Border 2 is an ode to its brand. Not even war films, in general, it is an homage to the first episode. What's more, it is set in the same war too—the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. There is hardly any attempt to be different, let alone be more. So, if you liked the first film and feel like seeing it on the big screen, then you are in the right place.

The moments of empathy, balance, and tenderness are few and far between.

I must say though, the first sequence raised my hopes a bit. The action choreography in that sequence, the tense situation seemed like we are in for a good ride—technically, writing and telling all felt promising. But, nope. Soon enough the usual war drama, overtly hopeful dialogue, cringe-worthy domineering, empty jingoism, and enemy bashing begin.

I found it amusing that most of the times, Indians refer to Pakistan as "enemy" but Pakistanis refer to India as "Hindustan". To me having the enemy name us is an indication of wanting to foster the hatred. Then, the attempts at balance and empathy seem hollow and perfunctory. In contrast, more than once, they had soldiers doing seemingly stupid things like charge and open fire in a bare and plain landscape without any apparent strategy.

Speaking of strategy, a dark dusky palette is used for the war scenes, especially in the last hour or so. As a commentary on the futility of war, where soldiers are dying on either side of the border, the colour tone worked. But as an audience, it was a distraction because I kept wanting to adjust the brightness.

Just like I wanted to adjust the patchy and uneven story telling. The film didn't quite stand up to the challenge it set for itself, that of balancing the contributions made by army, navy, air force. Neither the story, nor the screenplay flowed smoothly. Also, the emotional arcs were like pop-outs rather than blending with the milieu.

I understand why the scenes had to stand separately. But from a writing point of view, the 3x6 matrix of the three limbs of the military with the emotional and war angles, felt like a jigsaw puzzle with square pieces taped together.

Even the background music felt like a mismatch to what was going on in the scene. The build up to crescendos would abruptly end with nothing very dramatic on screen. That made the film a tad different, but it took attention away from the story. So, was the riff from "I've come from Alabama…" It sounded nice, but mind kept wandering to the possibility of plagiarism. I quite enjoyed the choreography and picturisation for that song though.

There is hardly any attempt to be different, let alone be more.

It was the opposite for the performances. There was nothing standout about them. The regular forgettable fare with weird timing and pauses in line delivery failing at the aim to be impactful, forceful, etc. It didn't help that the dubbing seemed off too.

It is a shame though. Because using stories of everyday soldiers to exemplify the vainness of war is so promising. But they use stories that are pretty similar to each other. When they are slightly different, there is a strain. So, even if the film has mothers who are not all about birthing sons to serve the nation. That sentiment is held with an arms distance, almost as if the makers are afraid to take that potentially unpopular stand. And then the moments of empathy, balance, and tenderness are few and far between. These glimpses are not really enough to engage for 200 minutes.

- meeta, a part of the audience