The funny thing is that I went into Singham Returns, without having seen any of the trailers or songs for it (I usually always do). The only expectations I kept were memories of the first Singham movie. I remember the first movie being a pretty OK remake of the Tamil movie Singam. The first Singham definitely had its moments.
However, Singham Returns has an original story, one which is pretty illogical at times (be used to this kind of thing, it's Bollywood), but surprisingly tight and has the right amount of mystery and suspense to keep you hooked.
Singham Returns did the one thing I didn't expect from it, and this is probably what shocked me the most, considering it's a Bollywood film. Bollywood sequels are usually shoddy rehashes of the first films, trying to cash in on their success, whereas this movie actually EXPANDS on Singham's character, which is exactly what a movie sequel is supposed to do. And this movie actually got that right.
Sure, there are some iconic lines repeated from the first movie, which is sort of tacky, but I guess I can let that pass for its feat of character development.
The acting is pretty good all around. Amole Gupte and the lady playing the reporter are excellent in their roles, and Zakir Hussain and Anupam Kher are subtle and shine in their roles as well. As for the lead roles, Ajay Devgan is good but his Marathi seemed a little accented, like in the first movie. Kareena Kapoor is flat-out GREAT with EXCELLENT Marathi diction. The action is much more grounded than the first movie, although ludicrous at times. Most of the explosions actually hurt people and affect the story instead of just 'being there, for action'.
There are some funny moments, although not too many. The movie is surprisingly bleak and dark, like famous second acts of trilogies like The Empire Strikes Back, The Dark Knight, and The Two Towers. That's another first for Bollywood. A bit after the interval, I was actually concerned about how this was going to end up. The story had reached such a low, that I was actually considering that they might have went for a depressing ending, where nothing works out, like the ending to The Dark Knight. Whether that's the case or not, I'll leave aside. I won't spoil anything.
It feels sort of dumb even mentioning Dark Knight on a review of something like Singham Returns. But the similarities are uncanny. Watch the movie to see what I mean.
Overall, Singham Returns is just a darker masala movie, at heart, but one that actually expands the characters and the setting. It feels good to know that Bollywood actually knows a little about how to make a good movie sequel now. Also, C.I.D. fans won't be disappointed as Daya is actually in the movie! And he kicks ass. And doors.
This is a masala movie that actually makes you think. Not just of the social commentary that the Singham movies are so used to bringing us, but of the characters and story as well. From Rohit Shetty, this was something I expected the least.