Alpha REVIEW: Alia Bhatt, Sharvari-Led Spy Actioner Struggles To Keep You Engrossed

Film:
Alpha

Director: Shiv Rawail

Writer: Soumil Shukla & Shridhar Raghavan, Ishita Moitra (Dialogues), Uday Chopra (Story)

Cast: Alia Bhatt, Sharvari, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Hrithik Roshan, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Sangay Tsheltrim, Dia Mirza

Runtime: 140 Minutes (2 Hours, 20 Minutes)

Platform: In Theatres

Alpha Review

The YRF Spy Universe is no longer only filled with soldiers, it has super soldiers! That’s right – after watching Alpha, it’s safe to say that this Alia Bhatt, Sharvari, Bobby Deol and Anil Kapoor-led is our very own version of Captain America. But is it worth a watch?

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The film follows Sita (Alia) – a killer soldier, who clashes with her adoptive father, Fateh Singh Lakhawat (Bobby). Despite completing missions for him without questions, she’s now hellbent on elimination and those who work with him. But why do they clash? Why does Sita – a dutiful daughter and John Wick -level killer who always adored her Baba suddenly want to kill him? Who is Durga (Sharvari) and why does she want to talk to Sita? In all this chaos, confusion and contradicting emotions, where does Colonel Vikrant Kaul, Chief of R&AW (Anil Kapoor) fit in?

Wondering why I haven’t mentioned more about the story? Well, it’s because if I tell you more than what the trailer depicts, it will be spoilers – sorry cancel that, it will be major spoilers. But still, read our Alpha review to know if you should book you tickets to watch the spy actioner in theatres this weekend.

What Works

Certain action scenes are well choreographed. Sharvari looks convincing in her role. And that’s about it.

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What Doesn’t Work

A lot – the BGM, the characters arc, the weakly written back stories, the predictable dialogues/plot.

Technical Analysis

Direction

Shiv Rawail – who created and directed the historical disaster thriller, The Railway Men, has failed to hit the mark this time. He’s been unsuccessful in capturing the raw emotions of the characters. Forget being desi like Dhurandhar, the film fails to even have the same emotions as the initial two films of the YRF Spy Universe – Ek Tha Tiger and Tiger Zinda Hai.

Story & Screenplay

Uday Chopra, please don’t write another story – especially for the YRF Spy Universe. Continue playing Ali we love you as that, don’t sit with a pen and paper again. The screenplay is bad and blotchy. No Indian Army personal – even if not actively on the border or in the office, can sport a look like Bobby Deol’s Fateh. The dialogues lack conviction or flare, they are more like rehashed ones we’ve heard time and time again in Bollywood.

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Music

If hot a complete hit album, every Spy Universe film has had at least one track that’s been the talk of the town. Alas, Alpha fails to hit the mark here too. The music has little to no impact and the background score too struggles to be of much help.

Cinematography & Editing

This is a positive. Keeping the runtime below 2.5 hours is an accomplishment. Had the runtime touched 150 minutes, the film would feel like a complete drags, with the audience just waiting for the end credits to roll by.

The cinematography is impressive and the ariel shots deserve appreciation. The outfits – thought too much (with little material) at times, seem to serve the purpose and help the characters.

Star Cast

The stars have delivered as best as they could given the limitations of how the story and their characters were written and Shiv Rawail’s execution.

Alia Bhatt delivers as the non-emotional Sita who is hell bent on talking down Fateh or killing every one with deadly accuracy if they cross her path or laugh in her face. Sharvari – after leaving a huge impact with Main Vaapas Aaunga, once more manages to deliver excellence. She’s emotional and killer and balances both aspects beautifully. Their sisterly chemistry is amazing!

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Bobby Deol – though he has killer aura on screen, doesn’t manage to leave the same impresses he did as the villain in Animal. Anil Kapoor is okay – no complains.

The supporting cast do ok in their limited screentime, especially Dibyendu Bhattacharya. Hrithik Roshan is wasted.

Conclusion

After watching a masterpiece spy action thriller like Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar The Revenge, it’s pretty difficult to digest YRF’s Alpha. While the Aditya Dhar-directed duology was raw, real and deeply realistic, Shiv Rawail’s film follows the glamour, gloss and action packed sequences formula and it fails to capture the attention.

Skip Alpha and maybe rewatch some other recently film in theatres or even the Dhurandhar films at home – it will save you money, sanity and be more enjoyable.

Watch The Trailer Of Alpha Here:

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Grinell Jacinto

With nearly 10 years of experience, Grinell Esther Jacinto is the Desk Head of Bollywood Bubble. Her interests lie in everything that is kaleshi and she loves to dig deeper into the lives of B-town actors. She has a problem though – she loves horror films but will have chills the minute the theatres lights dims. She’s previously worked with Koimoi, UrbanAsian and SpotboyE.