IB 71 Movie Review: Vidyut Jammwal's Spy-Thriller is a Case of 'Mission: Unconvincing' (LatestLY Exclusive)

IB 71 Movie Review: In Vidyut Jammwal's new movie where he saves the country yet again, IB 71 narrates the untold story of a secret mission that is the reason why India had an upper-hand over rival Pakistan during the 1971 war. The 'untold' story is actually taken from former RAW agent RK Yadav's book Mission R&AW. The end-credits of the film, directed by Sankalp Reddy, gives real news headlines pertaining to what is shown in IB 71, but the film is more of a fictional recount of what happened with changed names and people. IB 71: Vidyut Jammwal’s Thriller Is a Spiritual Prequel to 2017 Film The Ghazi Attack, Claims Director Sankalp Reddy.

So what is this mission about? Well, during 1971, before the war begun, the Pakistan government planned to send more fighter planes to East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, with the help of China in 10 days. Indian intelligence, led by Awasthi (Anupam Kher), intercepts this objective but are confused as to how to stop Pakistan from doing so.

No worries, for our super-spy Dev Jammwal (Vidyut, gracious enough to share his surname with the character) has an idea. Block the air-space which would prevent Pakistani planes from travelling over India to reach Bangladesh, and would then need to take a big detour thus giving enough time for Indian army to prepare.

There's a catch, though. As per international amnesty, air-space cannot be blocked unless it is war-time, and since conflict hasn't begun between the two countries, Indian government cannot do so. But Dev has a plan - carry out a fake hijacking of an Indian plane using two idiot Kashmiri separatists, make it land in Pakistan and then put the blame on the neighbour calling it an act of war. Whether that mission is carried out or not is what the rest of the film is all about, but considering IB 71 already spoils it in the beginning that this is the mission that helped India win the war, so there's no spoilers here.

Watch the Trailer of IB 71:

The one aspect I can praise about IB 71 is that it is quite distraction-free. There is no family or romantic subplot, or item song or out-of-place action scene that needlessly pad up the runtime. There is a determination in the makers to give a thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Read in an article about the director seeing IB 71 as a spiritual prequel to The Ghazi Attack, which he himself made, a film I quite liked and was underrated, never mind if it was an amalgamation of Hunt for the Red October and Crimson Tide. The Kerala Story Movie Review: Adah Sharma's Film is a Badly-Accented Propaganda With Very Ulterior Motives.

IB 71, based on an actual incidents, borrows the flair of Argo, or its closest Bollywood competitor Baby, perhaps the last Akshay Kumar patriotic movie I truly enjoyed. The trouble here is that the proceedings feel so shallow that it is not easy to take the whole 'hostage' crisis seriously. The first half is mostly Dev trying to get his plan in place using the clueless hijackers and is just about watchable. There are a couple of sequences where the film should have hit the bull's eye, like an boat chase sequence in a lake in Kashmir that should have elevated the film. But despite the involvement of an action star like Vidyut (who is quite good overall and makes his character work well) and wide frames, the sequence doesn't raise goosebumps. Also can't ignore the not-so-subtle infusion of RW propaganda when the protagonist calls themselves the descendants of Lord Ram, Maharana Pratap and Guru Gobind Singh, but then that works with the current milieu.

The second half is where the 'hijack' drama is at the centre-stage, and things feel more interesting here in comparison. And yet, despite borrowing the spirit of Argo, IB 71 couldn't bring the same tensed feeling that the Ben Affleck-directorial brought in. I feel there were two reasons for this. One is the almost slapstick, absurdist manner in which it deals with the hijacking scenes and the character of Vishal Jethwa (tries hard in a role that often defies him), that it feels like it belongs to a cartoon show. I am still clueless why the hijackers were allowed to stay near the plane after the passengers were offloaded, apart from the very convenient reason that the hero needs to wipe away traces of his plan.

The other reason is that the film treats the antagonists - in this case, the Pakistan army and government - like dunderheads, robbing IB 71 of any needed tension. The way Dev facilitates his agents' escape from the Pakistan hotel lacks depth and engineering to the point of being absurd. The plot convenience is so pervasive in the narrative that it's difficult to believe IB 71 is based on a true story.

Final Thoughts

IB 71 had an intriguing premise to capture and an exciting story to tell, with an understated Vidyut giving a reliable performance. Where it falls short is in its execution, as it struggles with tone, in writing the enemy parts, and in creating the right amount of tension. The only scene that remains memorable to me is Vishal Jethwa's character frustratingly screeching to the pilot to land the plane on his head and that's because it's so hilariously odd.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 12, 2023 11:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).