Movie Review: Tiger Zinda Hai

Tiger is back. And he has not changed much, except the slight ageing. The country needs him, and his ex-boss seeks him out, hiding somewhere in the snowy alps in Austria. He now lives for his family, wife Zoya and child ‘Junior’, but his heart still beats for his country. And when the country’s ‘izzat’ is at stake, Tiger roars back to action.

Director Ali Abbas Zaffar takes over from Kabir Khan as the director entrusted to take Tiger’s story ahead. And the brief seems clear – keep the adrenaline high. And he does that without fail. Tiger is introduced in style, and the machismo is retained from the first film.

The ‘mission’ is borrowed from 2014’s real life kidnapping of 46 Indian nurses by the ISIS in Syria. While that rescue mission was remarkable, it is not heroic enough for a ‘Tiger’ film. Here there is no negotiations, here it is all action!

Interestingly the same Tikrit episode was made into a Malayalam film Take Off, which released earlier this year. Clearly there is no comparison between the two films. Take Off is more in the Airlift zone, dealing with emotions. Tiger Zinda Hai is a full-blown blockbuster action thriller. This one is our very own Rambo!

Tiger Zinda Hai has shot elaborately, the pains taken by the cinematographer is seen. The action pieces are designed to precision, quite successfully keeping the thrill alive throughout. In fact, the action makes up for the lack of believable screenplay – which is quite a let-down. In comparison, Ek Tha Tiger was easily Salman Khan’s most sensible movie in the period between Wanted to Bajrangi Bhaijaan, when mindless was in. While Tiger Zinda Hai does not let go off logic entirely, it does not quite rely heavy on reasoning as well. The focus is to build on the charisma of Tiger. And if you are the section of audience who enjoys the macho Salman, you will completely love this aspect of the film.

And then, there is also an amazing Katrina Kaif, who kicks some serious butt while managing to look gorgeous enough to make you fall in love with her.

There is also a scene when Tiger actually goes shirtless, a la Rambo. Except, it’s not a bandana wrapped around the head but a t-shirt covering the mouth. Tiger Zinda Hai is fun that way. Watch it for the thrill and tashan!

WATCH VIDEO REVIEW HERE

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