Sardar 2 Movie Review

Directed by P.S. Mithran, Sardar 2 stars Karthi in dual roles, alongside S.J. Suryah, Malavika Mohanan, Ashika Ranganath, Rajisha Vijayan and others. A sequel to the 2022 film Sardar, the film attempts to expand the franchise with a much larger canvas and an international spy-thriller backdrop.

Vijay Prakash aka Viji (Karthi) gets drawn into the world of international espionage. Right from the beginning, a group of agents is seen chasing a man named Walrus (Achyuth Kumar) in search of a strange-looking knife. It is only later revealed that it isn’t actually a knife, but a key designed to unlock a particular object. We then learn that there are two more keys of a different kind. What exactly are these keys meant to unlock, why were they created, and why are so many people desperately searching for them? That forms the rest of the story.

As usual, Karthi delivers a strong performance in his dual role as father and son. His ability to differentiate the two characters remains one of the film’s biggest strengths.

After Karthi, S.J. Suryah stands out as another major strength. His performance feels slightly over-the-top in a few scenes, but interestingly, that very excess becomes what keeps the audience engaged. Yogi Babu, Nizhalgal Ravi, Nassar and the other senior actors also play their parts effectively.

Malavika Mohanan and Ashika Ranganath both look impressive on screen and are given enough space within the story. Malavika fits the spy-agent role perfectly. Rajisha Vijayan, as usual, manages to make an impact as the character in the flashback portions.

Like the first film, the director once again places a contemporary social issue at the centre of the story. This time, the film focuses on the excessive use of antibiotics and its consequences. The idea is interesting, but the way it has been presented becomes the problem. The manner in which the issue is explained at one particular point feels unnecessarily comical and tedious, which takes away from the seriousness of the subject.

At nearly three hours, the film feels unnecessarily stretched, particularly in the second half. Several aspects—the danger posed by the weapon, the scale of the conspiracy and the impact of antibiotics—are repeatedly explained through lengthy dialogues and scenes.

Even though the story involves a threat capable of putting the entire world at risk, the film fails to create enough urgency or tension in the audience.

The twists and suspense are also limited right from the beginning. To a certain extent, it is easy to predict what is going to happen next.

But the biggest strength of the film is undoubtedly Karthi.

Technically, Sardar 2 has been mounted on a grand scale. At the same time, despite the story travelling across locations including India and Japan, the film fails to create the sense of wonder or excitement that such an international canvas should ideally provide.

George C. Williams’ cinematography, however, gives the film a visually appealing treatment. The visuals are one of the film’s better aspects. Vijay Velukutty’s editing could have been much tighter, though. The film simply feels too long.

Since this is composer Sam C.S.’s 100th film, he delivers a strong musical presence through the background score. His work is particularly effective in the scenes featuring S.J. Suryah, where the background score adds an extra layer of energy and impact.

Overall, with larger-than-life spy-agent films like Dhurandhar currently dominating Indian cinema, Sardar 2 need not have attempted to surpass them. But it could at least have delivered a reasonably engaging and audience-friendly espionage thriller. Instead, it struggles to create the excitement expected from the genre and at times feels almost like a spy film from the Jaishankar era.

Karthi’s performance and the technical quality of the making are the film’s biggest positives.