'Singham Again' review: Too many stars, but not enough entertainment
Rohit Shetty's Singham Again, featuring Ajay Devgn and Kareena Kapoor Khan, is the newest addition to his Cop Universe and the third film in the Singham franchise. Excessively loud and a routine masala flick with a formulaic, done-to-death, simplistic storyline, it's a scattershot, tedious affair. The only saving grace comes in the form of the performances, but they alone can't salvage this sinking ship.
Singham is on a mission to save his wife, Avni
Shetty gave away the story in the trailer and didn't reserve any awe-inspiring moments for the film. A terrorist, Danger Lanka (Arjun Kapoor), wants to settle scores with Bajirao Singham (Devgn) and abducts his wife Avni (Kapoor Khan). Singham assembles his best cops: Simmba (Ranveer Singh), Shakti (Deepika Padukone), Sooryavanshi (Akshay Kumar), and Satya (Tiger Shroff) to rescue Avni. You can predict the rest.
It's all bark, no bite
No aspect of SA will surprise you, because everything is so predictable, and the trailer had explained every plot point. Shetty seems fixated on the action sequences, so he pays no attention to any other departments and the film remains content being stuck in a rut. Explosions, chaos, and mind-numbingly long action sequences constantly hijack the screen. Singham Again has nothing else to offer.
More on the dragged action sequences
If action isn't your preferred genre, the film will bore you to death. None of the action choreography is experimental or creative, and the scenes drag on for so long that you can step out, place a food order, and return, and yet, the scene will only be halfway through. Headache-inducing, high-decibel, repetitive background score also does the film absolutely no favors.
The 'Ramayana' references are hammered into your brain
If the Ramayana parallels in the trailer tested your patience, wait till you watch the film. It's laughable how on-the-nose the storytelling is, and how Shetty feels the need to over-explain the references and dumb down everything. Does he think messaging will be lost on the viewer otherwise? Without the references being shoved down our throats, perhaps SA could have been a better film.
It struggles to keep you engaged
There's a very daily soap-esque feel to Singham Again. It's palpable in melodramatic scenes, haphazard and disjointed flashbacks-backstories, and the overall production quality. Surprisingly, sometimes, even the actors can't shrug it off as they ham their way through this snooze-fest. Shetty has assembled some of the biggest stars of Hindi cinema, but he doesn't know what to do with most of them.
A forgettable performance by Devgn
Devgn is shockingly subdued, and it doesn't even feel like it's the same character who headlined Singham and Singham Returns. In some scenes, it feels like he would be anywhere else than on this set, and while his familiar spark comes alive occasionally, it's mostly as lifeless as this movie. Singh, meanwhile, packs a punch and gets the most screentime among the special appearances.
Arjun, Kapoor Khan do justice to their respective roles
Kapoor Khan as Avni is a role she can do in her sleep, and amid all the pandemonium-like situations, her character lends a sense of heft, calm, and composure to SA. Props also to Kapoor, who bats on his home ground, doing what he does best— playing a menacing, out-and-out negative character. SA is his rite of passage.
Watch only if you follow the Cop Universe; skip otherwise
An overcooked and largely unpalatable khichdi, Singham Again is a forceful union of stars and squanders the opportunity to mine the potential of its ensemble cast. With an outdated storyline, no twists, and a runtime that feels longer than it is (it's a little over 140 minutes) long, SA bites more than it can chew. It's nothing you haven't already seen before. 1.5/5 stars.
