Rohit Shetty has returned with the much awaited third part of the Singham franchise which also happens to be the fifth instalment of his Cop Universe, but it feels like Rohit Shetty needs some serious revamp right now in terms of every aspect of filmmaking. This film stars an ensemble cast of Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff and Arjun Kapoor in the lead roles and Jackie Shroff in a supporting role.
Basic Plot- Singham goes on an undercover mission to Sri Lanka to save his wife who's been kidnapped by a dreaded terrorist.
Positives
Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh and franchise value
Ajay Devgn really shines in this flawed film by sinking his teeth into the character of Singham. He has a good screen presence and thus, carries the entire film all by himself. It's his performance that gives this film some sense of purpose because the film is a complete void otherwise. Ranveer Singh comes in the second half and saves the film to a certain extent with his performance. Although dialogue are very poor, Ranveer Singh manages to overcome all of that with his body language and simple over the top performance which provided a microscopic level of dynamism into the film with cheesy humor served hot. Kareena does decent and so does Arjun Kapoor (surprisingly in the second half after performing like a cardboard in first half). The overall franchise value sum up on a decently positive note to offer to the audience at least a typical Rohit Shetty setting to keep their eyes open (and not dozing off) after buying the tickets of Singham Again.
Underwhelming Aspects
Music and Technicalities
The team of Singham Again was forced to use a different background music for the film after T-Series slapped a copyright strike on the Singham team and barred them from using the OG Singham track sung by Sukhwinder Singh. The inability to use the iconic music for the film is a miss and the new bgm is a joke. It's just a very chaotic song with no vibe or lyrics whatsoever and has an abnormal 'SINGHAMMM..' chant randomly placed in the bgm. The other technical departments are trash as well. Camera, editing, cgi and others have gone for a complete toss and you would even have a headache while watching the film.
Action
The action is just so unbearably ridiculous ! You surely think of Atlee and Siddharth Anand when watching mass and sleek action respectively right? Similarly, you think of Rohit Shetty when watching backdated and poorly edited slow-mo action. The action feels like something Shetty would've got away with a decade ago but that feels simply awful in 2024. There are no proper action sequences or any decent editing techniques, which makes the action feel incoherent. Even the over the top nature of the film isn't presented properly, resulting in a very sloppy action designing.
Direction and Writing
The core plot of the film wasn't too bad for a commercial film that also has a franchise value and an ensemble cast. It's the poor direction and writing, and also the entire revelation of the plot in the trailer, that made a Bombay Velvet out of the film. Rohit Shetty hasn't changed in years; using cliched plot lines and overall look and feel of some early 2010's commercial film is still somehow watchable if the basics were done right, but nothing seems to have gone the director's way. There's no proper action scene given to Ajay Devgn! This is unbelievably funny that the character whom you only made to walk in a 2 hour 40 mins film, was the pioneer in setting up your universe! The other characters have been 'under-utilized' to the fullest as well. Deepika Padukone and Akshay Kumar just walked away with their pay cheques after being maligned in terms of characterization and the rest have done what they've felt best. The writing is a yawn-fest with the main crux coming in the interval and generating no memorable moments whatsoever. Also, the superficial and 'on the face' Ramayana references throughout the film don't help the screenplay at all, and instead of evoking emotions as intended, this entire referencing feels childish, right from the beginning. Even the dialogues are forgetful and that's simply not justified considering this one's a mass film. With all the chaos happening altogether, it's a headache of a climax that you will witness in Singham returns.
Conclusion
Rohit Shetty has seemingly lost it completely and surely needs to come up with something new for the audience to enjoy. This film is just a very bad stain on the legacy of Singham and his fans across India that would take time to fade. The film feels very understated and lacks the purpose of being what's actually shown throughout it's runtime. It's hard to believe that this is the same director who brought back audiences to the theatres after Covid 19 with the blockbuster Sooryavanshi back in 2021. That is the level of downfall that Rohit Shetty films have had over the past couple of years. The film would nonetheless make money out of tier 2 and tier 3 cities, but this one is an instalment that nosedives the entire credibility of an already dubious Cop Universe (that seemed to have got a bit of an oxygen with Sooryavanshi) killing all expectations of further films in the franchise.
Watch Out For
A sleepy, sloppy, lazy and hazy Salman Khan cameo at the end, that too as Chulbul Pandey, indicating the character's inclusion in the Cop Universe (for God knows what reasons).
WTF Recommendation
4/10
