'Raid 2' movie review: A sloppy mix of melodrama and subpar writing

Ajay Devgn returns as the righteous income tax commissioner Amay Patnaik in the sequel to Raid, but director Raj Kumar Gupta falls just short of seizing anything worthwhile in his endeavours. The pacing of the story is inconsistent — not one, but two, unnecessarily long romantic songs come within the first 30 minutes, a sleazy item number in the middle contributes nothing to the plot, and all the action is jam-packed into the third act. The important critique of corruption and exploitation gets lost in the sloppy handling of the form as well as the content.

A continuation of the prequel, Amay Patnaik is transferred for an incredible 74th time, but this time, surprisingly, for allegations of bribery. His next target is Dada Manohar Bhai (Riteish Deshmukh), a minister of humble beginnings who has risen to power through fighting for the poor and weak, and hence enjoys the unquestioned support of his people. Patnaik is challenged at every step in his efforts to prove the deceit behind the apparently benevolent and beloved leader.

The story is, however, too far removed from reality, and so the film becomes quite moralistic and even didactic at times. Almost the entire cast delivers a good enough performance, with Riteish Deshmukh undeniably stealing the limelight in his portrayal of the interesting villain. A mediocre watch at best, Raid 2’has little thrill to deliver and a lot of idealism to offer.