Spy Movie Review

After scoring Pan India blockbuster with Karthikeya 2, Nikhil Siddharth is back with a Spy thriller. For the first-time in his career, he donned the role of Spy. The teaser and trailer raises curiosity for its underlying point of India’s patriot Subhash Chandra Bose. The film is largely promoted with the tagline of “India’s Best Kept Secret”. After being plagued by the issues of delay, finally, SPY has hit the screens today. Some of the premieres in the US were cancelled owing to the delay in delivering the content. Will Nikhil continue his success streak? Here is our review of Spy.

Plot:

Jai (Nikhil Siddhartha) and his close-friend Kamal (Abhinav Gomatam) take up the mission to find the most-wanted terrorist Khadir Khan and thus abort a nuclear attack on India. Jai Vardhan has a personal loss. He wants to dig out who killed his brother Subhash (Aryan Rajesh). How the missing files of Netaji Subhash Chandrabose have connection to the main plot forms the crux of the story.

Performances:

Nikhil slips into the shoes of a RAW agent effortlessly. He has moulded himself and appeared fit for the role. He shines in the action scenes. Abhinav Gomatam is a nice addition. He brings laughs with his witty one-liners and he has got a through-out character as the hero’s loyal friend. Iswarya Menon is alright. Rana’s guest appearance leaves an impact. He praises Netaji’s role and it works out well in the movie. Makarand Deshpande, Nitin Mehta, Sanya Thakur, Ravi Varma have confined themselves to their characters and delivered what is needed. Aryan Rajesh has a limited presence. Jissu Sengupta as the main villain is adequate. But he enters so late into the story. It is not engaging. Posani’s role gets wasted. Several characters in the film have not evolved completely.

Technicalities

The idea of Spy looks great on paper. But it falters in its execution. Editor-turned-director Garry failed as the film lacked high moments. The technical aspects are not upto the mark, especially towards the climax portions. Poor VFX work brings down the film. Music composer Sri Charan Pakala is the saviour who elevates the scenes with background score. Editing is crisp.

Thumbs Up

Nikhil Siddhartha
Files of Netaji & Kohima Battle

Thumbs Down

Unengaging Story & Direction
Predictable Twists
Weak Villain & Lack of Highs

Analysis

Nikhil Siddhartha is known for picking up stories with substance. His script-sense is revered widely. Spy movies have a great fan base. When Nikhil is coming up with a Spy film set against the backdrop of the death mystery of Subash Chandrabose, a lot was expected. But sadly, the film fails to live up to its hype expectations. Certainly, Spy was not expected from Nikhil Siddhartha who rose to national stardom on his own.

Spy has so much stuff. But it is presented in a very confusing manner. Protagonist Nikhil’s characterisation lacks the punch. Though he delivered what was expected of him. Director Garry failed miserably in keeping the audiences on toes. The twists in the film are very much predictable. The main villain enters the scene very late and the villains are weak in this spy thriller. The high moments are missing. Story has many layers, but it is completely formulaic that Telugu audiences are very familiar with. Narration is bland.

It is not completely bad. There are some good moments here and there. The hidden files of Subhash Chandra Bose and Kohima battle are intriguing to an extent. It could be better though. Music composer Sri Charan Pakala rescues the Spy largely. Nikhil and Sri Charan together save the film to an extent. But this Spy misses the track way beyond which can’t be revived. The climax episode lacks the impact. The gunshots and blast scenes look unnatural. The makers took many cinematic liberties too. Overall, Spy is underwhelming.

Verdict: Bland Spy

Rating: 2.25/5