Tiger 3 Review: Loud, Bombastic, Yet Unsatisfying End to Spy Trilogy

The high-octane spy thriller franchise Tiger returns for its third outing in the action-packed Tiger 3. Directed by Maneesh Sharma, known for lighthearted rom-coms like Band Baaja Baaraat, the film sees the return of superstar Salman Khan in his most popular role as suave superspy Tiger AKA Avinash Singh Rathore. Joining him once again is Katrina Kaif as Pakistani ISI agent Zoya, his former nemesis turned wife.

This time, the globetrotting couple faces a dangerous new foe out for revenge – the ruthless former ISI deputy chief Aatish Rehman, played intensely by Emraan Hashmi. When Aatish kidnaps Tiger and Zoya’s young son, the race is on to rescue him and foil Aatish’s plot against both India and Pakistan’s governments.

Shridhar Raghavan’s script aims to deliver thrills, patriotic fervor, and thrilling set pieces that defy logic and gravity. Backed by producer Aditya Chopra’s production powerhouse Yash Raj Films, Tiger 3 spare no expense to deliver slick action spectacles worthy of a big screen experience.

While the film offers entertainment value for hardcore fans, early reviews suggest Tiger 3 is an uneven mixed bag. The direction and performances fail to fully deliver on the film’s lofty ambitions. However, spectacular stunts and an extended cameo by Shah Rukh Khan aim to satisfy loyal Salman Khan fans.

Ultimately, Tiger 3 seems unlikely to completely satisfy or reach the heights of its well-received predecessor, Tiger Zinda Hai. But those seeking flashy action, patriotic chest-thumping, and some laughs will find enough here to make the threequel worth a watch. I’ll examine all aspects of the film closely to determine if Tiger 3 truly lives up to its massive potential.

Action and Drama Ablaze in Globe-Trotting Spy Thriller

Tiger 3 picks up with Tiger and Zoya living a quiet life in Austria with their young son Junior. But danger soon finds them when Tiger’s former RAW superior reveals Zoya has betrayed India to help a rogue Pakistani terrorist named Aatish Rehman.

Flashbacks detail Zoya’s past as an orphan raised by Aatish after her parents died in a bombing. Though now an ISI agent, Aatish believes Zoya owes him for her upbringing. Aatish lost his pregnant wife in a mission gone wrong and now seeks revenge against both the Indian and Pakistani governments.

Tiger refuses to believe his wife has turned and undertakes a dangerous lone wolf mission to Pakistan to uncover the truth. But Aatish gets the drop on Tiger and abducts Junior to force Zoya’s cooperation with his plot.

To save their son, Tiger and Zoya have no choice but to team up once more. The former rivals infiltrate Pakistan on India’s Independence Day. They battle Aatish’s private army and rogue ISI agents to stop him from assassinating Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nasreen and launching nuclear missiles at India.

The high stakes mission takes Tiger and Zoya across the globe – from Austria and Istanbul to Saint Petersburg and Islamabad. Heart-pounding action sequences ensue as they dodge bullets, bombs, missiles and martial arts experts.

After learning Aatish intends to install a radical general as Pakistan’s ruler, Tiger and Zoya make the shocking decision to protect Nasreen. They sneak into her compound on Independence Day seeking to foil the coup from inside.

But Aatish has one last sinister trick up his sleeve. In a final showdown, Tiger clashes with his arch-nemesis Aatish while Zoya fights her adoptive brother to protect Nasreen. Junior’s life hangs in the balance.

Tiger 3 delivers a globetrotting spy thriller brimming with audacious twists. At its core, it’s a moving story of parents trying to rescue their child at all costs. The intrigue keeps building until the climactic Independence Day battle for both families and nations.

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Slick Action and Stunning Visuals Can’t Save Uneven Direction

With Tiger 3, director Maneesh Sharma steps firmly into action thriller territory, straying from his usual comedic and romantic sensibilities. Known for crowd-pleasers like Band Baaja Baaraat and Shuddh Desi Romance, Sharma’s lack of experience helming big-budget spectacles shows through in the film’s uneven pacing and tone.

Sharma excels most in the exhilarating action set pieces, which depict Tiger accomplishing death-defying feats. The director skillfully builds tension leading up to these adrenaline-fueled scenes. When the action erupts, Sharma adopts an energetic, dynamic visual style and rapid-fire editing to create a propulsive, edge-of-your-seat viewing experience.

However, Sharma struggles to find the right balance when not in action mode. Several prolonged stretches focusing on emotional drama and political intrigue drag on too slowly. The lighthearted banter and comic relief Sharma peppers in feel tonally jarring alongside the high stakes spy thrills.

Fortunately, Sharma’s visual sense remains strong throughout. Cinematographer Anay Goswami delivers slick, gorgeous visuals that highlight the exotic global locales. Sweeping aerial shots of mountains, cities, and landscapes lend an epic scope. Stylized lighting casts an ominous, gritty look over the urban action. Fast-paced editing drives the action forward with precision.

But while the cinematography impresses overall, the reliance on CGI and green screen often looks surprisingly shoddy. The visual effects lack the refined polish of Hollywood spy films like Mission Impossible. Scenes like the extended SRK cameo expose the seams in special effects work that fail to convincingly place the actors together on screen.

Though the direction wavers, the vibrant visuals consistently engage the eye. Sharma successfully channels his talents into crafting audacious action spectacles. But his uncertain handling of slower dramatic stretches illuminates Sharma’s limitations directing outside his usual brand of frothy, fun rom-coms. While serviceable, his work lacks the nuance and assurance to fully realize Tiger 3’s ambitions.

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Mixed Bag of Performances Fail to Consistently Deliver

In his fifth outing playing suave super-spy Tiger, Salman Khan slips into the role with trademark swagger. Though now 58, Khan still possesses the physicality to convincingly pull off Tiger’s death-defying stunts and fight scenes. He handles the action with an easy smoothness befitting his character’s unflappable nature.

However, Khan struggles to bring nuance and depth to the more emotional aspects of Tiger’s journey this time around. The sinister threat to his son should add poignancy, but Khan fails to portray the inner conflict and anxiety bubbling beneath Tiger’s cool exterior. His line delivery remains flat, lacking the charisma his ardent fans expect.

As Zoya, Katrina Kaif makes the most of an expanded role with clearer motivations. She handles the demands of the action choreography commendably, moving with precision and grace during choreographed fight sequences. Zoya’s complicated backstory gives Kaif more room to showcase her acting talent as well. She effectively channels Zoya’s anger and grief over past betrayals, while conveying her anguish at the danger to her son.

New antagonist Aatish Rehman marks one of Emraan Hashmi’s most compelling villainous turns. Hashmi paints Aatish as chillingly ruthless yet grounded by a warped sense of patriotism and personal loss. His restrained intensity makes Aatish always feel dangerous, lending true menace to his threats. Hashmi’s nuanced work provides the film a strong adversarial dynamic.

The supporting cast generally delivers solid work, though limited by their thinly written roles. Kumud Mishra brings warmth and humor as Tiger’s affable colleague. Revathy and Anant Vidhaat offer gravitas but are underutilized as Tiger’s stern RAW superiors. Danish Husain makes the most of brief scenes as a conflicted ISI chief.

But Simran struggles to bring depth to the cliched role of Pakistan’s embattled P.M. The portrayal leans heavily on exhausted tropes about embattled female leaders torn between duty and family.

While the performances occasionally glimmer with promise, the inconsistent writing undermines the cast’s efforts. Apart from Hashmi’s villain, none of the roles offer much complexity. While watchable overall, the acting fails to redeem Tiger 3’s flaws in story and direction.

Muddled Themes Undermine Noble Intentions

At its core, Tiger 3 aims to deliver a message of unity and peace between historic rivals India and Pakistan. The threat comes not from everyday citizens, but from extremist elements in the military and intelligence services on both sides. Tiger and Zoya put aside their allegiances to protect the Pakistani Prime Minister, who represents a hopeful future.

But the film struggles to convey its geopolitical messaging in a nuanced, sensitive manner. The antagonists are portrayed in an overly simplistic, almost cartoonish light. Dialogue often comes across jingoistic, portraying India as righteous and Pakistan as the sole aggressors. The film falls back on familiar Hindi cinema tropes that diminish the intended message.

There is a noble attempt to acknowledge the shared trauma of Partition on both sides. But the brief exploration of this deep wound lacks meaningful insight or nuance. More time is devoted to bombastic action than thoughtfully addressing complex themes.

At a deeper level, Tiger 3 celebrates the enduring power of family and love in the face of conflict. As parents, Tiger and Zoya’s driving motivation is protecting their child. The film suggests that at the human level, many similarities exist between people of rival nations when it comes to fundamental values.

However, these family-centered themes often play second fiddle to the geo-political drama. The writing relies heavily on damsel-in-distress tropes as Tiger repeatedly saves Zoya and other women from peril. The emotionally-charged perspective of parents could have been more fully mined for dramatic impact.

For all its missteps, Tiger 3 displays noble intentions to deliver a modern message of hope, understanding and courage. But the heavy-handed, dated treatment undercuts the impact of these themes. The film lacks the nuance and sensitivity to deeply explore the complex dynamics between the two rivals.

While the themes give promising texture on paper, the execution leaves much to be desired. With a more refined script and direction, the strong core ideas at Tiger 3’s heart could have resonated more powerfully. Unfortunately, the muddled messaging will leave many viewers feeling unsatisfied. The rich potential of the premise remains untapped.

Serviceable but Forgettable Music Fails to Enhance the Action

For a globe-trotting spy thriller packed with over-the-top action, Tiger 3’s musical soundtrack leaves much to be desired. Composer Pritam’s songs fail to match the energy and excitement of the visuals unfolding on screen. The music lacks memorable melodies and relies too heavily on standard dance beats.

None of the tracks make a lasting impact or do much to complement the storytelling. The songs simply feel shoehorned in as filler between action scenes. Even the romantic number featuring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif lacks chemistry or emotive power.

The background score from composer Julius Packiam fares better at heightening tension during action sequences. The pounding percussion and distorted guitar riffs provide fittingly propulsive, adrenaline-fueled accompaniment for the fights and stunts. But the score also veers into overblown, jarring territory at times when laying it on too thick.

Packiam does effectively weave in Eastern instrumentation and vocals to ground the score in the Indian setting. Flourishes of tabla and sitar offer snippets of regional flair. But these moments get drowned out by the largely generic rock-influenced score.

Overall, the music of Tiger 3 never quite clicks or feels like an organic part of the narrative. The songs distract more than enhance the viewing experience. And the score only excels when going big to match the action, while faltering during quieter moments of drama. The soundtrack lacks the flair and finesse to become truly memorable. While passable, it registers as a missed opportunity to elevate the film.

Simplifies Complex Political Issues Between Rivals

At its core, Tiger 3 strives to touch on the fraught real-world political issues between historic rivals India and Pakistan. The threat of nuclear war and military coups have long stoked tensions between the neighboring countries.

The film attempts to portray a hopeful message of cooperation and unity triumphing over radicalism and conflict. Tiger and Zoya’s mission becomes protecting the democratically elected Pakistani Prime Minister and preventing warmongers from seizing power.

However, Tiger 3 ultimately presents a simplified, sanitized take on the complex dynamics at play. The nuance of long-standing sectarian conflicts and disputes gets reduced to cartoonish villains with nefarious schemes. Real-world factors like resource conflicts, religious extremism, and military posturing are glossed over.

The film aims to appeal to mass patriotic sentiments in India with its good versus evil framing. The plotting subscribes to familiar Hindi film tropes elevating India and demonizing Pakistan as aggressors. Realistically, both governments have nationalist factions supporting confrontation over cooperation.

While honoring the creators’ intentions, Tiger 3 offers little substantial insight or commentary on current affairs between the adversarial nations. The black-and-white portrayals and neat resolutions seem unrealistic given real-world tensions.

As pure escapist action, the spy thriller succeeds. But those seeking nuanced exploration of the polarizing real-world divide between India and Pakistan won’t find satisfaction. The film scratches the surface of complex disputes when a more thoughtful, in-depth treatment could have enriched the story.

A Flawed but Fun Thrill Ride for Loyal Fans

Tiger 3 delivers exactly what fans of the franchise have come to expect – slickly choreographed action spectacle and espionage thrills centered around superstar Salman Khan’s magnetic screen presence. The film offers more than enough audacious stunts, globe-trotting adventure, and patriotic fervor to satisfy loyal Salman devotees.

Yet for all its energetic action sequences, Tiger 3 represents a missed opportunity to build upon its predecessors and truly realize the potential of the spy universe premise. Uneven direction, simplistic messaging, and a lack of originality hinder the film from becoming truly memorable.

The entertainment value remains solid enough to make Tiger 3 worth watching for fans of desi blockbusters. The extended cameo from Shah Rukh Khan stands out as a rare treat. Salman Khan coasts on his effortless charisma, while Katrina Kaif impresses with more well-rounded character moments.

But those seeking complex storytelling and nuanced performances may leave disappointed. Stretches between the action lag with redundant emotional drama and uninspired dialogue. The thematic ambitions aimed for thoughtful commentary on Indian-Pakistani relations. But the execution lacks the nuance and insight to make a meaningful impact.

Ultimately Tiger 3 offers enjoyable escapism for those seeking loud, Chest-thumping theatricality. Yet it falls short of elevating the spy franchise and hero to new heights. While a competent addition to the series, the film settles for rehashing familiar tropes when a bolder vision could have enriched the lively ingredients.

I’d recommend Tiger 3 for diehard fans wanting to watch Salman Khan defy death while brandishing his megastar charm. But for more casual viewers, waiting for streaming may be preferable to a theatrical experience that doesn’t fully deliver.  Tiger 3 roars loudly, but could have used a bit more bite.

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