BOTTOM LINE: Engaging Watch But Minus Any Thrill
What Is the Story About?
Disney Plus Hotstar’s ‘The Freelancer Part 2’ picks up the threads of the story from where The Freelancer Part 1 left off. Aliya (Kashmira Pardeshi), living forcefully in Syria with her radicalised husband Mohsin Fazal (Navneet Malik), waits for her father’s friend Avinash Kamat (Mohit Raina) aka The Freelancer to extract her. Mistimed meddling by the CIA, however, means it’s a race against time for Avinash to rescue her from the clutches of the ISIS.
The Freelancer is created and produced by Neeraj Pandey, directed by Bhav Dhulia, written by Ritesh Shah and Benazir Ali Fida, and is adapted from Shirish Thorat’s book, ‘Ticket To Syria’.
Performances?
Mohit Raina continues to impress with his portrayal of the shrewd, hawk-eyed mercenary Avinash Kamat. His understated performance is calming to watch. Anupam Kher as Dr. Khan, Kashmira Pardeshi as Aliya, Ayesha Raza Mishra as her mother, Navneet Malik as Mohsin, Sarah Jane Dias as CIA operative Radha, among others, deliver competent performances. John Kokken as Indian Intelligence agent Raghavendra Setu, is excellent.
Analysis
The Freelancer Part 2 is a huge improvement on the first part, with regards to pacing and exposition. Part 1 had suffered majorly due to too many flashbacks and too much exposition killing the thrill in the story. The Freelancer Part 2 does away with all of that, putting the extraction angle of the story front and centrestage.
Of course, it helps that the tedious bits involving the back stories of the various characters had been done away with in Part 1 itself, leaving Part 2 to focus squarely on things that matter. That’s the reason The Freelancer Part 2 is much more fast-paced and engaging than Part 1.
That being said, the extraction part of the story is quite predictable and holds no surprises in store for the audiences. More significantly, the remaining three episodes of the series are woefully lacking in riveting action set-pieces to bowl the viewer over. The story simply moves from one sequence to the next, with zero edge-of-the-seat moments to add thrill or suspense to the narrative.
Despite the aforementioned, and given Neeraj Pandey’s expertise with the genre, he does manage to make the concluding part of the series engaging and watchable. The end is a tad disappointing, mostly because it arrives so easily and without any major hiccups. The final sequence, centered on Aliya, leaves the viewer confused. Watch it and you’ll know what we’re talking about.
To sum it up, The Freelancer Part 2 is engaging to watch, but without any thrill that would make it a memorable watch. The story unfolds in a clinical manner, and resolves in an equally emotionless, or should we say, passionless way.
Music and Other Departments?
Music And Other Departments? As in Part 1, Sanjay Chowdhury’s background score music is too loud, cacophonous and in-your-face. It exists solely to coerce the viewer to feel the emotion the director wants us to feel. Tojo Xavier’s camerawork is impressive. He captures the stark locales well. Praveen Kathikuloth’s editing is crisp and fluid.
Highlights?
Performances, to an extent
Drawbacks?
Too clinical and passionless to be memorable
Lacks thrill and edge-of-the-seat moments
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, but with reservations
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, but with reservations
The Freelancer Part 2 Review by Binged Bureau
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