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Well, well, well... Pathan, War 2, Singham, and so on and so forth. Pathan was Shahrukh's comeback and we all know his nuances: he drives a movie on his shoulders. Yet, when it came to spy thriller, it was frankly so-so. Then we all know star studded movies like the lastest Singham and War 2... There's only masala with heavy star cast and a very, very little storyline or nothing on the spy topic. I can definitely say, they were mass movies relying on starcast and some CGI.

So then comes Dhurandhar. Not to say again but a heavy star studded movie with spy and espionage elements. But the difference, the stars gave phenomenal performances, including the young lady Saira and our own Rakesh Bedi. While everyone applaused Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal and ofcourse Ranveer Singh, I felt these two side characters were equally good in whatever roles they were offered.

Now coming to spy world. The movie showcases what's there, is there. How it works, how things topple upside down due to a slight mistake, or how you may have to take chances, heavy chances to get something done. When you have one and only aim, your chances heavily rely on your guts and brain. Because be it or not, a rotten apple in a crate may leave its rottenness in other apples.

Moreover, the movie is shown with the point of view of Indian forces, and some actual incidents, that blend with the overall sentiments and anger of a viewer.

Again, there is some gore, but not so much and elaborated like movie Animal. But not so less that you can watch with kids.

I did feel little glitches here and there but overall, a wonderful movie. And yes, I am waiting for the next part.

On a side note. The movie is long, but you won't yawn anytime during its running time.

Start of the movie was good and no doubt, I did feel the eerie atmosphere and tension built up. Like in the class, the teacher and only a student remained, rest all students vanished. This was a mystery. Moreover, the dreams that the lead actress and actor saw were top notch. They did give me goosebumps.

While everything was going on, a little change happened in the storyline and an old aunt came on the screen. And from there, the horror or the mystery elements dimished and more of gimmicky laughable elements started. It felt like the first half or little more was written with a lot of precision and keeping viewers perception in mind. The later half was just written to close the story.

Now all this witchcraft and stuff ain't bad but frankly, its execution lost that appeal in the film that was built with smart and hard work.

The last scene was totally funny in a bad way. I even found a name to it: screaming zombies.

Overall, no less than 9 for first half and a little more. Not more than 3 for the remaining. Overall i score this movie 6 out of 10.

It is any typical crime + assassination show with some action, some chase, some melodrama, struggling relationships, deceit, and some illogical scenes. Let me put my thoughts in what I liked, and what I didn't/expected more from the show.

Likes:

1. Well paced. I finished it in a single sit. There were some boring/off-the-hook scenes but i will give them a pass.

2. I liked father-daughter chemistry.

3. Tit-for-tat. I would say it felt good when you see protagonist using tactics to get to the bottom of a truth. You would understand when you really the watch the show. (SPOILER: Deceiving Oliver and getting out the truth was impeccable)

Dislikes/Could have been better:

1. While father-daughter chemistry was good, the overall show had thin story line and average performances by people.

2. The whole spy + tactics angle felt too easy for protagonists. I mean in the whole show I didn't see antagonist doing much other than cribbing or giving emotional speeches to help things fall on her side.

3. That Sc*m Mr Gun... he gave top notch hype in the start but frankly showed 40-50 percent of his capabilities. Big let down on his part.

4. The lead Rebecca, when with her father, behaved naive and struggling to get her part. David did everything. So either it was written such a way or some lackluster, not sure.

4. I have never seen non-english natives casually talking in English to each other until or unless really necessary.

5. Korean Police had very little to no role in this series. I mean the whole time it was FBI, CIA, this American or that English. Seriously?

Again, the whole cliffhanger was just okay with me, till they could judicially defend it in the next part, if any. I have observed it as a tactic these days. Show the first part, get public review and ratings. If all goes fine, show the second part. If things really go North, keep showing parts with unrealistic or B**lsh** cliffhangers and squeeze as much money as possible.

By the way, did the lead actress Reina Hardesty (Rebecca in the show) look like Tamannah Bhatia (Indian Actress)?