REVIEW: Tiger 3
“They’re here to witness my swag,” growls Indian super-spy Tiger midway through “Tiger 3,” a mostly staid but still satisfying Indian anti-terrorist thriller. Tiger is played by Salman Khan, whose square-jawed style sets the pace for the Yash Raj Spy Universe, a Marvelified Bollywood action series starring the Hindi-speaking stars of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s.
shubhammore
REVIEW: Tiger 3
Directed by Maneesh Sharma. With Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi, Simran. Tiger and Zoya are back - to save the country and their family.
Tiger 3 Trailer | Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi | Maneesh Sharma | YRF Spy Universe
Action movies are plentiful and they exist in all shapes and sizes. So many of them come and go without ever leaving a mark. But there’s something to be said for those that create and embrace their own corner of the genre. You could make a good case that Aditya Chopra and Yash Raj Films has done that with their gleefully stylish, unashamedly over-the-top, and immensely fun YRF Spy Universe.
The latest installment in the lucrative and ever-growing shared universe is “Tiger 3”, the fifth feature in this series of spy action films chronicling the adventures of various fictional RAW agents. Directed by Maneesh Sharma, “Tiger 3” is a sequel to 2017’s “Tiger Zinda Hai” and follows the events of 2019’s “War” and this year’s “Pathaan”. It sees the return of the effortlessly charismatic Salman Khan as RAW agent Avinash “Tiger” Singh Rathore and Katrina Kaif as his wife and ISI agent Zoya.
“Tiger 3” delivers everything fans love about the Spy Universe’s high-octane brand of action but on an even bigger scale. The signature style, the self-aware swagger, the rousing music, and most of all the huge electrifying set pieces – it’s all here in spades. As for the story, it works under a pretty basic premise. But it’s a premise that does what it needs to – set the table for the action while throwing in a few surprises along the way.
“They’re here to witness my swag,” growls Indian super-spy Tiger midway through “Tiger 3,” a mostly staid but still satisfying Indian anti-terrorist thriller. Tiger is played by Salman Khan, whose square-jawed style sets the pace for the Yash Raj Spy Universe, a Marvelified Bollywood action series starring the Hindi-speaking stars of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s.
Now Khan’s family-loving nationalist hero is going through the formulaic motions established by “Ek Tha Tiger” and “Tiger Zinda Hai.” In “Tiger 3,” flag-waving man of action Tiger (Khan) fights his own Pakistani super-spy wife Zoya (Katrina Kaif) to stop Pakistani terrorists from derailing Pakistan/India peace talks. Nothing looks new because nothing original was attempted.
“Tiger 3” most closely resembles “Tiger Zinda Hai,” a superior sequel and a weirdly sunny hostage thriller set in contemporary Iraq. Unfortunately, Tiger and Zoya’s diplomatic capers now seem predictable, right down to this new movie’s introductory twist: Zoya’s plotting against her own Prime Minister with Pakistani terrorist Aatish Rehman (Emraan Hashmi), a disgruntled ex-spy.
This time, Tiger’s not just trying to foster good relations between two countries but also trying to keep his family intact. That superficially personal twist doesn’t greatly enhance or subtract from “Tiger 3”’s box-checking charms, including Shah Rukh Khan’s extended cameo appearance and a heap of Hollywood-cribbed story beats and clichés.
“Tiger 3” begins with as much cornball swag as a live-action “G.I. Joe” cartoon. Tiger boldly mounts a one-man rescue mission at the personal request of Maithili Menon (Revathi), the no-nonsense chief of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) spy agency. Tiger succeeds in his impossible-seeming mission and rescues Gopi Arya (Ranvir Shorey), his ex-supervisor at RAW. In exchange, Gopi implicates Zoya as a Pakistani double agent right before he expires, seconds after he and Tiger return to India.
Then there’s a flashback to Zoya’s past, which does and doesn’t explain Gopi’s accusation. Next, an unremarkable musical number where Tiger wonders, through song, if he can trust Zoya. Then, a bunch more narrative set-up and throat-clearing, all to prop up the plot against his wife and his son Junior (Sartaj Kakkar). There are very few surprises along the way, though, at one point, Salman Khan negligibly disguises himself with a red hippie sweatband and a shaggy paste-on beard. Tiger dramatically removes his beard before he fights his wife. Then they make up and plan to foil Rehman together.
