What Is the Story About?
Disney Plus Hotstar’s ‘Special Ops 1.5‘ is the follow-up edition of Neeraj Pandey’s well-received debut season ‘Special Ops‘. The 4-episode mini-series recounts the origin story of its lead protagonist, RAW agent Himmat Singh (Kay Kay Menon). As Delhi police officer Abbas Sheikh (Vinay Pathak), narrator of the season, says, ‘Special Ops 1.5’ tells us how a rookie Himmat became the Himmat Singh viewers have grown to love so much.
‘Special Ops 1.5’ is produced by Friday Storytellers and Shital Bhatia, created and directed by Neeraj Pandey, co-directed by Shivam Nair, and written by Pandey and Deepak Kingrani.
Performances?
Kay Kay Menon again proves with Special Ops 1.5, why he’s one of the best talents in the film industry currently. In Special Ops 1.5, he delivers a polished, buffed and burnished performance, the kind only he can. He’s the redeeming factor of an otherwise unremarkable second edition of the spy series. Kay Kay Menon is the reason viewers will be compelled to watch the whole mini-series and not switch off after an episode or two.
Aftab Shivdasani is very good as Himmat Singh’s co-agent Vijay, though his role needed more teeth to really make a lasting impact. Vinay Pathak is excellent as usual. He delivers some of the best lines of the show with his tredmark poker-faced blandness. Adil Khan as primary antagonist, Maninder Singh, has more style and less substance to him. It’s quite a forgettable and unimpactful outing for him. Aishwarya Sushmita is strictly OK as honey-trapping siren Karishma, as is Shiv Jyoti as Anita.
Analysis
If you loved Special Ops and spent the last year eagerly waiting for its follow-up season, let us tell you that you’re in for a disappointment. Not only is Special Ops 1.5 quite uninteresting and lacking in any real thrill, it is also bogged down by sloppy writing that is all over the place. There’s nothing novel, innovative or out of the ordinary in the screenplay or storytelling of Special Ops 1.5. It relies heavily on the concept of honey-trapping – which, in the world of espionage, and its new-fangled term sexpionage, is a concept as old as the hills.
The story careens across the world in a hazy, hasty manner. It’s as if the writers picked up an atlas and randomly ticked off a few exotic places to set the action in. One minute it’s in Delhi, the very next, in Srinagar, and then there’s no stopping its chaotic trajectory – Dhaka, Colombo, Russia, London, Serbia, Thailand, Kiev, Dubai – phew!
Messrs Banerjee (K.P Mukherjee) and Chaddha (Parmeet Sethi) stage a return this season, again acting as convenient conduits to facilitate the telling of the story in flashback. Special Ops 1.5 also has one of the most mediocre villains of recent times. Maninder Singh simply does not float our boat of thrill and thrall. He brings nothing to the table, except a grating irritation within us, irritation that rises by the minute.
The narrative throws about terms such as ‘Sparrow’ and ‘CIA- KGB double agent’ in a bid to appear intelligent and informed. But alas, it fails miserably in its endeavour. The action sequences are laughably amateurish and contrived. At no point in the show do they appear believable or convincing. And oh yes, the season ends on a surprise – paving the way for a new season.
Finally, at the risk of sounding repetitive, we are compelled to reiterate the obvious – Kay Kay Menon is the only redeeming factor of Special Ops 1.5.
Other Artists?
Sudhir Palsane and Arvind Singh’s cinematography in Special Ops 1.5 is eye-catching and enthralling. The show makes good use of terrific aerial shots in some places, and sweeping shots in others. The editing is average. Advait Nemlekar’s background score is too loud and on the nose for comfort. It rides roughshod over everything else, with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
Highlights?
Kay Kay Menon
Decent cinematography
Drawbacks?
Sloppy writing
All over the place storyline
Unremarkable plot
Mediocre antagonist
Did I Enjoy It?
Not as much as I would have liked to
Will You Recommend It?
As a one-time watch, and for the sake of continuity, coz season 2 is coming soon after this mini-season 1.5
Special Ops 1.5 Review by Binged Bureau