Tiger 3 Movie Review: Tiger is back. Tiger 3, the third part in the Tiger franchise (Ek Tha Tiger and Tiger Zinda Hai), reunites us with Salman Khan the spy, who still makes a killer ‘daal’, loves his beloved ‘biwi’ Zoya (Katrina Kaif) and his son Junior, and this time around both Tiger and Zoya save Pakistan with the help of their friends. Just like Tiger says in the film, ‘Damaad hoon to iss mulk ki hifazat karna bhi mera farz hai.’
Tiger 3 goes several steps ahead in establishing a conduit between Pakistan and India: if their spies can come together against a shared foe, why can’t the two hostile countries? Bollywood is the only industry that dares to go this “aman-ki-asha” route with such cloying boldness; since Salman crossed the boundary with success in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, why not try again?
Fifteen minutes into this movie, when its goal gets locked, you figure this isn’t merely an excuse to somehow stitch together a sequel and make it into a spy franchise. There’s a definite objective: To save Pakistan from having another military coup from an ex-military officer Aatish Rehmani (Emraan Hashmi) who will go to any lengths to become Wazeer-e-azam of the Pakistani hukumat.
All of this is incidental to the film’s primary goal, which is Salman’s character Tiger roaring his way to the box office. Indeed, Salman has returned to his true self, never straying from the plot, unlike Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan which was released earlier in the year and left a lot of ‘Bhai’ fans disappointed.
After Kabir Khan and Ali Abbas Zafar, its director Maneesh Sharma who is at the helm of affairs. Written by Shridhar Raghvan along with story by Aditya Chopra, Tiger 3 is a spy thriller that could have been done with more sense and subtlety. But these attributes appear to be the last thing on the mind of the invincible, chest-thumping, Rambo-esque RAW agent-protagonist and his mates as they team up with ISI operatives to take on their deadly common foes for the sake of aman (peace).
At 153 minutes, the film seems a bit stretched, especially the first half where the film moves at a slow pace. Post-interval is where the action begins. There are umpteen shots of Salman strutting in slow motion and the action is designed to showcase him as a one-man army. He can take on the bad guys with guns, knives, and even a torch. He is the messiah of the entire Pakistan.
The movie has some excellent action sequences featuring Katrina. As she pulls off some difficult stunts, you can’t help but applaud, whistle, and clap for her. Additionally, there’s a mind-blowing solo action scene in Hamam which is executed brilliantly.
A lot of time, effort, money and talent has been expended on the massively mounted action sequences. Even the production values and cinematography are first-rate.
A globetrotting spy thriller, Tiger 3 suffers from a problem many Indian spy films in the past have also gone through. Everything about the film is surface level: the script, and even the direction. The twists and double-crosses invoke indifference and as an audience you can predict them with ease. In all fairness, it’s not just the action, it’s also the sheer energy of the film, and by that I mean the stunts, the gadgets, the songs, the locations, almost everything. It’s what I call “all-stops pulled out entertainment.” The makers of this film want you to suspend your sense of disbelief and just go along for the ride.
Of course, Salman Khan effectively becomes a superman or like he had once mentioned ‘Sal-man.’ He is every bit the superhero in Tiger 3 that his fans have been waiting with bated breath for this entire year. Whatever Salman-ness his fans have been deprived of, this film pours on them in abundance.
It goes without saying that Katrina is breathtakingly beautiful, and with Tiger 3, she ups her glam factor even more. Her appearance is breathtaking, but she also performs some daring stunts that nearly take her life. She is fierce, bold, and smart.
Although the film relies heavily on Salman’s heroic abilities it does get tiresome towards the end. But what makes it entertaining is Emraan Hashmi’s character Aatish Rehmani. Every hero needs a worthy villain, and director Maneesh Sharma can use Emraan’s crooked smile and his cunning avatar to make Aatish come across as a man whose emotions have shut down. More than the physical strength, it is the mind games that convince us that Aatish is more than a match for Tiger. The two play a lot of mind games repeatedly in the course of the film and most of the time, the contest either ends in a stalemate or Aatish is the winner.
Finding the meaning of existence is similar to reviewing a proper Salman Khan movie. You won’t understand it at all, and life will continue as it should. To wake up at 6 am with a full house auditorium rooting for the super-hero Sal-man is a very different kind of experience—something that also has a charm of its own. There are many sweet-worthy moments in Tiger 3 including the cameos (which is known by everyone). Salman fans are in for a treat this Diwali.
PS: For once, we don’t see Salman Khan shed his shirt to show off his ripped body.
