Sardar 2 Movie Review

Karthi, Malavika Mohanan, S.J. Suryah, Ashika Ranganath, Yogi Babu, and Rajisha Vijayan play key roles in Sardar 2, directed by P.S. Mithran. Produced by S. Lakshman Kumar, the film has music by Sam C.S., cinematography by George C. Williams, and editing by Vijay Velukutty. The film is a sequel to the hit film Sardar and has arrived in Telugu with very low buzz. Read our review here.

Plot

Vijay (Karthi), a RAW agent, is pulled into a dangerous mission connected to his father, Sardar(Karthi), a legendary spy who handled Operation Doku. Vijay’s investigation leads him to Black Dagger (S.J. Suryah), who is preparing to unleash a deadly bioweapon. With the help of a veterinary doctor (Ashika Ranganath), Vijay connects the dots from the past and takes on a deadly mission to safeguard his country. How he does that is the basic story of the film.

Performances

Karthi plays both father and son, and there is nothing to rave about in his performance. While the fun-loving Karthi is visible in only a few scenes, the spy angle in Karthi is not brought out properly, as the actor sleepwalks in his role. Ashika Ranganath looks glamorous, but her character is limited and does not create an impact. S.J Suryah plays the villain and goes overboard for the most part, irritating the audience. Yogi Babu is a mic-cast and does not evoke any laughter whatsoever. Malavika Mohanan is the only solace of the film, as he flashback portions and role have some substance in this thriller.

Technical Aspects

One of the biggest villains of Sardar 2 is the editor. The film is painfully long and close to fifteen minutes in the second half could have been chopped to make things better. The background score is heavily inspired by Hollywood films, and Sam CS has cleverly used scores from multiple films and created a sound for Sardar 2, which is disappointing. The production values are not that great, but the Telugu dubbing is decent. Sardar 2 suffers from bad writing and a weak narrative. P S Mithran, who is known for strong emotions, makes this dull with his over-the-top direction. The VFX work is not that great.

Positives:

Karthi’s screen presence

Negatives:

Weak screenplay
Forced Comedy
Heavily inspired action

Analysis

P.S. Mithran, the director, has made sure that Sardar 2 has plenty of action. But the sad part is that the film is heavily inspired by several spy thrillers. So many scenes and moments from Hollywood films are plucked and made into Sardar 2. While the script might look good on paper, Mithran’s direction is clueless and lacks seriousness whatsoever.

Though he starts the film on a positive note and interests you, things fall apart like a pack of cards as the action pieces and story are predictable. Upon this, the CG work is pretty bad. One can easily understand the use of green screen and low-level graphics. Yogi Babu and Nizhalgal Ravi play RAW agents, and their comedy is quite silly and over the top. There is hardly any episode that stands out or makes the audience excited for what’s coming next.

However, one scene that stands out is where S.J Suryah speaks about the misuse of antibiotics by Indians. The way he mouths the dialogues and the message given through them looks impressive. But apart from that, Sardar 2 is a letdown in terms of storytelling. The emotional quotient goes for a toss, and there is hardly any episode that thrills you. The second half is where things falter big time, as the premise, pre-climax, and end are forced on the audience.

The basic idea is good, but the screenplay never interests you. Yet another major drawback is the lack of tension in the narrative. Spy thrillers are always pulsating, but that aspect is totally missing in the film. The makers have spent money and given the film a lavish scale, but in all this, the basic emotion is missing, and the characters are hardly developed, making Sardar 2 a tedious watch. The film is only made to cash in on the franchise and nothing else.

Bottomline: Failed Mission

Rating: 1.5/5