War 2 Review | Hrithik & NTR Jr’s Homoerotic Tension The Only Explosion In A Punctured Plot

Directed by Ayan Mukerji and written by Shridhar Raghavan, Aditya Chopra, and Abbas Tyrewala, War 2 (2025) opens with Kabir (Hrithik Roshan) in a jaw-dropping spectacle, battling alone in the icy hills of Japan in a katana duel that sets the adrenaline-fuelled pace. The moral compass driving him is imparted by Colonel Sunil Luthra (Ashutosh Rana): his soldiers embody “Death before dishonour, service before self, and India first.” This patriotism, unafraid to bend rules—even allying with the enemy if it serves India—echoes across the YRF spy universe, notably Tiger 3 (2023), whose post-credit scene seeded War 2’s opening conflict. Colonel Luthra tasks Kabir with a mission that tests every limit: “Kabir, what I’m going to ask you is something no officer should ask a soldier, no father his son. Only you can do this. India has a new enemy—faceless, nameless, living in darkness. To stop him, you have to enter the darkness.” Hrithik’s Kabir is raw, intense, magnetic, a presence that dominates every frame. 

The film pivots on Kabir and Vikram (NT Rama Rao Jr), whose relationship twists between alliance and rivalry. Yet, the real adversary is the spy genre itself. The plot stumbles over cardboard-cutout templates, predictable beats, and excess spectacle. Kabir goes rogue, taking a job from KALI—an international power bloc led by Gautam Gulati (K.C. Shankar)—but remains tethered to India’s greater good. NT Rama Rao Jr is the archetypal lone wolf, defying logic as he clings to a plane or decimates armies single-handedly. These two men operate as military-grade tanks, impervious to injury long enough to distract from a storyline that threads random, often unnecessary plot points.

As per the trailer, Kavya (Kiara Advani) and Kabir seem to share a romantic chemistry. In the first installment, Kabir was involved with Naina (Vaani Kapoor). This convenient use of women as placeholders for heteronormative romance within a heavily queer-coded narrative overcompensates for the hypermasculinity it both champions and critiques. Naina’s convenient and tragic death in the first film propels Kabir’s mission with renewed fervour. In War 2, Kavya appears to share a past with Kabir, and this shallow, unnecessary rekindling reinforces the argument that women contribute little to a buddy film. Kavya, Colonel Luthra’s daughter and an air force officer, exists largely to make Spain look Instagram-worthy and assist Kabir as he completes his mission. Anil Kapoor as Vikrant Kaul delivers a surprisingly muted performance, confined to second-in-command duties, while Nafisa Rahmani (Soni Razdan) appears briefly, tying back to the franchise’s first chapter.

The film’s clearest intent is the homoerotic tension between Kabir and Vikram, stitched together through an overstretched flashback montage. Vigorous fight sequences, unintended romantic dialogue, and close-up faces create a simmering chemistry reminiscent of the first film. As they fight, stab, and occasionally embrace, the screen sizzles—even in an ice enclosure. This tension is the film’s only standout element, sometimes eyebrow-raising, occasionally enjoyable. NT Rama Rao Jr, however, fails to match Roshan’s commanding presence.

No matter how colourfully imagined the action sequences are, War 2’s premise lags behind, as CGI work commands attention in ways that do not serve the story. The unnecessary travel-brochure sequences cutting between international cities do little to enrich the film, functioning more as distractions from its narrative deficiencies. Stylish drone shots, attempted cinematic flair, and set pieces feel less convincing than intended. Certain sequences, such as a thrilling train scene, deliver high stakes, yet one must suspend disbelief heavily as Vikram unshackles the engine by hand and leaps across moving bogeys as though physics operates differently. The film consistently defies logic, gravity, and cause-and-effect. 

While suspension of disbelief is a standard expectation for action cinema, War 2’s relentless hero invincibility—escaping traps, sweeping armies while injured, rising from apparent death—feels deeply unsatisfying. War 2 stands as an unworthy sequel, offering little narrative advancement. Predictable and flat, it leaves the viewer high and dry.