Anupama Chopra reviews War 2, the action thriller starring Hrithik Roshan, N.T. Rama Rao Jr., and Kiara Advani in the lead roles. Directed by Ayan Mukerji and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films, this film is the sixth installment in the YRF Spy Universe and sequel to War (2019). In this detailed review for The Hollywood Reporter India, Anupama examines how the film follows rogue agent Kabir (Hrithik Roshan) as he's pursued by RAW agents, including the volatile Vikram (NTR Jr.) and Kavya (Kiara Advani), while chasing a global crime syndicate called Kali. She discusses how the story flits across several timelines including 1999, featuring action sequences on planes, trains, speedboats, and ships across gorgeous foreign locations from Japan to Berlin, Amsterdam, Italy, Somalia, Spain, Davos, and New Delhi.
Anupama highlights the film's star-studded, glossy, and expensive production values while noting that it fails to deliver the adrenaline high of its predecessor. She praises the towering talent of leading men Hrithik Roshan and NTR Jr. as superb actors but critiques how director Ayan Mukerji seems more interested in scale and set pieces than developing the crucial relationship between Kabir and Vikram, which serves as the spine of the narrative. The review covers the screenplay by Shridhar Raghavan and dialogue by Abbas Tyrewala from Aditya Chopra's story, while noting that Kiara Advani has more to do than Vaani Kapoor did in the first War but her track doesn't add much emotion or humor. Anupama concludes that what should have been a thundering battle of wills between two superb actors becomes an occasionally intriguing but mostly labored spy saga, though she recommends staying for the post-credits scene introducing Alpha featuring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari.
