The movie does not start up till 15 minutes into the screenplay. Now that might not be technically true, but the Salman fans that have visited theatres just to see Salman play one of his iconic characters will not get even a glimpse of him for the first 15 minutes. One fantasy of Salman and Katrina’s fans will surely come true when they see the duo married and happy living with a young child. Although, the transition from these sweet and affectionate scenes to the gruesome ones, is not as seamless as in the first installment, Ek Tha Tiger. The movie is a complete Salman fest with him even ripping apart his shirt to bare his abs. However, Katrina could have done much more. Not that we are in any way disappointed in the action sequences that have been given to her. The screenplay and the loose storyline act as the Achilles heel to this otherwise high octane drama.

Salman Khan may remind you of Arnold Schwarzenegger and his bazooka with Tiger Zinda Hai. The background score gels well with Khan’s moves and creates and environment suitable for such films. Khan’s Tiger is blessed with dry humour, but Zafar fails to capitalise on that front. That would have added depth to the mostly lonely agent we have seen in the original film, Ek Tha Tiger (2012). Tiger Zinda Hai does everything you thought it would do. From establishing India-Pakistan friendship to proving the secular credentials of our chief agent, you witness everything. The good thing is all this happens rapidly. Tiger Zinda Hai is 161-minute long and a slow pace could have completely ruined the film. There is just one song, a good development by YRF’s standards, and Tom Struthers’ action has novelty. I won’t be surprised if Bhai fans will go berserk after seeing him wielding a bazooka. Salman Khan, of course, is back in his zone and seems to be enjoying the slow motion and close-up shots. He delivers what is expected of him. It comes at the cost of the others, though. Angad Bedi is forced to carry a constant fretful look, something he has been stuck with since Inside Edge. There are a couple of surprise elements and they work too. Actually, Tiger Zinda Hai is exactly the movie you wanted to associate Salman Khan with, so no disappointments on that front. There’s still some time to catch up with Hollywood, but Tiger Zinda Hai is probably the best a filmmaker could do with a superstar. Just wait for the moment when Salman Khan dodges the most dreaded criminals and their rocket launchers while riding a horse. In the end, Vishal Dadlani croons, “Listen close what I gotta say.” Is there still something left?

Tiger is on the prowl again. He is still a super adroit, unstoppable livewire. So what if he is borderline brain-dead? Given the cloak of invincibility he dons, he is in no danger whatsoever of going extinct. What goes missing without a trace in Tiger Zinda Hai, however, is logic. But what's that? The film is targeted at fans of Salman Khan. It's all strut and swagger, primed to give the constituency that the star serves more than its money's worth. He even sheds his shirt in one sequence. We hear the film's title being uttered by one character or other on four separate occasions. On the first occasion it's a question, on the second a firm assertion, and on the third it exudes assurance. The final 'Tiger zinda hai', reserved for the final scene, is a pointer to the possibility that we haven't heard the last of the insuperable secret agent. Sounds a bit like a threat all right, but if TZH roars loud enough at the box-office, we've got to live with it. TZH simply isn't interested in achieving any balance. The emphasis is unwaveringly on Salman Khan the Saviour. Katrina, fetching but flimsy, is compelled to take a backseat. Mercifully, the principal antagonist Abu Usman, played by Iran-born, UAE-raised Sajjad Delafrooz, is no pushover: he makes his presence felt in no uncertain terms. Undeniably impressive in terms of its scale and flawless technical attributes - the production design is fabulous, the action sequences are spectacular and the camerawork by Polish cinematographer Marcin Laskawiec is dazzlingly good - Tiger Zinda Hai is an exercise that eventually rings utterly hollow. Its surface nous cannot conceal the sheer purposeless of all the noise Tiger Zinda Hai generates. May be, at least for some, the star power on show might help the film paper over its patchy screenplay.

The Salman Khan starrer is an enjoyable fare. Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif starrer goes several steps ahead in creating a channel between India and Pakistan: if their spies can bond in the face of a common enemy, why not the two estranged nations? Only Bollywood can dare go down this ‘aman-ki-asha’ path with such schmaltzy bravura, and given that Salman had successfully darted across the border in ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, why not do an encore this time around? I’d enjoyed the first one while it lasted. I had fun in this one too, once I got past the whole ‘Come Children, Let’s Make A Spy Story For You’ explanatory mode of the flick, directed this time by Ali Abbas Zafar. Literally every plot point is picked up and repeated BEFORE it happens, so everything is easy peasy. I shut my ears every time this happened, and returned only when the action re-started. Which, let me tell you, there is plenty of, and almost all well-choreographed. And the number of vehicles going up in smoke should give Rohit Shetty a complex. Only once in a while, the film gives in and provides us a killing which sobers us up, but very quickly it’s back to the base, with Bhai taking over, and everyone– including Nurse Poorna (Goenka, who plays Parvathy’s role), and Zoya (Kaif plays her straight, made up to appear unmade and dishevelled for the most part, in keeping with the let’s –keep-everything-on-the-table spirit)—making way for him. But you can see she enjoys kicking butt: you wish she had more to do. No animals were harmed during the making of this film: this could very well have been the tagline. Tiger squares up with a pack of wolves, and commandeers a horse, and they are all left standing. Oh, and he also sheds his shirt: it is one of Salman’s most effective shirtless moments. The boys behind me cheered lustily. Bhai is in his place, and all’s right with the world. So, when’s the third part?

The film is visually stunning in parts and Salman Khan plays Tiger with roaring confidence and dialogues packed with punch. Of course, his fans get a true-blue Salman Khan moment when he bares his torso. However, the screenplay often loses focus, slackening the film's pace and our attention. Director Ali Abbas Zafar had a lot of ammo in hand, with the star power of Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif adding to that. But the direction falters and he is unable to keep you riveted through the film's runtime. Supporting actors that make up the rescue mission team are competent and Paresh Rawal delivers a dependable performance. Katrina Kaif gets into action-girl mode, displaying some kick-ass stunts. Meanwhile, the antagonist, Abu Usman (Sajjad Delafrooz), heading the terrorist organisation, is effective in his role. With such a premise, the storyline needed to be far more compelling and the editing much tauter. Needless to add, a lot of sequences defy logic, but at the same time, there are many moments that will leave Salman Khan and action film fans impressed. Whether Tiger is Zinda or not for the next round, that's for you to find out.