The set-up of this set-up for YRF's spy universe is as interesting as it is amusing. The execution has a certain quality that makes it unintentionally funny. It is slick in that it has western action movie sensibilities. But the story-telling is true-blue Indian with its 80s-style family-reunion-meets-abductor-villain plot and 2010s-20s-theme of aggrandising war.

the writing tries to fill as many holes as it creates.

Despite making you feel like you are in a battlefield for more than half the film, the film is more action than hardcore violence. And the action choreography along with the editing makes it an involved watch. Yes, despite the shoddy CGI at times.

It's partly because there are women at the helm of affairs. They are more graceful. They add an x-factor, even though the makers are not confident that they can pull the film through. Why else would they have a cameo played by a male star? Yeah-yeah, that he is from the same spy universe is a good excuse.

Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt's efforts in making her Sita believable as a top-notch superhuman soldier come through. She is light on her feet and subtle in showing the effect of the suppression her character had to endure. Now, whether Sharvari playing Durga could have carried the film on her shoulders is a question mark. As a side character, though, she makes her presence felt. The scenes with the two of them have a spark that keeps the movie alive.

This has to do with their relatively fleshed out characters as well. They don’t have too many lines, so the broader story and their facial and body language are doing a lot of the heavy-lifting. This is highlighted by the contrasting dull treatment that Bobby Deol's and Anil Kapoor's characters receive from the writing department. Monotonous characters with "filmy" lines only go on to add to the 80s feel.

Same goes for the overall plot too. Falling back on the tried-and-tested finger-pointing at Pakistan is weary and lifeless. Sure, the writing tries to fill as many holes as it creates. It uses non-linearity. It makes us ask the question, "Wait! How did he know that?" and offers an answer right in time. Only that the answer seems lame and a cop-out while trying to seem clever. The glaring one remains a given, of course, "Why is Sita loyal to borders?"

Thankfully, the pace allows all this to pass by quickly. So, you aren't left with any one question for too long. And before you know it, the end credits roll with a run-of-the-mill item number. The women didn't get a chance to be glam, you see. As you watch it, you realise numbly that you aren't going to remember much from the film. Even though you might have been engaged for most of the 140 minutes. That's what it boils down to—not all bad while it lasts, not much to mull over later.

- meeta, a part of the audience