Akshay Kumar has been looking for a comeback for quite some time now and thus, he seems to be getting back to the concept that gave him widespread success in the middle and late 2020s; the patriotism factor. Sky Force tells us the real life events of the 1965 Indo-Pak Sargodha Aerial attacks and the account of IAF officer Ajjamada Boppayya Devayya (fictionalized as T.Krishna Vijaya). The film stars Akshay Kumar and Veer Pahariya (in his debut) in the lead roles along with Nimrat Kaur, Sara Ali Khan and Sharad Kelkar in supporting roles.
Basic Plot- IAF Wing Commander Om Tanjea attempts to find out his fellow IAF officer T.Krishna Vijaya who was lost in the Indo-Pak Sargodha Aerial war 23 years ago.
Positives
Akshay Kumar and Sharad Kelkar
If there is one man who delivers a cracker of a performance, it's Akshay Kumar for sure. It's quite a breeze to watch him perform according to the character unlike his last few films where he was just casually collected his pay cheque. With a sharp dialogue delivery and good voice, Akshay Kumar seems picture perfect in the role of Om Ahuja (fictionalization of O.P Taneja) The tone that he sets for his character is exactly what was needed for a film like this; neither over the top nor massy but a subtle, responsible and heroic character. His screen presence is well utilized by the director duo Sandeep Kewlani and Abhishek Anil Kapur which significantly boosts the film overall. Kudos to Sharad Kelkar as well who appears for about an accumulated 10 minutes in the film, but delivers a commendable performance. He plays the role of Pakistan Squadron Leader Ahmed Hussain who is shown to be in service in the first half and retired in the second half. His character arc in the film and a subtle contrast of deeds in both the halves of the film (according to his job status) is a pretty cool detailing by the director duo. A particular dialogue (from the film), 'there should be honor among enemies' is well shown in the film.
Direction and Action
While this is not a film where you would see lavish action sequences and set pieces, Sky Force offers you plenty of well choreographed aerial action that give you good thrills (if not edge of the seat thrills). The combats are well designed and edited and could've been even better if the cg work was good. The director duo wastes no time in jumping into the core plot and that's a good call. The action by Parvez Shaikh is well choreographed and is definitely big screen worthy. It's not something that's 'never seen before' but surely promises a good time. Several scenes (such as Pakistan's attack on India that led to India's retaliation) are very well designed which generate the right mix of emotions and drama. And that feels all the more emotional when paired with B Praak's song, 'Teri Mitti'. The usage of songs have also been quite wise with the songs coming as background scores to elevate the overall film other than interrupting the screenplay in the worst possible way.
Conceptualization
There has been a strong comparison between Sky Force and the 2024 aerial action thriller Fighter due to similar themes and ideas. But Sky Force manages to excel where Fighter did not; somewhat easing the aerial combat concept to the audience. The makers have skillfully dealt with the technical aspects (related to Air Force and aerial combat) of the film and made sure that people with little knowledge about the concept get the maximum out of the film. The final climax and it's USP is well explained and executed by the director duo which justifies the purpose of the film. The film neither oversimplifies nor extravagantly boasts technical aspects and that gives the film an upper hand.
Underwhelming Aspects
Issues in the Second half
The film is an aerial combat thriller in the first half and as second half approaches, it shifts it's trajectory to become an investigative thriller. Although this was the actual story and the screenplay as well, it's the average execution that restricted this film to become a better version of itself. The investigation portion doesn't really give you the suspense feel and is rather flat. The short runtime, which only allots only an hour to each halves of the film, isn't enough to develop the inquiry portion of the film. Moreover, the relationship between the characters of Akshay Kumar and Veer Pahariya demanded more attention to detail and development. It's pretty decent given the runtime (with a decent performance by Pahariya), but the central character played by Pahariya required more screen time, better presentation and an even better emotional quotient for sure. The chemistry and banters between the other members of the IAF Squadron should've been better. Also, the bgm sounded too loud in quite a few places, especially during the aerial combats, which led to some of the dialogues becoming unclear. Surely not the best film in terms of sound mixing.
Conclusion
While Sky Force remains as a decent affair with some power pack performances, it's the smart handling of the patriotism factor that sets this film apart. Films with similar themes would go on to show jingoism and mass moments but Sky Force remains on a realistic zone till the end of it's runtime. The film focuses more on highlighting the bravery and courage shown by the IAF on 7th September 1965 (and since then) with significantly more inferior fighter planes with diminished capabilities than their enemies. The makers would not be able to get away very easily with a decent offering like this (which had strong scope of improvements) especially when Indian audience is so exposed to international content, Sky Force is still a sincere desi ode to the bravehearted IAF Squadron of 1965, who, unlike politicians, did not show their second cheek to the enemies!
Watch Out For
Akshay Kumar's performance and the emotional climax.
WTF Recommendation
7 /10