Tiger 3 movie review: Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif’s spy thriller lacks sharp claws but has some ‘grrr-eat’ moments in between.
Cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi, Simran, Kumud Mishra, Vishal Jethwa
Director: Maneesh Sharma
Writers: Shridhar Raghavan, Aditya Chopra, Anckur Chaudhry (dialogues)
Right at the beginning of Tiger 3, a man while teaching some hand-to-hand combat moves to his young daughter, advises her, “Pehle wajah, phir vaar.” Unfortunately, director Maneesh Sharma fails to pay heed to these words as a result of which this Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif starrer ends up missing its target.
What’s Yay: Katrina Kaif, action scenes, cameos by two superstars
What’s Nay: Feeble writing, lack of ‘dhamakedaar’ dialogues, Average music
Story
Tiger 3 opens with a tragedy which turns out to be the backstory of one of the pivotal characters of the Tiger universe. Years later, elsewhere, Avinash Singh Rathore aka Tiger (Salman Khan) comes to the rescue of his colleague, Gopi Arya (Ranvir Shorey) who makes a startling revelation to him before he breathes his last.
A doleful Tiger returns back home to uncover the truth. Of course, both, hearts and bones are broken in this process. Eventually, our man comes face-to-face with his nemesis, Aatish Rehman (Emraan Hashmi), a disgraced ex-ISI agent who also shares a past connection with his wife Zoya (Katrina Kaif).
When Tiger finds out that one of his loved one’s life is at stake, he is forced to steal a briefcase containing missile launch codes for Aatish which gets him and Zoya branded as traitors by their respective countries. Eventually, Tiger discovers that Aatish has a dangerous plan in store which could spell doom for his ‘maayka’. Of course, what’s there to fear because ‘jab tak tiger maraa nahin, tab tak Tiger haara nahin.‘!
Direction
Maneesh Sharma takes the baton from Kabir Khan (Ek Tha Tiger) and Ali Abbas Zafar (Tiger Zinda Hai) to entrust Avinash Singh Rathore aka Tiger with a new mission. The canvas is much bigger this time. Sharma also gets to tick many boxes when it comes to picturesque locations. Does he deliver? Well, the answer is he does but in parts and pieces.
If you are there for action, then Tiger 3 doesn’t disappoint! Those sequences are well-mounted and some of them leave you on the edge of your seats. Be it the hand-to-hand combat scenes, the bike chase, Katrina Kaif’s towel fight sequence or Salman Khan pumping bullets into his opponents, there’s plenty to dig into.
But when we speak of Tiger 3 as a film in totality, the sparks fizzle out a bit. Maneesh Sharma and his co-writers let you down with a wobbly screenplay and some one-dimensional characters. Anckur Chaudhry’s dialogues lack a punch and fail to induce whistles from the audience. Imagine you have Salman Khan and Emraan Hashmi in a film and not a single memorable dialogue to take back home! Sigh.
Performances
Like its predecessors Ek Tha Tiger and Tiger Zinda Hai, Tiger 3 also gives its main man Salman Khan plenty of moments to flex his muscles and rain bullets on his globe-trotting mission. Well, it’s fun when he does that! And when he teams up with Pathaan (Shah Rukh Khan in a hilarious and entertaining cameo) for a brief period, it’s double trouble for the villains and full on paisa-vasool moment for the audience.
Katrina Kaif gets a large chunk of the meat in Tiger 3 and we ain’t complaining either! The actress is light on her feet which makes her action scenes enjoyable right from the world go. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself asking for a standalone film for her Zoya post this espionage thriller.
Anyone who is familiar with Emraan Hashmi’s filmography would know that the actor nails it when it comes to shades of grey. Unfortunately, Tiger 3 does great injustice to his acting prowess. We know his character Aatish is a guy with misplaced patriotism but what’s next? Thus, owing to lack of depth, he fails to be a worthy opponent to Salman’s Tiger.
The rest of the cast including Revathy, Simran, Vishal Jethwa, Kumud Mishra and others are good in their respective parts. Psst, don’t miss the surprise element which rolls post credits!
Technical Aspects
Anay Goswami whips up some visual delights with his magical wand (camera) as the action takes place across the globe. Rameshwar S Bhagat’s editing keeps the film’s edges sharp.
Music
Tiger 3 faces defeat from its predecessors when it comes to the music department. Pritam’s musical instruments fail to strike a chord this time. ‘Leke Prabhu Ka Naam’ has some interesting beats but drab lyrics. ‘Ruaan’ is nowhere close to ‘Dil Diyaan Gallan’ or ‘Laapataa’.
Verdict
‘Yeh khel haathon ka nahin, dimaag ka hain,” goes one of Aatish’s (Emraan Hashmi) dialogues in Tiger 3. It’s a sort of a heartbreak that this Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif barely does any justice to this line.
