Review : Hrithik Roshan’s Fighter – Patriotism blended with heroism

Bollywood star hero Hrithik Roshan has now come up with India’s first aerial action thriller, Fighter. The movie, directed by War and Pathaan fame Siddharth Anand, features Deepika Padukone as the female lead. Following Pathaan sentiment, the movie arrived on the 25th January. Let’s see how the film is.

Story:

A special team is formed with top Indian Air Force aviators sensing a possible enemy attack on the Srinagar base camp. Shamsher Pathania, a.k.a Patty (Hrithik Roshan), Minni Rathore a.k.a Minni (Deepika Padukone), Sartaj Gill (Karan Singh Grover), and a few others form part of this team. Rakesh Jai Singh, a.k.a Rocky (Anil Kapoor), is their Commanding Officer. One day the terrorist organization, Jaish-e-Mohammed, attacks CRPF soldiers. This leads to a series of combats between India and the terrorists. Who won finally is what the movie is about.

Plus Points:

Just like the earlier movies of Siddharth Anand, there isn’t anything unique about Fighter’s plot, but the director once again comes up with a good narrative that engages us for the most part. The initial forty minutes or so is used for the intro of characters, and then the conflict point is brought in. It is followed by solid aerial action blocks.

Kudos to the Fighter team for the way they pulled off all the aerial combat sequences. These war scenes provide an immersive experience contributing to the storytelling. The team gave minute details regarding the aerial scenes so that we could understand and follow them better. The other good thing about Fighter is its emotional moments, especially in the second half. Generally, action flicks don’t have sufficient emotional depth, but Fighter gets its right in this aspect. Ashutosh Rana’s cameo appearance makes an impact.

Hrithik Roshan is adorable in this stylish action flick. Hrithik’s towering screen presence is always a treat to watch. His wittiness, dialogue delivery, subtle acting, and charm help the movie big time. He also shares a good chemistry with Deepika Padukone. The actress does her part well. The love track doesn’t affect the film’s flow. Anil Kapoor, Akshay Oberoi, and Karan Singh Grover are fine in their respective roles.

Minus Points:

The songs and background score of Fighter are a letdown. Except for the Vandemataram track, the background score isn’t great. Had this aspect been better, the impact could have gone a few notches higher. A few dialogues remind us of Uri. Since the movie has a template-based story, comparisons with other patriotic films will be inevitable.

The movie might appeal more to the urban audience than the rural audience, given its genre. This might hamper the box office prospects to an extent. The aerial action sequence during the pre-interval is so good, but the interval comes abruptly.

Technical Aspects:

As stated earlier, the music and score aren’t satisfactory. Fighter scores full marks regarding the other technical aspects. The camera work by Satchith Paulose is brilliant. The camera movement during the jet fights is exhilarating. The VFX works are well done, and they form the biggest USP of the film. The editing is good.

Siddharth Anand provides a fairly engaging movie by taking a familiar story, which has always been his style of filmmaking. The way Siddharth envisioned the aerial combat scenes is excellent. The action choreographers deserve special applause. Especially the dog fights between the Air Force soldiers, and their conversations with the enemy, are captivating.

Verdict:

On the whole, Fighter is a satisfactory aerial action film that is neatly packed with stunning action blocks and Hrithik Roshan’s solid performance. The story doesn’t offer anything new, but Siddharth Anand fills the movie with engaging scenes, and he makes sure there aren’t any dull moments. Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor, and Karan Singh Grover are fine in their roles. The emotions, too, work in the second half. But if one expects a solid story, they might get slightly disappointed. If you are okay with this, you can watch Fighter for its technical brilliance.

123telugu.com Rating: 3/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

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