Movie Name: Commando 3
Cast: Vidyut Jammwal, Adah Sharma, Angira Dhar, Gulshan Devaiah
Direction: Aditya Datt
Rating: 2.5 stars
When it comes to high-octane action drama, very few movies can beat the appeal and grace of the ‘Commando’ series. Vipul Amrutlal Shah has always gone ahead with the idea of having a new director at the helm of things with every sequel. And this time, spearheading the content is Aditya Datt. So, does Commando 3 successfully manage to live up to its expectations? Let’s find out.
The story starts with how Karanveer Singh Dogra (Vidyut Jammwal) happens to be the best commando around in the Indian Special Forces’ unit. The intelligence realizes the fact that a possible terror strike is lurking, to add to India’s misfortunes, and hence, in order to avert the same, Karanveer is sent to London to take on the menacing and dreadful terror mastermind, Buraq Ansari (Gulshan Devaiah). Karanveer isn’t alone in the mission though. He’s accompanied by officer Bhavana Shetty (Adah Sharma), whereas their British associate happens to be Mallika Sood (Angira Dhar). The trio is expected to unleash the best to nab and ensure Buraq’s mission to cause harm and trouble to India during the auspicious occasion of Dussehra fails miserably. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Their only leads are his eyes and his voice and Buraq’s sharpness and intelligence only add more to the efforts from their end. The opening sequence shows the cops chasing down three brainwashed and tender kids, who are brainwashed by an Islamic radicalist in the name of ‘Jihaad’ and ‘Allah’. ‘Bada Karam’ is what is referred to the bloody deed in the name of ‘Jannat’. As they get caught, Buraq’s mission gets noticed and that’s where the urgency and planning to curb down his plans begins.
As Karanveer reaches London, the inevitable ‘Tom-and-Jerry’ chase game begins and as you would expect in an out and out Bollywood masala commercial movie, the hero isn’t glorified at the very beginning itself and all the glorification is saved for the last. Why? Because, Bollywood logic- the very reason why throughout the primary stages of the first half and post interval, the Indian Intelligence is shown as something which can never get the better of Buraq and his terrorist organization’s evil plans and desires. I mean, we understand that it’s a movie and the suspense needs to be built up till the end. But that surely doesn’t mean that the IB and the II are made to look like a group of puerile people in front of the terror organizations. There are several
references to theKashmir issue, cow
slaughter activities and other forms of detestful crimes, but everything looks to be fed into each other to combine into a package. What’s worse is that the main mastermind’s activities are not defined by any logic or back story to add weight to his activities. Eventually, the chasing game comes to an end and as you would rightly expect, Buraq is forced to bow down to the ‘marvellousness’ and alacrity of the Indian Intelligence.
IWMBuzz Verdict: As one would expect from a Vidyut Jammwal starrer ‘Commando’ project, there’s absolutely no dearth of high-octane, professionally choreographed action stunts and sequences. But the bigger question is ‘Is it enough to make the movie work?’ Well, as much as I hate to say this, no. The film is let down by the very average story and writing. Although you would want to go bonkers seeing Vidyut’s chiselled avatar who’s going all guns blazing at the goons, the ‘extra flavour’ in everything will make you question, ‘Where’s realism?’ Patriotism is always wanted and something to look forward to, but when the thin line of difference between ‘patriotism’ and ‘jingoism’ gets messed up, it calls for trouble and that’s where Commando 3 is a bit of a failure. I mean, yes you would want to go ‘Jai Hind’ but that doesn’t mean that you can make a country as big as India change its devotion just with a WhatsApp broadcast message forward. Can you? The direction gets the best out of Vidyut Jammwal, and as expected, he delivers a power-packed performance with the right blend of stunts and performance. A cherry on top factor happens to be that even the ladies have been done equal justice when it comes to showing their power and physical strength with stunts and actions. In a nutshell, they aren’t just made to come off as mere glamdolls to attract the audience. The cinematography is high-class and the framings in which the fly-high action stunts have been shot are at their aesthetic best. The editing is crisp and fine and the fast-moving background score adds further pace to the narrative. Vidyut Jammwal as usual is stunning and so are his leading ladies. But surprisingly, Gulshan Devaiah fails to rise up to the expectations. Probably our expectations are higher after ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota’, but surely, this isn’t Gulshan’s best till date. Commando 3 happens to be yet another sad case where the on-screen beauty and wonder tries its best to save a rather weak script and screenplay. But does it manage to do so? Only partially. Go and watch it once if you are into action, martial arts and fitness, as Vidyut is once again going to come off as an inspiration. But content wise, you might just be disappointed.
2.5 stars