HIT 3 movie review: An effective Nani sees red in this bloody but rocky action drama

Indian Express

01-05-2025

HIT 3 movie review: Why doesn't John Wick die? Why doesn't Ethan Hunt die? Why doesn't any bullet even graze the shoulders of our heroes when they have insane precision with their shots? How do the henchmen die with a couple of slashes by a machete but the hero survives a thousand blows? Of course, there is no point asking these questions simply because we know the answer. He is the hero, and at the end of the day, he has to walk into the sunset with a girl in tow even if he is a bloodied mess. Director Sailesh Kolanu's third installment in the popular HIT franchise, follows this template right from the word go, and converts our 'beloved-boy-next-door' Nani into a 'kick-the-door open and innovatively kill and maim 100 people' Nani.
Unlike the first two installments, HIT 3, with Nani at the helm, gets to have a bigger budget, a bigger vision, and a bigger scale. If the first two films were firmly set in Vishakhapatnam and its nearby areas, the third film travels through the lengths and breadths of the country. There is an operation in Bihar, an extended set-piece in Kashmir, and a really long finale set in Arunachal Pradesh, and through it all, Nani plays Arjun Sarkaar, a ruthless cop, who keeps paramedics and an ambulance on call before starting an interrogation.
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While the expanding geo-locations allow HIT 3 to be its own beast, the central case doesn't really come together, simply because it is too expansive. It isn't concentrated enough for us to admire the investigating acumen of its protagonist. In fact, there are glimpses of his quick thinking, and his training, but these are small asides in an investigation that is heavily reliant on his brawn and comfort with various types of weapons.
On the other hand, it is a welcome move to have a police officer in the HIT franchise investigating a case that has no emotional connection to him. However, Sailesh more than compensates it by making Arjun Sarkaar a police office who is emotionally attached to the uniform, and the idea of being a police officer. And this means, in Indian cinema parlance, unchecked custodial violence and police brutality. The makers try to justify the brutality by making the various perpetrators throughout the film even more brutal in nature. But, it is still such an irresponsible depiction of the police force, especially with the sensitive themes handled in the film.
Nevertheless, the case takes him into a deep and dark world that is disturbing and disorienting. The sheer possibility of such minds existing among us is spine-chilling, and points to the makers for going into this space without any filters. This also allows Arjun Sarkaar to go all bonkers as he leaves a bloody and gory trail of bodies in his wake. Throughout the film, the intensity of the stunts gets dialled up consistently, and the stunt choreography gets better with each stunt culminating in the final showdown where a white tuxedo turns red, and many people turn up dead. And capturing all of this in wonderful glory is DoP Sanu John Varghese, who presents us a world that is dark and desolate with the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel being coloured red.
There are brief moments of levity in Hit 3, and it actually works in favour of the film, simply because it gives us a glimpse into the mind of Arjun Sarkaar, the person, and not the man who is waiting for an excuse to go on a murderous rampage. These lighter moments also include the presence of Srinidhi Shetty's Mrudula, who is, unfortunately, handed an underwritten role that only serves as a detour from the bloodshed and very little else. There are some decent punchlines uttered by Arjun Sarkaar that cuts through the facade of real and reel, and reflects the career of Nani. But, to give credit where it's due, these lines perfectly seam into the narrative.
What unfolds in the last act of HIT 3 is sheer mayhem, and Nani is terrific in those stunt sequences that have clearly wrung a lot out of him physically and mentally. He delivers a solid performance as the mercurial Arjun Sarkaar, and it is impressive how he maintained the intensity throughout the film. It is far from a easy role, and Nani is scarily convincing. The film is completely reliant on him, and the others don't really get to do much, including the primary antagonist, who is better as an idea than as a person. In many ways, as a procedural, HIT 3 is better as an idea, simply because it only exists to set up the final showdown in closed quarters that gets bloodier with every passing second.
But it is clear where the HIT franchise is moving, and the third part had to be mounted on a certain scale to ensure this becomes into a pan-Indian franchise like no other. We have seen the Singhams, Sooryavanshis, and Simmbas, and even Avengers. But this is different. HIT is different. And all that I wish is the makers don't forget what made HIT different, and end up doing something that has already been done. It is just going to get bigger and bigger, but will it get better too? Well… it will be a fun wait.