HIT: The 3rd Case

The HIT franchise, which began with a promising start, has unfortunately seen a steady decline in narrative quality and originality with each installment.

HIT-1, while not without flaws, stood out for introducing the investigation thriller genre to mainstream Telugu cinema. The storytelling had noticeable shortcomings-particularly in pacing and a rather underwhelming, even silly, climax. However, it managed to keep audiences reasonably engaged with its freshness and novelty, which contributed to its success.

HIT-2, though attempting to build upon its predecessor, ended up being a weaker effort overall. Despite a few intriguing elements, the film suffered from a lack of narrative depth and an even less impactful climax. The genre conventions felt overly familiar, and the execution lacked the tension and originality expected from a thriller, making it feel like a retread of what we've seen before-only with less conviction.

HIT-3, regrettably, falls further down the slope. It leans heavily on violence and genre clichés, offering very little in terms of fresh content or emotional engagement. The film feels like a generic action thriller with a glossy exterior-thanks largely to improved production values and a notable star cast-but devoid of substance.

The first half trudges through a formulaic investigation arc that adds no innovation to the narrative. The second half abruptly shifts into a survival-action mode, seemingly inspired by the John Wick franchise, but lacks its finesse or justification. The action is over-the-top, the violence excessive, and the plot twists are painfully predictable. As a result, the film loses credibility and emotional connection with the audience.

Overall, HIT-3 feels overly cinematic and detached from reality, sacrificing depth for style. It's unfortunate that a franchise that began with potential has now become an exercise in style over substance.

HIT was a suspense, murder mystery thriller.

This was more of an action movie.

I was promised Biryani, I got Korean fire noodles.

It's not bad, but it was not what was promised.

This is not subverting expectations.

And this too fell into the recent trend of gore-action, follows in the same path as leo, kill, marco etc.

What next?

We went from blood, hitting women, dismembering body parts, killing kids, what's next?

Audience will get used to this too.

And to give the shock factor, the makers will have to up the violence. So what's next?

Yes, people may like it. Movie will make money.

But it's not my cup of tea.

If i want tea, I'll go buy tea, don't sell me coffee, and ask wasn't it nice.

TLDR: If you're a fan of HIT series, you can treat it as a normal movie and skip.

If you just want to watch a movie, you can consider it.

Did HIT the 3rd case really do justice to the first 2 cases? The answer is yes, it justice. The way the movie present the story and the characters really impressive. The character of Nani as Arjun Sarkar a violent and arrogant officer and Pratik Babbar as a psychopath was mind-blowing. The first half of the movie really perfect but the 2nd half was crazy ever. The climax keeps you shocked. The performance of every character specially Nani give justice to the story line and the way the character written. It's going to be a blockbuster. And now coming to the cameos it was a wow moment for me and the last cameo which setup the 4th part of the movie really work and I'm excited for it's part 4. But one problem that I have is what happened to the first case actor Vishwask Sen, why he is still not coming to any part and and what happened to him is still a mystery? I wanna see him in this universe once again. But go to theatre and enjoy the movie, I suggest you to not to miss this movie.

Nani serves as the heart of the film - this time he confronts a ruthless syndicate called CTK which believes in killing people brutally and selling their organs - this group has a registered website and the killings are executed following due procedures - will he be able to apprehend them and stop the massacre - will he be able to mend ties with his dad - action is over the top - running time needs to be reduced by 15 minutes - audiences should brace themselves for the fourth installment.

#HITTheThirdCase rating 3/5, director Sailesh Kolanu, heroine Srinidhi Shetty, released in cinemas on 1 May 2025.

Before I delve into the issues I have, I would like to express my admiration for certain aspects of the film, first & foremost, Nani's performance, and the script's able handling of intense scenes, be it the investigative segments or the climactic confrontation in the final half of the story.

Now coming to the problems, I found that the whole plot lacked emotional resonance; it couldn't effectively harness emotions in a meaningful way.

Now as for someone who enjoys relentless gore and bloodshed, I found the kills and the overall bloodbath in the final hour to be engaging. However, I was left with a sense of dissatisfaction, mainly because these moments of violence did not feel 'earned' or 'justified.' They appeared to be mere byproducts of style and encashing the present day trend rather than yielding substance with some meaning.

Whilst, Nani's performance left a significant impression on me, his character could have benefited from deeper material.

If the filmmakers had taken the time to elaborate on his troubled past, it would have enriched his character and provided a more compelling understanding of his eccentric personality.