In many ways, the Bollywood action caper “Alpha” is business as usual for the Yash Raj Spy Universe (YRSU) movies, India’s star-studded answer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, led by marquee-toppers like Shah Rukh Khan and “RRR” leading man N.T. Rama Rao Jr.
True, there are some notable differences between “Alpha” and the other YRSU actioners, the clearest being that “Alpha” is the first female-led entry in this series of globe-trotting, nationalist-sloganeering boys’ adventures. Alia Bhatt plays the grim, superpowered assassin Sita, while Sharvari plays her estranged yet upbeat twin sister, Durga. At the same time, both co-leads stand apart from other franchise stars thanks to a handful of playful action showcases.
That said, “Alpha” still feels like the nth variation of a formula that hasn’t changed much since the mostly staid 2012 spy drama “Ek Tha Tiger.” The series filmmakers’ extra efforts also showed recently in the joyfully and shamelessly over-the-top “War 2,” whose shallow but satisfying Saturday-morning cartoon melodrama pays off in its superior fight scenes. “Alpha” has a similar appeal, provided that you’re more concerned with spectacular action filmmaking and soap opera dialogue than the usual goofball nationalism.
Thankfully, you don’t have to have seen any of the previous YRSU movies or be otherwise invested to see the folly in reducing this kind of adolescent programmer to its de rigueur bumper sticker jingoism. “Alpha” tellingly only concludes after square-jawed army hero Col. Vikrant Kaul (Anil Kapoor) tries to hype up national service by calling mother India “the best boss around.” Cornball saber-rattling is also only so threatening since there’s little to no realism uniting Kaul with either Sita, his biological daughter, or Col. Fahet Lakhawat (Bobby Deol), the mad, self-styled “patriot” who, in the recent past (early 2000s) and with help from Kaul, led a clandestine super-soldier program for India.
Now Kaul and Durga, his other daughter, must recruit Sita to stop Lakhawat’s scheming. The biggest surprise here comes in the form of a needlessly pulpy twist much later in the movie, and it’s the sort of narratively superfluous dramatic flourish that reminds viewers that while some might expect the filmmakers to draw a line between real and fake patriotism, they’re not even that politically engaged.
Which isn’t to say that, for example, Kaul’s Kashmiri background, as well as both his and Lakhawat’s motivating experiences in the Kargil War, aren’t political. Rather, they’re mostly inconsequential to not only the formulaic plot, but also its set-piece-and-montage-centric maximalism.
“Alpha” very much feels like the latest expression of the same ol’, same ol’, right down to the obligatory cameo from series headliner Hrithik Roshan, with whom Sita and Durga rendezvous at one of several “off-grid” hideouts. “Alpha” also features some of the most unpretentiously cheesy dialogue—“You didn’t save your wife, you killed her!”—and uncomplicated story beats since “Tiger Zinda Hai,” the disarmingly cheery 2017 anti-terrorist thriller that paired Salman Khan with the sadly under-utilized Katrina Kaif.
The makers of “Alpha” also mostly do a fine job of giving Bhatt’s prickly Sita character just the right amount of psychological realism, about as much as you’ll find in your average Wolverine movie (ie: killing also numbs her soul!). That soupçon of interiority allows viewers to better appreciate Bhatt and Sharvari’s combined star power as their characters alternately fight or bond.
Bhatt and Shavari both hold their own in the movie’s splashy, well-choreographed action scenes, most of which are unoriginal but well-mounted and well-performed showcases of athleticism and acrobatics. A few members of the movie’s stunt team, like stunt coordinator Melroy Dsilva and fight choreographer Ian Stock, are tellingly also responsible for making “War 2” another series highlight. And in “Alpha”, fight choreographer Craig Macrae’s work with Bhatt and Sharvari pays off big time whenever she has to flip, leap, or parry several dozen stunt guys.
Here, Macrae and his colleagues’ craftsmanship isn’t necessarily more ambitious, but rather more generously presented, with less cutting and more action choreography on offer than usual. This isn’t a comeback or a crystallization of what worked in the past, but a superior expression of this kind of Hollywood Lite adolescent power fantasy. And unlike the action scenes in both Marvel and DC’s big tentpole movies, “Alpha”’s action actually makes its stars look like comic book heroes.
A sturdy seat-warmer like “Alpha” may not seem that impressive if you’re watching it out of context, but it is still a better-than-average beat-the-heat summer movie. Its action, much like its humorless dialogue and sudsy interpersonal relationships—and yes, even its standard-grade nationalism—is polished to a uniformly satisfying sheen. So while the average “Alpha” audience member is as likely to enlist in the army as viewers of “Captain Marvel,” they’re maybe more likely to want to see a sequel.
