Pathaan movie review: Shah Rukh Khan's comeback film is high on action, low on logic

Pathaan is fast, furious and about missions that are impossible. Bringing perhaps the last superstar of our generation, Shah Rukh Khan, back on screen in a full-fledged role after four years, Pathaan is worth the wait and all the hype. And the best part is that it wastes no time in introducing the man to us in his full glory.

'Zinda Hai', as Pathaan says in the trailer, surrounded by armed blood-thirsty men, the scene appears within 10 mins of the film and that's a bonus.

The film is a perfect addition to this ambitious spy universe that previously saw Salman Khan’s Tiger and Hrithik Roshan’s Kabir.

Director Sidharth Anand, who has earlier helmed action thrillers Bang Bang and War, once again presents his characters in the most glammed-up avatars, giving you enough drool-worthy moments.

From Deepika Padukone's outfits to John Abraham's chiselled muscles to Shah Rukh Khan's CGI-enhanced six-pack abs  Pathaan has too much in store that doesn't let you complain, albeit you don't look too deep for a meaningful story or logic.

It revolves around Pathaan (Khan), an ex-armyman turned undercover agent who gets caught on a mission. He has now returned to save his country from a former R&AW agent Jim (Abraham) who has turned rogue after he was wronged by his own people.

The film introduces its characters with solid back stories. An ex-ISI agent, Rubia (Padukone) becomes a part of the mission and has her loyalties questioned at several junctures and that's pretty much about it.

The whys and hows get answered in the due course of time with a lot of in-your-face action and hopping from one picturesque location to another with views that sometimes distract from the actual action unfolding in front of you.

At 146 minutes, Pathaan doesn't bore you but does seem a tad stretched in the second half when you're longing to arrive at the climax.

There are some dialogues that make you laugh or sound too heavy, but the overall writing isn't impressive enough to leave a mark.

Pathaan is high on action but it's better if you do not question the logic behind gravity-defying lifts and drops for there's none.

They are a visual treat and a spectacle that immerses you without even trying too hard. It gets a bit too unrealistic at times, but that's what you get when filmmakers try to mount a film on the scale of a Hollywood actioner.

The action is top class but some VFX felt weak and you could so easily make out the green chroma screen in those sequences. Another thing that kept me confused for most part of the first half was Shridhar Raghavan's screenplay and the non-linear narrative.

The pace with which it kept jumping from one timeline and one continent to another, it just got too messy after a point. It is at the pre-interval block, that pieces of the puzzle start to fall in place.