Raid 2 review starring Ajay Devgn: When a solid idea meets a sluggish script

Dubai: Filing income tax is about as thrilling as watching your nail polish dry—but chasing slick tax-dodging crooks? Now that’s a fantasy worth indulging. Or so I thought. After watching Raid 2, starring the ever-stoic Ajay Devgn, I realised the intrigue fizzles out faster than the ink on a freshly printed note. Sure, director Raj Kumar Gupta’s sequel keeps Amay Patnaik as buttoned-up and righteous as ever, but the thrill? It’s barely there.

What once felt novel now feels... audited. A motorcade of undercover IRS agents should feel bold, not bland. Sadly, the premise has lost its sparkle—and not even Devgn’s deadpan glare can save it.

Don’t get me wrong—Raid 2 isn’t a hot mess. It’s competently made and decently acted. But the whole corrupt politician schtick—served with delicious wickedness by Riteish Deshmukh—feels like reheated leftovers. You’ve seen it, smelt it, and moved on. There's an overwhelming sense of déjà vu, like you’ve time-travelled to an era when mobile phones didn’t exist and moral posturing was peak entertainment. It’s not that the film is bad; it’s just stuck in a loop we’ve already scrolled past.

Lines like Ajay Devgn declaring he’s not just a character from the Mahabharat but the entire epic? Borderline laugh-out-loud stuff. Yet, he pulls it off with just enough gravitas to keep it from tipping into parody. Still, it’s Riteish Deshmukh who really grabs your attention. His role is far more layered and compelling—let’s just say he’s not quite what he seems. Keep your eyes on him; there’s more than meets the eye.

Vaani Kapoor is charming, no doubt—but she’s stuck playing the saintly spouse dialed in to cheer her husband through 75 punishment transfers like it’s some kind of badge of honour. It’s all very sweet… and very unrealistic. Bollywood’s obsession with the ever-sacrificing, always-smiling wife is showing its age. Her character has so much pride in her husband’s honesty, you'd think integrity paid the bills. Spoiler: it doesn’t. Someone give her a plot twist already.

Even the supporting cast feels like they’ve been pulled from a checklist. Supriya Pathak is the pious mother convinced her son walks on water, Riteish-style. Saurabh Shukla does what he does best—play a corrupt politician on autopilot. And Rajat Kapoor shows up as Ajay’s ever-supportive boss, honest to a fault but with little else to chew on. They’re all fine, but their characters are so one-dimensional, you could sum them up in a single line—and still have space left over.

The film could’ve seriously benefited from a tighter edit—and maybe a caffeine shot. News flash: IT raids can look thrilling on screen (just ask Akshay Kumar and Anupam Kher in Special 26), but here, they feel more like a slow-motion spreadsheet. For a movie about high-stakes crackdowns, Raid 2 plays it far too safe, and ends up feeling more taxed than tense.