First things first. I was not a fan of the first Baaghi. I failed to see it completely because its plot was silly, lame and a big bore. I understand it did well enough on the strength of its opening which was probably because of the foothold Tiger has developed in the action genre. However, it failed to impress me totally with the excption of a couple of action sequences. So I was skeptical of watching Baaghi 2. However, when I learned the film had done some great business especially in the mass centres and single screens all over the country, I was curious to check it out. Today I discovered it on Hotstar. So without wasting any time, I got down to experience it between minor irritating advertisements the bplatform is known for.
Baaghi 2 tells the story of an army captain(played by Tiger Shroff) who is approached by his former girlfriend Neha to find her kidnapped daughter. He considers it odd that she took his help instead of talking to her husband, but he decides to go ahead with this quest out of a soft corner for her. Along the way, he befriends a car mechanic Usman, encounters Neha’s brother in law who’s a substance abuser and has a tussle with the local police inspector that gets him arrested. In the middle of the film, there’s a surprise thrown in for the audience after which it enters the action-packed mode.
The biggest undoing of the film is a lack of coherence in the story proceedings. This is not to say that the narrative it wafer thin. Given the powerful story, they could have easily built a strong and a more engrossing screenplay. Some amateur handling ruins things to an extent, and ultimately it all falls down on the brawny shoulders of Tiger Shroff to save the film with his action stunts. Which isn’t an overstatement because that is what is the ultimate highlight of the film. The first half makes the film convoluted and bizarre, with too much happening at once, giving little space for the film to breathe. It appeared they edited the film more than what was necessary. However, when the film switches to action mode, it makes you sit up and notice.
No one complains with the proceedings though, because despite the dizziness, the film can be labelled as timepass for the general audience who won’t mind spending time watching it on a lazy weekend. Regarding the action, I wonder why makers continue to be obsessed with slow motion in the middle of a tense fight. This is honestly frustrating and I can think of only one out and out film in recent years(Holiday) where the stunts were raw and real. I wish this film had choreographed the stunts in a similar fashion, because Tiger is a fine action star and its best to watch his act unadulterated during these sequences. However, his inability to act in accordance with a tense situation is too evident to be concealed. So a comparison with action stars who were also good actors(Sunny Deol, Sunil Shetty) is futile.
On the whole, Baaghi 2 is a timepass entertainer. I did not find it very good, but can empathize why it struck a chord with the masses. It delivers what ir promises, but could have done more with the script that they had.