Better than the 1st part? War 2 movie highly detailed review. (No spoilers)

courtesy: @yrf/X 

War 2 is yet another addition to the “bollywood spy universe” which is known for its  hollywood-level action-thrilled sequences in every movie. The first part was directed by Mr. Siddharth Anand featuring Hritik and Tiger as the main characters, whereas there were several changes in the main casting of the 2nd installment, featuring Hritik and Jr.NTR as the male protagonists. 

Story & Direction - 2 / 5

First impression of the movie was pretty decent, taking place in a Japanese environment aided by a lot of VFX. A 10 minute action sequence of Kabir Dhaliwal ( Hritik ) with some slow-mo , rushed and un-realistic action. It seems the makers tried to fit everything within the 10-minute window.

courtesy: @yrf/X 

The plot of the movie was very clear and understandable with petty , negatively surprising betrayal twists quite popular in bollywood movies. A lot of unnecessary singing and dancing in between which doesn’t fit in, as the movie is about vengeance and patriotism. Romantic and emotional scenes felt a bit rushed without proper buildup. Altogether, the story felt like it was supposed to be a web series but rushed into a 2 and half hour movie instead. 

courtesy: @yrf/X 

Ayan Mukherji’s direction was pretty much identical to Sidhaarth Anand’s, more vfx and less importance to story and dialogues. Most of their movies share a common theme, The hero is introduced as the villain initially, as the story proceeds, we come to know that the villain was actually saving the country and the hero was the evil one.

Visuals - 3 / 5

Visuals were a let down compared to the first part. Over used visual effects, even where none was needed. Parts where NTR’s body felt unreal, heroes look good even without abs, it's just their personality that makes them shine out.

courtesy: @yrf/X 

Exaggerated action sequences with overly used vfx made it hard to believe. Just like other movies of the Bollywood spy universe. Heroes jumping out of planes without gear, surviving fires, heights and what not. The actions are too much even for a superhero movie. 

courtesy: @yrf/X 

The choice of color palettes were great but the saturation was overdone. 

You know a film’s CGI is bad when you can spot the differences easily. Giving it a 3 and not lesser because I appreciate the vfx team for making a 2 and a half hour animation film.

Sound - 2 / 5

The choice of timing of songs into the film was pretty bad, irrelevant and out of place. There were songs right where we expected story progression, it’s like forcefully watching ads while watching a TV serial. Honestly, patriotic films should have minimal songs in it if not none. Songs should be focused on emotions and story instead of dancing. 

The background score was decent, pretty common and basic. Nothing extraordinary like the ones coming from Ravi Basrur and Anirudh, but bearable.

I personally don’t like dance songs in action-packed films so I criticized it a bit. But here the audience is the judge, the song reviews in social media are enough to speak for itself.

Performance - 3 / 5

Hritik and NTR undoubtedly are amongst the best actors in India. But somehow Hritik’s talent felt under-used in the War films. Very little dialogues and space to show his acting. He’s not just good looking with good physique, but his acting is very much on par with top actors.

courtesy: @yrf/X 

Jr. NTR on the other hand was outstanding in scenes with strong screen presence. In my opinion he had too many action scenes on his part which didn’t suit the character. But still, watching him on a bollywood screen was a treat to watch.

courtesy: @yrf/X 

However, casting Kiara Advani as a romantic partner to Hritik was clearly a mismatch due to the huge age difference which is hard to overlook. Indian filmmakers need to understand that the main actors can be siblings and can still successfully woo the audience.

Worth your valuable time?

Absolutely ! Well if you didn’t watch the first part. If you did, you’re heading towards  disappointment because both films are alike except the star cast. It is a one-time watch (barely) for all the Hritik and NTR fans. 

Feedback for the makers

The film is an absolutely strong proof of the hard work you guys went through to produce such strong visuals, but it could have been better with more focus on the story instead of vfx. The story felt too fast-paced with lack of emotions and character building. For the next spy universe films, I would like to watch some unique stories, less-visually edited actions and a better suited cast.

From the author,

Greetings and welcome to our new addition to the HIGHLY detailed film rating blog series where we rate films breaking down the various aspects of a film from a cinematographer’s point of view. Be informed that these blogs are not totally on movie reviews or plot feedback. It focuses actively on the production and direction. As an avid cinematography and cinema hobbyist, I always appreciate any kind of work related to filming and direction. The feedback in the blogs must only be taken as productive criticism.