Sardar 2 review: A bland kichidi of old Hollywood spy thrillers – Telugu Cinema

What’s “Sardar 2” about?

Sardar (Karthi), who is believed to have died during a mission called Operation Doku, returns when his son Vijay (Karthi), a RAW agent like his father, faces a threat from Black Dagger (SJ Suryah). Vijay, along with a veterinary doctor (Ashika Ranganath), the daughter of Agent Zara (Malavika Mohanan) who worked with Sardar during the Doku operation, tries to uncover the mystery behind the keys they have been given and the bioweapon that Dagger plans to unleash.

The rest of the drama is about Sardar and Vijay, the father-and-son agents, along with the RAW agency, trying to stop Black Dagger from activating the bioweapon.

Analysis

“Sardar 2”, the sequel to “Sardar”, features Karthi in a dual role as father and son, with both characters working as RAW agents. During the promotions, Karthi compared the film to Kamal Haasan’s “Indian”, in which Haasan also played both father and son. While the first “Indian” was a blockbuster, its sequel “Indian 2” was a major box office disaster. The experience of watching “Sardar 2” is, unfortunately, quite similar.

The basic problem with “Sardar 2” is its lack of an engaging plot. Director PS Mithran and his writing team seem to have watched every James Bond, “Mission: Impossible” and other Hollywood spy thriller and decided to pick sequences from each of them and stitch them together.

From the opening scene to the final climax, the film constantly gives you a sense of déjà vu. Almost every major set-piece feels borrowed from somewhere else.

The film begins like a “Mission: Impossible” sequence and ends with a cable-car episode that strongly recalls the climax of the James Bond film “Moonraker” (1979). In between, there are countless other familiar moments borrowed from Hollywood spy films.

The problem is not merely that the film borrows. It is that the borrowed material never comes together as an engaging whole. The plot itself feels like a kichidi, and the comedy involving RAW agents played by Yogi Babu and Nizhalgal Ravi is even more silly.

There are a few sequences that provide some interest. Karthi’s Sardar initially facing a moral dilemma over a village affected by a bioweapon leak is one such portion. SJ Suryah’s lengthy lecture about the misuse of antibiotics by Indians also stands out, although it is an odd choice to give the villain such a long awareness campaign.

Beyond these moments, the film becomes increasingly tedious. The narration is dragged out, and the entire second half feels like a film of its own.

Karthi plays dual roles as father and son and is just about okay. There is little here that stands out. Malavika Mohanan has a few moments, especially in the portions set in the past. Ashika Ranganath plays a role that could easily have gone to a newcomer, with very little character development or scope to make an impression.

SJ Suryah hams it up throughout. His performance is loud and over-the-top, with the dialogue delivery becoming increasingly irritating.

Yogi Babu’s comedy is silly and often feels completely out of place in a spy thriller.

Sam CS appears to have taken inspiration from the “Mission: Impossible” theme for the background score, but the result feels more like imitation than inspiration. The production design and cinematography are functional, but neither makes an impression.

The biggest technical culprit is the editing. The film is far too long for the material it has, particularly in the second half. Scenes that should have been trimmed or removed are allowed to play out, making the film feel much longer than it actually is.

PS Mithran, who showed considerable promise with his earlier films, has delivered a poorly constructed spy thriller here. The film lacks the writing strength, pace and originality needed to sustain this kind of material.

Bottom Line: “Sardar 2”, Karthi’s sequel, is a bland and derivative spy thriller that borrows heavily from old Hollywood films and suffers from weak writing and a painfully dragged-out second half. It tests our patience to the limit.

Rating: 2/5

By Jalapathy Gudelli