Operation Valentine

I should start the review by mentioning that hats off to the team for making this movie in such a tight budget . Much more technicalities shown in this film as compared to Fighter. Also to add , Varun Tej and Manushi were great , along with this actor bhatt also did a great job. SAMs , AWACS , ANTI RADIATION MISSLES , BOMBER , RADAR , Sukhoi , F-16 , Mirage , Mig and much more. I am surely impressed. Well done team.

Now for those who are comparing this with Top Gun or Maverick ...just give these directors half a budget of what they get to produce a movie and then compare. The graphics shouldn't be compared at all , after all they were shot truly airborne while these are Vfx so please.

Film loosely based on true events, and fairly Owen as story. If you want to watch, watch without any expectations. Visuals are fairly good. Actors did a fair good job. And story was smoothly executed without much twists. From beginning to end the movie executed smoothly. Director didn't tried to over exaggerate the situations which would have made movie complicate. The story directly jumps into story without much delay. Which is a good one otherwise it would have made story boring. The technicals are good. So if you are bored it's a fair good try to watch movie which would not disappoint much.

The plot meandered aimlessly, relying on tired tropes and predictable plot points. The opening scene, while attempting to be explosive, felt rushed and lacked the necessary punch to set the stage for a thrilling adventure. Attempts at humour landed flat, and the supposed emotional moments felt unearned. The "big reveal" near the end felt like a desperate attempt to inject some excitement into a narrative that had long lost its momentum. The cardboard-cutout characters felt like rejects from a discount romantic comedy bin. Come on guys, we all know the tea was fantastic. Can we please stop making propaganda movies with low budget VFX? The concept is getting old and monotonous.

Did go to the movie without knowing the story. It started slow but the pace picked up slowly. By interval, you are in the edge of your seat. The direction, acting, music and VFX were just in enough dose. Congrats to the entire team for making this movie. Though the star cast is not well known, they have pulled it off nicely. Definitely a good watch for the weekend. I didn't expect the VFX. To be so good. It really elevated the aerial fight scenes. Almost to the Hollywood standards. Screenplay had played a very good part to keep the flow. No unnecessary songs that kept the movie going. Finally, the photography did great justice to the gorgeous locations in kashmir.

Firstly, I don't watch films purely using Hollywood features as a benchmark. Every country, culture, possess their own angles and approaches toward visual story telling. For a military/heroism type of film, this is a non-hollywood one that I find entertaining, and without sourcing for information regarding their production value, I can see it is done with the budget that is sensible to the Indian filmmakers.

There's nothing 'wrong' with the story/plot of this film, the premise is fine. Though, the dialogue/scenes can take a little more work, to make it more sophisticated - however it isn't that bad or 'cringy' like various films that I have seen - including big budgeted ones from Hollywood.

The VFX, and depiction of the aircraft are good enough to not make it look 'dodgy'. I believed the types of fighter jets, i.e. The Mirages, the MIGs, depicted are accurate with reference to India Air Force.

As a non-Indian, I am aware of the trend in Indian films (aka 'Bollywood' in my side of the world) to include pop or dance music. The featured music/songs are quite decent to me - melodiously. I wouldn't mind listening to them again, even though I don't understand the language.

The acting style of the actors is, in my opinion, culturally Indian. Just like in Japanese films which the Japanese actors' style is culturally tied to Japanese behavior and way their of life. I'm fine with it.

As a whole, this film is entertaining to me. However, if you are looking for Hollywood style/grade type of films, then don't bother watching this or any other films from other countries. This film will cater to those who want some action/military type entertainment, some interest in military hardware, perhaps over a relaxing weekend.