Review: War

Release date: October 2, 2019
Running time: 154 minutes
Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Vaani Kapoor 

In War, young but talented agent Khalid (Shroff) must hunt down the newly rogue agent Kabir (Roshan), who was the best of the best.  Khalid must go against his mentor, meaning that he has to take down the man that taught him everything he knows.  

This film is an over the top action movie; think if Mission Impossible met Fast and the Furious.  As with the Fast and Furious films, the action can border on the ridiculous.  Think an agent jumps in against impossible odds, takes a ton of perfectly placed slow motion shots, defeats the others with impeccable martial arts, and then finishes with a knowing look at the camera.  It's not a bad thing, you just have to make sure you are in the mood for it.  The action in this film (and there is a ton of it) is generally very enjoyable, with over the top gunplay, well choreographed martial arts (especially from the impressive Shroff), and plenty of chase scenes.  And thankfully, these intense action scenes are broken up by traditional Bollywood dance numbers!

This movie depends heavily on its main stars, and thankfully they are up to the task.  Roshan is fantastic as you would expect, a little too confident but that is the character he plays.  Shroff is also quite good as his student turned hunter; and the two of them have a great chemistry throughout the film.  The rest of the cast is mostly forgettable, but they do a fine job of supporting the two main stars.  

The criticisms of this film are typical of Bollywood action movies.  There is a ton of slow motion shots that are meant to highlight the star making the shot, the camera sometimes seems only interested in filming the star saying the perfect line with the wind in their hair, the main stars are near invincible and all knowing, and the CG can at times look a little low budget compared to the spectacle around it.  But don't let these dissuade you from seeing this film; if you like Bollywood action movies then you will get what you expected except with two charismatic stars instead of one.

If you like biceps and big action, then make sure to check out War.  It has two charismatic stars, plenty of explosions, and enough fun to keep entertained for its two and a half hour duration.

Watch it