Fighter

Great interval episode which lasted about 30 minutes. Great aviation scenes. Very rarely we see such scenes in Indian movies. Hrithik's screen presence is as usual great. He suited the part. As far as the authentic Indian Navy's portrayal on to the screen is concerned, they did their best. That's all is what I can think about what worked for me in the movie.

Everything else is just decently packed and never impressed me in any sorts. The story itself is thin and predictable. A lot more writing is needed to make a solid movie. The love track was meh. Unnecessary and stretched. No proper character arc for Anil Kapoor. He hates Hrithik, dances with him, again hates him, and again loves him.

Nothing really happened in the first hour of the first half and the first 30 minutes of the second half. Whatever happened in the last 45 minutes was boring / predictable/ rushed.

I left the theatre with a bit of disappointment. One would expect more from this combo, especially with Sid after War and Pathaan. Not a bad movie either.

First half has superb dog fight sequences but whose effects are marred by unnecessary songs, irritating characters and a villain who evokes laughter with his Tere Naam look. Hrithik is part time fighter pilot and part time planner of Balakot strikes, who has RAW level info, which he just divulges in front of top officers, probably for great appraisals.

If you have seen Animal and felt that its second half was pointless, this second half is set to lower the bar even further. There is unnecessary drama and futile attempts at reviving nationalist sentiments.

We were among the 12 persons in the matinee show here, at Gurgaon. I remember watching Pathaan by the same director, in a matinee show 10 days after its release and the hall was buzzing.

This will stream on Netflix by Feb end. Should be seen in the safety of your room, where it can be fast-forwarded at will.

The movie disappoints on multiple fronts, starting with unnecessary romance shoehorned into the narrative, distracting from the supposed focus on the fighter pilot storyline. The bad acting further exacerbates the film's shortcomings, with performances that fail to convey the intensity and authenticity expected from such a genre.

Plot holes abound, creating a disjointed viewing experience that leaves the audience questioning the coherence of the storyline. The movie leans heavily on clichés, offering nothing fresh or original, making it feel like a recycled and uninspired attempt within the Indo-Pak war genre.

Pilots consistently disobeying their commanding officer throughout the film not only strains believability but also undermines the credibility of the characters. Lastly, some of the film's scenes blatantly resemble to Top Gun comes across as a cheap imitation, ultimately leaving viewers longing for the authenticity and originality found in the iconic predecessor.

To start with some positives:

1. VFX from Bollywood's standards is top class

2. BGM goes well with the movie

3. HRX, Deepika & Anil acted well with the limited scope offered by their roles and writing

4. The fight sequence between the 2 fighter jets close to the end was really the time I actually was enjoying the movie. Well shot & choreographed

5. HRX body on full display as a service to his fans

6. Deepika looked amazing

Negatives:

Be hold, there are many.

1. The patriotism felt out of place and forced a number of times

2. Dialogues are ridiculous & cringeworthy.

3. Script & writing leaves the movie pretty shallow, lacks intensity and first half felt boring

4. Not sure why all villains have to be stereotyped and shown with scars, surma even the Pak pilot had similar characteristics.

5. The Director went over board with the slow mo stunts which felt over used and over done & forcefully placed at times.

6. The antagonist was the weakest link throughout the movie. Extremely underwhelming. Lacked screen presence and the director felt the only way to make him dreadful was by giving him conjunctivitis (one red eye) with scars. But the silky mulayam long hairs didn't help that cause and neither did the dialogues. Very shallow character.

7. A number of elements are of course taken right out of the Mavericks movie.

After watching the trailer, I went into the movie hall with low expectations but even after that the movie felt quite underwhelming.

Till interval it resonated as if it's a story based on pulwama attack. However, after interval movie went in different direction and lost the control. Few things I don't understand -

1. Why love story and all? Was it required? Unwanted bollywood masala.

2. When pakistan fully imposed no fly zone and you guys shown that india used passenger plane as proxy to enter enemy airspace, what about the chopper's? How did they enter no fly zone without proxy? Such a big blunder in script.

3. Even after air strike twice the terrorist doesn't die... Come on, be practical. Is that possible.. You have shown terrorists are more powerful and trained that Indian Army.

4. Anil Kapoor, who was best pilot whole movie was sitting back and screaming at last..

Such a bad script.. Waste direction.

Bollywood is waste... I had high hopes..