TIGER 3 is the story of a spy whose family is in danger. Avinash Singh Rathore aka Tiger (Salman Khan) goes on a dangerous mission to save Gopi (Ranvir Shorey) of R&AW. Tiger rescues Gopi who in turn gives the former the information that Pakistan is planning a dangerous mission. Before breathing his last breath, Gopi also tells Tiger that his wife Zoya (Katrina Kaif), an ex-ISI official, is also a part of this mission. Tiger keeps a close tab on Zoya and realizes that she hasn’t compromised. Maithili Menon (Revathy), the new chief of R&AW, asks Tiger to go to St. Petersburg, Russia, and meet Jibran Shaikh (Neeraj Purohit), who has vital information. Tiger saves Jibran in the nick of time only to realize that Zoya is trying to assassinate the latter. Zoya then confesses that she is compelled to work for ex-ISI official, Aatish Rehman (Emraan Hashmi), as he has kept their son Junior (Sartaaj Kakkar) hostage. Aatish tells Tiger and Zoya to head to Istanbul, Turkey for a dangerous mission that will make them most wanted in their respective countries. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Aditya Chopra’s story is promising. Shridhar Raghavan’s screenplay is fine but is unimaginative in several places. Anckur Chaudhry’s dialogues lack the punch. A film like this should have had many more hard-hitting dialogues.

Maneesh Sharma’s direction is fine. To give credit where it’s due, he handles the scale and grandeur like a pro. A few scenes are memorable like Tiger’s entry, Tiger getting suspicious of Zoya, Pathaan’s (Shah Rukh Khan) entry etc. The national anthem sequence in the climax will give goosebumps. Aatish’s flashback and his connection with Zoya is intriguing. Viewers will be fascinated to know that Tiger and Zoya almost came face to face before the events of EK THA TIGER [2012].

On the flipside, the direction is not smooth and is incoherent in some scenes. The action gives a feeling of been-there-done-that. The sequence of Tiger and Zoya robbing the briefcase is very similar to Pathaan and Rubai (Deepika Padukone) stealing Raktbeej in Moscow. Also, the whole mission is to save Pakistan and this might not go down well with certain sections of the audience. The makers should have clearly highlighted that saving Pakistan was important in order to safeguard the interests of India.

Speaking of performances, Salman Khan rocks the show. He underplays his part and looks great in action scenes. Katrina Kaif, too, gets the chance to shine. Her scenes in the hamam and the bunker are memorable. Emraan Hashmi looks dashing and tries his best to be menacing. But he is let down a bit by the script. Ranvir Shorey is fair in a cameo. Revathy and Simran (Pakistan PM Nasreen Irani) leave a mark. Kumud Mishra (Rakesh) is dependable. Anant Vidhaat (Karan), Chandrachoor Rai (Nikhil), Gavie Chahal (Abrar) and Danish Bhat (Javed) are okay. Vishal Jethwa (Hassan) and Sartaaj Kakkar don’t get much scope. The same goes for Ridhi Dogra (Shaheen). Danish Husain (D G Riaz) and Shahid Lateef (General Haq) are passable. Aamir Bashir (Rehaan Nazar) passes muster. Michelle Lee (Gen Zimou) is too good. Lastly, Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan add to the star value as well as the mass element of the film.

Pritam’s music isn’t impressive. ‘Leke Prabhu Ka Naam’ is catchy but won’t have a shelf life. ‘Ruaan’ is more memorable for its situation than the tune. Tanuj Tiku’s background score enhances the entertainment.

Anay Om Goswamy’s cinematography is spectacular. The various locales of the world are well captured. Mayur Sharma’s production design is appealing. Franz Spilhaus, Oh Sea Young and Sunil Rodrigues’ action is quite good when seen individually. But when compared with the films of the Spy Universe, it is not novel. Anaita Shroff Adajania, Alvira Khan Agnihotri, Ashley Rebello and Darshan Jalan’s costumes are stylish. yFX’s VFX matches global standards. Rameshwar S Bhagat’s editing is appropriate but isn’t smooth in a few scenes.

On the whole TIGER 3 is a predictable action fare that has SALMANIA written all over it with lots of seeti-maar moments – Salman’s introduction scene, Shah Rukh Khan’s cameo, and the climax. At the box office, it will start huge due to the immense hype and is likely to emerge as a super hit.