‘War 2’ Movie Review: Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR’s Spy Showdown Sinks Under Bad VFX and Brain-Dead Screenplay (LatestLY Exclusive)

War 2 Movie Review: A few months ago, news broke that Hrithik Roshan would be making his directorial debut with Krrish 4. It felt like a bold move - one that raised eyebrows, mine included. I have a theory: maybe Hrithik has simply given up on the directors around him delivering a good action movie, and decided he could do better himself. After watching War 2, I’m inclined to believe it. ‘War 2’ X Review: Netizens Praise Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR’s ‘Star-Powered’ Performances in Ayan Mukerji’s ’Mid’ Action Thriller.

War 2 is the sequel to the 2019 blockbuster War, and the sixth instalment in the YRF Spy Universe - though when the first film came out, there was no such 'shared' cinematic universe. Pathaan established it in 2023, and its success made this the most enviable franchise in Bollywood. But Tiger 3’s underperformance dented the hype, and after War 2, I suspect fans might be looking for other universes to hide their embarrassment.

'War 2' Movie Review - The Plot

Directed by Ayan Mukerji and scripted by Shridhar Raghavan, War 2 brings back renegade ex-RAW agent Kabir (Hrithik Roshan), now an international assassin who eliminates ganglords anywhere in the world. A shady organisation called Kali wants to recruit him, and his induction task is to kill someone, which he does.

Watch the Trailer of 'War 2':

Kabir’s actions trigger the wrath of RAW, which assembles a task force that includes his ex-girlfriend Kavya (Kiara Advani). Another agent muscling his way into the operation is Vikram (Jr NTR), who takes it upon himself to bring Kabir back.

'War 2' Movie Review - Where Did the Budget Go?

The opening scene hints at the troubles to come. It’s hands down the best action set-piece - Kabir takes on the warrior army of a Japanese warlord, and thanks to Hrithik’s dynamic aura (the kind that could make even a CGI wolf switch sides), the sword fight is casually cool. But when the action moves from land to sky, the first big flaw becomes glaring - its VFX.

No amount of darkness can hide how bad the effects look, worsened by the fact that War 2 has sky-high ambitions but backs it with painfully poor green-screen work. Think the trailers looked bad? The big screen somehow makes it worse.

There are several high-octane sequences - Kabir driving a car aboard a high-speed train, a plane hijack with Kabir and Vikram battling villains, a boat chase in Abu Dhabi, and a hand-to-hand fight in an icy cavern. Many are retreads from the first film, but what’s the point when none of them generate real thrills? Two reasons why you lose the awe in these scenes: the obvious, immersion-breaking CGI, and amateurish staging that sometimes borders on parody - like Vikram piloting a boat on an F1 track, which had me wondering if my theatre suddenly started playing Drive (the desi one... not the Ryan Gosling head-stomping movie). Ridiculous stunts can work (Fast and Furious built an empire on them), but at least make them look good. Jr NTR’s shirtless intro scene looked so fake that even his abs seemed digitally enhanced.

It’s not just the VFX that underwhelms - the camerawork, lighting, and framing are flat and lifeless, an adverse effect when you shoot nearly the whole movie within closed green-screen sets. On a reported budget of INR 400 crore, is this the best Bollywood can manage?

The background score by Sanchit and Ankit Balhara often feels intrusive rather than rousing.

'War 2' Movie Review - The Bearable First Half

I steeled myself and focused on the aspect that interests the critic in me the most - the storytelling. Not that I was expecting anything remarkable; that’s the last thing one anticipates from a YRF Spy Universe film. But even with my ground-level expectations, War 2 fell flat. And it’s not just because the film constantly reminded me of several Hollywood movies - Captain America: The Winter Soldier (when Vikram rescues navy personnel from pirates), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Dark Knight Rises, Black Panther, and so on.

The first half at least had some temerity. RAW once again turns against Kabir, introduces a popular actor in an extended cameo as the new head, and sends Vikram after Kabir. There was a glimmer of a Fugitive-style dynamic - pardon my audacity in invoking it - where Vikram could have been the Sam Gerard to Kabir’s Richard Kimble: not a bad man, but one determined to capture the hero because it’s his duty, making him the antagonist by circumstance.

War 2 briefly surprises when, after Kabir witnesses Vikram’s heroics, he decides to collaborate with him. But then it undercuts the momentum with an inexplicable dance-off - why? Only because the first film had one, and because this was Spain, and apparently, you can’t leave Spain without making Hrithik dance?

Near the interval, during the plane sequence, a twist arrives. It didn’t make my jaw drop, but it was mildly intriguing and re-established them as rivals, which was necessary for a film titled War, especially one without a formidable antagonist elsewhere.

Speaking of antagonists, there’s Kali, the poor cousin of Marvel’s Hydra, adopted by our desi spy universe. And when I say Hydra, it’s not just because both are shadowy conglomerates trying to control the world - it’s also because a character here actually says, "If you cut off one head of Kali, another will grow." Heard that before?

Despite all the buildup, Kali lacks menace to make us take them seriously when we really do not get any huge stakes from them. I believe YRF plans to use them as the overarching antagonist for the franchise ahead, since a character even quips if they return, even Tiger and Pathaan can deal with them. Which begs me to ask - why weren't they here when a RAW officer was killed? Wasn't Pathaan still in RAW?

'War 2' Movie Review - An Irredeemable Second Half

Still, Kabir needs no Tiger or Pathaan to save him - for, as Luthra calls him, the 'perfect warrior.' But even Kabir can’t save the film from an absolute nosedive in the second half, tumbling from bearable to tedious drudgery. The screenplay feels like it’s making things up to hit a three-hour runtime target, padding with elongated, dull stretches of needless drama, followed by even more lacklustre action. ‘War 2’: From ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ to ‘Pathaan’, Ranking All YRF Spy Universe Films by Opening Day Collections and Predicting Hrithik Roshan–Jr NTR Starrer’s Box Office Debut.

A lifeless flashback set in 1999 doubles as Kabir’s origin story but raises continuity issues from the first film - how old is he meant to be? According to this, 34. Also, what are AC local trains doing in 1999 Mumbai? I spotted a couple gliding past in the background. After this meandering time jump and a chase sequence, War 2 suddenly remembers it also has Kiara Advani, drops in a romantic track out of nowhere to fulfil the bikini-scene quota (in a flashback that takes 15 years back), and then remembers the cameo actor, hastily giving him a couple of action bits.

By the climax, the film feels like a parody of its own franchise, everything bloated and bad. Where is the Ayan Mukerji who made the wonderful Wake Up Sid and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani? Even Brahmāstra feels like The Lord of the Rings next to this. The final fight between the two leads has none of the energy of the Tiger–Kabir face-off in the first film, and the "emotional" ending is immediately undercut two scenes later.

I genuinely feel bad for Hrithik Roshan - he’s committed to the role and gives it his all, even if the film seems more interested in capturing his handsomeness than his performance. Jr NTR is solid and particularly shines in the first half, but the poor writing of his character drags him down in the second. Kiara Advani brings glamour to her role but is sidelined whenever the action heats up. Ashutosh Rana is reliably good. As for the other actor in the extended cameo - honestly, the role felt beneath his calibre.

'War 2' Movie Review - Final Thoughts

War 2 is a textbook case of a franchise overreaching without the craft to match its ambition. Big stars, big budget, and big ideas collapse under lazy writing, poor execution, and embarrassingly bad visual effects. For all its talk of the 'perfect warrior,' not even Hrithik Roshan can save this mission from self-destruction.

(The opinions expressed in the above article are of the author and do not reflect the stand or position of LatestLY.)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 14, 2025 05:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).