War
- Director
- Siddharth Anand
- Studio
- Yash Raj Films
- Release Date
- 1 October 2019
- Running Time
- 156 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- India
- Budget
- ₹170.00 Cr
- Box Office
- ₹475.62 Cr
Review
Siddharth Anand's *War* is a slick, high-octane spectacle that prioritizes visual momentum over narrative coherence—a calculated gamble that largely pays off at the box office but stumbles when examined critically. The film's central premise of mentor-versus-protégé conflict never quite achieves the psychological depth it aspires to; instead, it functions as a convenient scaffolding for expensive set pieces across exotic locales. Hrithik Roshan delivers a charismatic performance as the morally ambiguous Kabir, channeling controlled intensity, while Tiger Shroff compensates for limited acting range with athletic prowess. The chemistry between leads remains serviceable rather than compelling, and the supposed emotional reconciliation between them feels rushed, undermining what could have been genuine dramatic stakes. Anand's technical direction is undeniably proficient—the action sequences are kinetically shot and the production value is immense—but the screenplay's reliance on contrived reveals and predictable twists (the mole subplot, the disability subplot redemption arc) betrays lazy writing masquerading as espionage thriller complexity.
What *War* succeeds at is delivering exactly what its target demographic paid ₹475 crores to experience: visceral action, star power, and unbridled spectacle without the friction of meaningful character development. The film's 180% ROI validates its commercial instincts, yet this financial triumph obfuscates a fundamental creative mediocri
Storyline
So basically, this super skilled military guy named Kabir goes completely rogue and kills one of his own agents, which obviously causes major problems back home. The government decides they need to send someone after him to take him down, and they pick Khalid, who happens to be Kabir's former student. Here's the thing though—Khalid's dad actually betrayed the army years ago, which left Kabir seriously wounded, so there's all this tension between them from the start.
Kabir's not happy about training Khalid at all, but he's forced to take him on as part of his elite team. Together with a few other agents, they start going after terrorist targets across different countries, pulling off some pretty intense missions. During all this, Kabir realizes Khalid has a vision problem from his past, and he's about to kick him off the team. But when Khalid explains why he's got this disability and shows how much he cares about his country despite everything, Kabir actually starts to respect him and let's him stay.
As the team continues their missions, they manage to capture some major terrorist players and force the big bad guy they're hunting to come out of hiding. But then things get interesting when this guy reveals he's got someone planted on the inside, which obviously changes the whole game and creates this massive twist that you definitely don't see coming.
