By Troy Ribeiro
Film: "Force 2"
Director: Abhinay Deo
Cast: John Abraham, Sonakshi Sinha, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Adil Husain, Narendra Jha
Rating: **1/2
Directed by Abhinay Deo, "Force 2" is a sequel of the 2011 released "Force", but unlike its prequel which was the remake of a South Indian film, this one is an original but staid, action-packed, bleak revenge story that is generic in nature.
Films have one sure way of involving us that never fails, they give us a character who has been wronged and then invite us to share his frustrations as they try to talk some sense into the blockheads. That character in "Force 2" is Rudra Pratap Singh alias Shiv Sharma, who is out to destroy the Indian intelligence agency RAW. Stopping him in his endeavour are ACP Yashwardhan aka Yash and an Intelligence Officer, Kanwaljeet Kaur aka KK.
The narrative begins with a few RAW agents getting eliminated in Shanghai but Anjan Das, the head of RAW, is not perturbed. It is when Mumbai Police Inspector Yashwardhan receives a coded message in form of a gift from his deceased friend, he realises that his friend was betrayed by someone from within the agency.
To avenge his friend's death and to avoid other RAW agents from getting eliminated, Yash offers his services to RAW. Anjan Das reluctantly agrees to Yash being on the mission, but not before assigning an able and efficient KK, as the team leader.
The lead takes the duo to Bucharest, where majority of the action sequences take place.
John Abraham as Yashwardhan is all beefed-up. He shines sporadically with his muscle power and he offers his punches more convincingly than his dialogues.
Sonakshi Sinha is natural as the agile KK. With no deviation in her character, her on-screen chemistry with Yash, as his colleague is perfect and is probably the best part of the film. Together, they make a perfect buddy duo who bond over the investigation.
Tahir Raj Bashin is the surprise package, of the film. Understated, and ordinary in his approach, he propels the narrative convincingly, but unfortunately, since we Indians like our antagonist to be larger than life, he disappoints and this is not his fault.
Adil Husain as the politician, Narendra Jha as Anjan Das and Boman Irani as Rudra Pratap Singh's father, in miniscule roles are effectively perfunctory.
Technically the film is mounted with excellent production values. The lone song snuggly fits into the narrative.
The chases and the action sequences are well-choreographed and they tend to be stretched at times. The climactic sequence with visuals captured by hand-held cameras and layered with loud background score gummed together in snappy edits, is an eye sore.
Overall, "Force 2" offers nothing that you have not seen before, yet entertains you. It is an ideal watch for John and Sonakshi fans.
