The third installment in The Roundup franchise(and a film that can be watched independently as well), The Roundup : No Way Out follows the story of our beloved cop Ma who is after a drugs trail involving two dangerous parties. Will he be able to stop them? The franchise by now does have a fixed formula on which the story is mounted. The supercop being thrown into a gang-war only to save the day isn’t very new. But the story heavily relies on presentation along with the trademark banter between the protagonist and his colleagues and superiors that formulate the narrative. The screenplay here is an out and out entertainer while also focusing on the establishment of the characters as opposed to the cerebral approach of its second part. And this leads to a thrilling watch overall!

The drama does open with the introduction of one of the antagonists who is shown to kill off supposedly an undercover cop. This sets the tone of the drama pretty well that does evoke a sense of fear in the minds of the viewers instantly. Soon, you are introduced to the protagonist and his team who are known to indulge in banter. This until, a body of a woman is discovered that sets him on a trail to expose and stop one of the major drug cartels in the country. And to be things interesting, there is another antagonist involved that makes it a three way fight!

The proceedings are interesting and compelling given that there are multiple threads etched from the main plot. It is almost like a trail that the viewers are privy to wherein the gang members across the two parties are introduced. This does make a case for a layered narrative wherein I found myself thoroughly engrossed and engaged in the turn of events that transpire. Soon with the subtle revelations between the identity of a couple of the characters, things start to pickup and it did make for a supremely fun watch while keeping me on my toes through its break neck pace.

Even though the plot is simplistic, there are no easy answers in the screenplay that branches into multiple characters of the respective gangs. But the focus is always on the main plot which is a far cry from its second part which had two unrelated events tied together in an incredible plot. The one criticism that I had here was on its final act which was simplistic and a tad underwhelming. This was a shame considering the extended climax of the second part which tied multiple action set pieces together. But taking nothing away from the journey, the screenplay here is majorly well written and makes a case for a wonderful action entertainer. And don’t miss the mid-credits scene which has a hilarious recall value!