With a story that holds your interest only in bits and pieces, action which has far better precedents in quite a few Bollywood films itself (leave aside Hollywood) and performances which are decent, not exceptional, 'Ek Tha Tiger' leaves a lot to be desired. Really, one wonders, wasn't it obvious out there on paper itself before the film actually went on floors?
The promos pretty much indicated what the story was all about. You have seen them, you have seen it all. Moreover attempts to bring twists in the tale are way too obvious and on your face that you can see them coming three scenes before they actually happen, leave aside seeing them a moment before.
The prologue is set well though. The action sequence in Iraq, though not out of the world, establishes Tiger well. However the film steps into the love story zone once Zoya (Katrina Kaif) comes into his life.
That's also acceptable. After all, as confided by Tiger in his partner (Ranvir Shorey), it is important to win the girl's trust for the mission's success. But then for how long in a near two hour film? 10 minutes, perhaps 20 minutes, but not for an entire first half.
So what we get to see are lake side rendezvous, tryst with the shooting stars, a 'prem kahaani' being developed, a dance or two following and stuff alike. Frankly, all the enthusiasm that had been built after the opening sequence goes downhill and by the time the interval card is flashed, you end up wondering if 'Ek Tha Tiger' would actually come back on track in the second half.
Thankfully it does, well to some extent at the least, as the romantic moments are given a break and action takes over. However the fast paced narrative that one had expected from a film like this is sadly missing.
There are spurts of adrenalin rush that do come in (especially the extended sequence in the climax) but then these too turn out to be set pieces than the kind that actually make you look at the film as one intriguing affair that was expected from Kabir Khan.
The biggest hurdle that one finds in the entire exercise is the fact that what was expected to be a fusion of good sensibilities (Kabir Khan) and mass offering (Salman Khan) is diluted instead of getting enhanced in 'Ek Tha Tiger'. One can sense that neither of the two could actually go all the way in bringing out their best.
As for Katrina Kaif, she has a large presence in the film and does well in the light hearted scenes as well. In fact her on-screen chemistry with Salman is good too. However one wouldn't term this either as a performance oriented role per se as action takes over the entire second half.
As stated earlier, nothing wrong with that but then the edge of the seat impact is missing, especially when one would have expected a film to go one up over the likes of 'Agent Vinod' or 'Kurbaan' (which were again about spies).
Disappointing. Now that's quite painful outing for a film which had created so much excitement and hype. Of course regardless of the average content, box office will tell a different story since the extended week is going to throw some extraordinary numbers.
However, beyond that it can't be expected to stand top amongst one of the better films coming from the house of Yash Raj, Salman or Kabir. Each of them definitely has much more accomplished work to their credit.
Rating: **1/2
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