War (2019) Review – Style, Speed and Two Stars at Full Throttle

★★★★☆ Our Rating: 7/10

Some films are sold on a story. War was sold on a collision. Put Hrithik Roshan, long regarded as one of Hindi cinema’s most complete screen presences, opposite Tiger Shroff, the most athletic action star of his generation, give them bikes, boats, planes and half the world’s most photogenic locations, and let them chase each other for two and a half hours. That was the promise when the film opened on Gandhi Jayanti in 2019, and on the level of pure spectacle, it largely delivers.

The harder question is whether there is a film underneath the spectacle that you will remember a week later. War has a mentor-versus-protégé setup with genuine emotional potential, a couple of effective twists, and action choreography that at the time set a new benchmark for a Hindi production. It also has a plot that depends on characters not asking obvious questions, dialogue that often sounds written for a trailer, and a second lead heroine role so brief that it barely qualifies as a character.

So, is War a great action film or just a very expensive and handsome one? Our honest breakdown of the story, performances, technical craft, music and box office follows, kept free of ending spoilers so you can watch the twists work as intended.

Quick Facts: War at a Glance

The Story: A Protégé Sent to Hunt His Mentor (Spoiler-Free)

Major Kabir Dhaliwal was once considered one of India’s finest covert operatives. When the film begins, he appears to have turned. During what should have been a routine elimination of a terrorist figure, Kabir instead kills a senior Indian intelligence officer and disappears. For the agency, led by Colonel Sunil Luthra, this is both a security crisis and a personal embarrassment. Their response is to send the one man who knows Kabir best: Captain Khalid Rahmani, a young officer Kabir himself trained and defended when others in the service questioned Khalid’s loyalty because of his family history.

Khalid accepts the assignment carrying two burdens. He must prove that his devotion to the country is beyond doubt, and he must confront the unsettling possibility that the mentor he idolised has genuinely betrayed everything he taught. Kabir, meanwhile, stays several steps ahead, moving across countries and striking targets connected to a shadowy network, leaving Khalid and the audience to work out whether there is a pattern behind the apparent treason.

That cat-and-mouse structure is the film’s engine. Each confrontation reveals a small piece of Kabir’s real plan, and flashbacks fill in the earlier mission that shaped both men. The setup is clean, international in scale and easy to follow even when the plot starts adding disguises, double-crosses and secret files. Without spoiling the turns, it is fair to say the film has more on its mind than simple rogue-agent chaos, even if some of its later revelations ask for a generous amount of disbelief.

Performances: Presence Versus Athleticism

Hrithik Roshan as Kabir Dhaliwal: Roshan walks away with the film, and he does not have to work especially hard to do it. His Kabir is older, calmer and more dangerous than everyone chasing him, and Roshan plays that confidence with a relaxed, almost amused ease. The grey at his temples, the measured dialogue delivery and the famous slow-motion entry all serve a character whose authority comes from experience. In the dramatic flashback portions he also brings a weariness that hints at the cost of Kabir’s work.

Tiger Shroff as Khalid Rahmani: Shroff is at his best in motion. His fight sequences, chases and stunts are executed with a speed and flexibility few actors anywhere can match, and he holds the screen physically opposite Roshan in a way many would have struggled to do. As an actor, his earnestness suits Khalid’s hero worship and insecurity, though the more demanding emotional scenes expose his limits. The script helps him by keeping Khalid sincere and straightforward rather than morally complicated.

Vaani Kapoor as Naina: Kapoor appears in a limited but pivotal part of the story. She brings warmth and a welcome change of pace, and her song sequence with Roshan is one of the film’s visual highlights. The complaint is not with her performance but with the writing, which gives Naina so little screen time that a major emotional development feels rushed.

Ashutosh Rana as Colonel Luthra: Rana provides the authority and occasional dry humour the agency scenes need, grounding the globe-trotting plot in office politics and hard decisions. The supporting players playing agents and antagonists are serviceable, though few are given enough material to be memorable beyond their function in the plot.

Direction and Technical Brilliance

Director Siddharth Anand has a clear priority: momentum. War is designed so that no fifteen-minute stretch passes without a chase, a fight, a reveal or a location change. Cinematographer Benjamin Jasper shoots the film in bright, glossy tones across India, Italy, Portugal, Australia and other stops, giving it the polished surface of an international spy franchise. The widely discussed bike chase, the boat and car sequences, an aerial stunt involving a transport aircraft, and a climactic confrontation on ice are staged at a scale Hindi action cinema had rarely attempted before.

Editor Aarif Sheikh keeps the 156-minute runtime moving, and the action editing in particular deserves praise. Blows land with clarity rather than being hidden by frantic cutting, which lets the audience appreciate what Shroff and the stunt teams are actually doing. The visual effects are mostly strong for a 2019 Indian production, though a few digital backgrounds and one or two wire-assisted moments look less convincing on a large screen today.

Where the direction is less assured is in the pauses between set pieces. Emotional scenes are sometimes cut short before they can deepen, as if the film does not trust quiet moments. The screenplay by Shridhar Raghavan and Anand plants its twists competently, but the logic connecting them is thin in places. Viewers who think too hard about timelines, facial disguises and agency procedure will find plenty to question. Viewers willing to accept the rules of a stylised spy fantasy will have a far better time.

Music and Background Score

Vishal–Shekhar composed the songs, while Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara delivered the background score. The album is short by Bollywood standards, which suits an action film that does not want to keep stopping.

“Ghungroo” is the breakout track, a stylish dance number featuring Roshan and Vaani Kapoor that became a party staple and showcased Roshan’s dancing after a gap. “Jai Jai Shivshankar” brings both leads together for a festival dance sequence full of colour. As a standalone spectacle of two generations of dancers sharing a frame, it is enjoyable, though its placement in the narrative is pure celebration rather than storytelling, and it briefly halts the tension the film had built.

The background score does the heavier lifting. Pulsing electronic themes follow Kabir’s movements, giving his scenes a cool, predatory rhythm, and the score swells effectively during the large-scale stunts. It is not subtle, but subtlety is not what this film is selling. On balance, the music package supports the film’s identity as sleek entertainment, with “Ghungroo” in particular outliving the film in public memory.

What Works and What Doesn’t

What we loved:

• World-class action set pieces for a Hindi film, shot and edited with real clarity
• Hrithik Roshan’s commanding, effortlessly charismatic performance as Kabir
• Tiger Shroff’s extraordinary physical work in the fights and chases
• Glossy international locations and a pace that rarely lets the energy drop

What could be better:

• A plot that leans on convenient twists and asks the audience not to examine the logic
• Thinly written supporting characters, especially Naina, despite their importance to the story
• Emotional depth is sacrificed whenever the film rushes back to the next set piece

Box Office: The Biggest Hindi Hit of 2019

War was produced on a reported budget of ₹170 crore and justified that scale commercially. It grossed ₹475.62 crore worldwide, finishing as the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2019. Its opening day in India set a then-record for a Hindi release, fuelled by the holiday release date, the first-time pairing of its two stars and very strong advance bookings.

The film also released in Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions and performed well in overseas markets, where its action-first appeal translated easily across languages. Its success had a longer-term consequence for the industry as well. As the third entry in what became known as the YRF Spy Universe, its performance encouraged the studio to build an interconnected franchise around its spy characters in the years that followed, and a sequel, War 2, eventually arrived in 2025.

For a film with no major festival-season emotional hook and mixed early reviews for its writing, the final numbers demonstrated how powerful well-executed spectacle and star pairing could be at the Indian box office.

Verdict: Should You Watch It?

If you watch action films primarily for story and character, War will feel thinner than its reputation suggests. If you watch them for craft, scale and star presence, it delivers in almost every sequence it promises. The fairest description is that War is an excellent ride and a fairly ordinary thriller travelling inside it. Watch it on the biggest screen you can, do not pause to audit the plot, and you will have a good time.

Our rating: 7.0/10 — Dazzling action and star power wrapped around a serviceable spy plot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is War connected to other films?
Yes. War is part of the YRF Spy Universe, the shared franchise that also includes the Tiger films and Pathaan. You do not need to have seen the earlier films to follow this story, which works on its own.

Is War based on a true story?
No. Kabir and Khalid are fictional characters, and the missions shown are invented for the film, although the agencies and general world of intelligence work are drawn from real institutions.

What language is War in and are subtitles available?
The original version is in Hindi, and dubbed Tamil and Telugu versions were released alongside it. Licensed streaming and home versions normally include English subtitles.

Where can I watch War?
Check the major licensed streaming services and digital rental stores available in your country for War (2019). Rights change over time, so a quick search on your preferred legal platform is the most reliable route.

What is the runtime and age rating?
The film runs 156 minutes and was certified U/A in India. Expect frequent stylised violence, gunfights and hand-to-hand combat throughout, so parental guidance is advisable for younger viewers.