250. Baaghi 2; movie review

BAAGHI 2
Cert 12A
137 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, injury detail, drug references, suicide scene

At last - an Indian action hero who isn't just about to draw his pension.
For years, Bollywood has been reliant on Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar to bring in the rupees.
But all of them are older than 50 and are starting to look it. Even Ajay Devgn is 49.
Step into the ring, Tiger Shroff - a 28-year-old who has a physique like Sylvester Stallone's in his Rambo prime.
Shroff does the full muscle-rippling, vest-bursting beater of bad guys in a hot-bloodied movie with a hint of romance.
He plays a army commando who is called back into civilian life by a call from his ex-girlfriend (Disha Patani) after she emerges from a coma following a car-jacking.
She appeals to him to track down her daughter who, she claims, was on the back seat at the the time of the attack.
However, he is immediately faced with the significant hurdle of no other person having knowledge of the little girl including her father.
That is just the first of the myriad twists which attracted me to Ahmed Khan's movie. Indeed, for the first hour or so, I was gripped by its storyline.
However, it dissolves into a bit of a mess during its final 30 minutes when the guns start blazing and any semblance of reality is blown, almost literally, out of the window.
Nevertheless, I was rather taken with Shroff's character who finds himself fighting a lone battle against the bad guys and even those who are supposed to be good.
Manoj Bajpayee is always a fine addition to any thriller and adds his usual spike while Randeep Hooda is rather exotic as a hippy cop who is engaging if unbelievable.
And there are some vibrant song and dance numbers to offset the heavily laden thriller.
I note that Baaghi 2 has not scored well on Internet Movie Database. I found that rather surprising as it provides exactly the type of entertainment which Bollywood fans lap up.
And the bonus is that it may well have given them a new action hero.

Reasons to watch: Thriller with many twists and turns
Reasons to avoid: Tiger Shroff's exaggerated antics

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7.5/10

Director quote - Ahmed Khan: "Today people are finding a sequel a better watch than a solo standalone film. Sequels are better for directors and business-wise also."

The big question - Does the rise of the likes of Tiger Shroff mean that we will finally say goodbye to the old men of Bollywood action films?

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