pieces that do not impress. And because the focus was never on the emotional core of the characters or their antics around these set-pieces, the results were woefully pale. And this is where the prowess of a Sid Anand is missed – given how his skillsets involve integrating some high-octane action set-pieces with the right amount of emotions. And it makes me empathize with Ayan who was suddenly airdropped from his slice of life genre, to something more ambitious in the action genre (discounting Brahmastra). Oh well, hope he comes out stronger from this mess!
Performances
The performances are absolutely woeful by majority of the cast members. KC Shankar is a fine actor but again reduced to a caricature like he previous was in Sarzameen. Varun Badola as Sangra is also hardly there, and doesn’t make an impact at all. Ashutosh Rana as Col. Luthra is only reduced to a character giving monologues about the country, frequently using the word ‘desh’ in every sentence. Yes, we understand the patriotism but there is no reason for him to be a hyper-nationalist without a cause in the film. Kiara Advani as Kavya is used just as an eye candy with an occasional action sequence specifically integrated to coax you into overlooking this criticism for her character. It is safe to say that she has hardly anything to do here. Anil Kapoor as Col. Kaul is absolutely one-note while having nothing significant to contribute in the film.
The one actor that shines amidst the ruins is Jr. NTR who is pretty solid as Vikram, while bringing the right amounts of intensity to his character, despite the writing not quite justifying his antics. His presence is superb and he definitely puts his best foot forward in his Hindi Film debut. I have seldom seen Hrithik Roshan sleepwalk through his character in any film. I really can’t recall the previous instance, but as Kabir, Hrithik seems visibly disinterested here. Yes, he still dances like a dream but I am sure he could do that in his sleep as well. But the pitch of the character remains inconsistent – it is either too understated (at the start) or too high-pitched (at the end) wherein the emotional core isn’t necessarily backed by a superior performance. As a result, he is decent at best – yes, sharing crackling chemistry with Jr NTR particularly in the finale montage. But otherwise, the performance remains pretty forgettable!
Conclusion
War 2 is a war on the brain cells, more than anything else. In fact, this ought to have been titled ‘Call Me By Your Name: Kabir & Vikram (Spy Edition)’, for a specific track in the film that has a lot of textual tension on paper. But the drama on the whole is unbearably poor, even as I expected a certain political figure from the US to stop this ‘War’ and call for a ceasefire! Available in a theatre near you.