Director Rohit Shetty’s police universe has finally brought back its biggest calling card, supercop Bajirao Singham, for Singham Again.
A direct follow-up to both Singham Returns and Sooryavanshi, and the sixth chapter in the ever-expanding "copverse", the film brings back Ajay Devgn in the title role, along with Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh and Kareena Kapoor Khan. Deepika Padukone and Tiger Shroff are new recruits to the franchise.
If Shetty's filmography is anything to go by, you already know what you’re getting for the price of your movie ticket – multiple car chases, cool establishing shots of its primary characters, hyperkinetic action set pieces that feel often suspiciously similar to that one big action movie you saw a while back and a tonne of exploding cars.
If that’s what you’re here for, Shetty doesn’t disappoint; Singham Again offers these in spades. What it lacks – sorely, unfortunately – is the angry, underdog charm of the first two parts of this franchise, thanks in part to its overarching narrative.
The stakes are high now. Singham has now assembled a spec-ops team focused on thwarting terrorism and narcotics. Standing in his way is Danger Lanka (Arjun Kapoor), a feared criminal who runs a serious operation dealing drugs in Sri Lanka, and who’s chosen Singham as his newest object of ire for reasons way beyond surface-level good versus evil.
While the movie itself is more or less original, its biggest second act juncture – where Singham's wife Avni (Kapoor Khan) is abducted by Danger Lanka and his men – feels strangely reminiscent of Taken 2, in which a generational grudge leads to the protagonist’s wife being taken.
An argument can be made that this isn’t a novel narrative conflict. The final act of Gautham Menon’s thriller Kaakha Kaakha, released 11 years before the Liam Neeson hit, is a major example.
Some of the action sequences also give you a sense of deja vu, despite having phenomenal cinematography plus excellent action direction from industry veterans Grant Hulley, who worked on the acclaimed District 9, and Paul Hampshire, whose credits include the Tom Cruise film Edge of Tomorrow.
It’s quite possible that Shetty, who’s credited as the overall designer of each of its action sequences, couldn’t help but nod to his new inspirations. If 2011’s Singham took a bite out of Robert Schwentke’s Red and its sequel riffed on the bridge set piece from JJ Abram’s Mission: Impossible III, Singham Again tips its hat to Zack Snyder who, like Shetty, sports a famously polarising reputation among film critics and journalists. A major 360-degree dolly shot feels suspiciously similar to Snyder's 2021 Netflix action-horror film, Army of the Dead.
Do these "inspirations" take away from the overall enjoyment of the latest Shetty joint? Not really. The film offers a good time at the movies this festive season. And, overdramatised enunciations and boomer humour aside, it is worth it.
Shroff and Padukone thankfully balance out the shrill, perennially unfunny turn from Singh. Of course, Kumar also exists, but more like an extended cameo who isn’t present for two-thirds of this film.
Fans of Shetty’s longtime trademarks will have a blast with Singham Again. For the rest, it’s hard to say.
Singham Again is out now in cinemas across the Middle East
