Tiger 3 movie review: Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif's action and swag take part three few notches higher

Back in 2012, when Salman Khan and Yash Raj Films collaborated for Ek Tha Tiger, little did we know this would turn into a franchise and the production house would revel in creating a spy universe where every other character saved the day for the other.

Romance and Revenge

The first film was about the romance between a RAW and an ISI agent, both unaware of each other’s identities and intentions. It was expansively (and expensively) shot across multiple locations, something filmmaker Kabir Khan always found delight in. The sequel narrated the ordeal of a group of nurses held hostages in a hospital and Tiger and Zoya, now married with a son, taking charge. Tiger 3 is about an old enemy who’s a new entrant in the franchise. He has lost his family and Tiger is the culprit, he’s thirsty for vengeance and hungry for revenge. The man is Emraan Hashmi, and it’s good to see him in shades of black. The man is even dressed in dark suits to compliment his evilness.

Manish Sharma- The Director

Manish Sharma is a filmmaker who understands small-town fragrance and freshness like few others, pretty much evident with his solid debut Band Baaja Baaraat, and even Shuddh Desi Romance. With Fan, he went grand (and even gritty) in telling the story of a passionate-turned psychotic fan who swears to destroy his idol’s professional and personal life. And with Tiger 3, he goes even more gargantuan.

This time, the narrative isn’t about brawn but brain, even though we do get a combative scene between Hashmi and Khan. And Sharma, thanks to the popularity of the central characters, doesn’t have to do much of the heavy-lifting. All he has to do is to serve to the fans of these people and the world they have been a part of since 2012, and he partly succeeds. Despite a restless first hour, it’s a confession that part three is more watchable than part one and two.

The Action

The opening stretch of Ek Tha Tiger is the best part of the film, with Khan and his scarf doing a fine job of eliminating the bad guys. You can see the palpable tension in the way the whole sequence has been choreographed. Here, the action involves multiple explosions, firing, VFX, but the standout is of course the towel scene between Katrina Kaif and Michele Lee. It’s swift, thrilling, and guiltily gratifying.

Pakistan, and Patriotism

Tiger lands up in the neighboring country for reasons that can’t be revealed here but that’s how filmmakers wish to tell stories about country, motherhood, and patriotism. Sunny Deol’s Gadar and Gadar 2 didn’t only uproot hand pumps and electric poles but box-office too. Tiger 3 holds its horses, it doesn’t jump into the bandwagon of bashing and blabbering, and yet, the ticket windows are likely to catch fire.

The Human Touch

Salman Khan is accused of being a traitor, his son’s life is in jeopardy, and this is a moment where talking off the shirt isn’t the smartest option. Sharma establishes moments for both Khan and Kaif where they leave their vanity behind and attack the human side of their characters. For a change, Tiger becomes Avinash Singh Rathore. And both the actors have lived these people long enough to know when to stop being stars and start breathing ordinariness. For all the bones he breaks outside, at home, the Tiger is nothing but tamed by family. And for all the beauty and badassery she displays, Zoya too is aware of how to be a mother and a wife.

The Problem

To be a human and a hero together requires conviction, but Tiger 3 isn’t able to juice up the emotion and the amalgamation. The lead actors requested fans not to spoil the experience for others by giving out spoilers, but there are barely any shocks. In Pathaan, Tiger saved the day for the bruised and battered hero (Shah Rukh Khan), in Tiger 3, it’s the other way round and joining them is Kabir from War (Hrithik Roshan). This isn’t a spoiler since it’s already trending on social media.

The other problem with part three is there’s too much talking going on for a film that belongs to a spy universe. The mundane lines about revenge, country, family, retribution all show up, what needed to be present was little more thrill and tension.

The past and the future

Both John Abraham in Pathaan and Emraan Hashmi in Tiger 3 have a backstory that justifies what they did and what they ultimately became. They were victims that chose to walk on the streets of villainy and fire. And both embodied their characters with swag and style. But this is about the past. Yash Raj Films is far from done with their universe. We still have War 2 left, and maybe Pathaan 2 and possibly Tiger 4. And before we can even see what lies in these movies, it’ll be all over social media. How about Pathaan, Tiger, and Kabir joining hands to combat social media menace? And do more action and less talking? But only for the slick action and the final surprise post end credits (and Salman Khan’s aura), here’s an extra-half star.

Rating: 3.5 (out of 5 stars)