Review: 'The Night Manager: Part II' capitalises on a great build-up with a big-screen worthy extravaganza

The Night Manager: Part II

Good looking people, big-scale production design, chess moves back-and-forth and some good performances - The Night Manager: Part II has a lot going on for itself as it re-arrives this week with the remainder of three episodes. The first part had four episodes released back in February which was met with critical acclaim and good numbers for the streaming platform as well. 

While, I quite liked it too (you can read the review here), it obviously and understandably was just a build-up of sorts of what will transpire next in the final two-hour plus runtime. Having had the chance to see the remainder of the show, The Night Manager: Part II beforehand, here is what I thought about it-

Great Pacing & Screenplay

Owing to a fine first few episodes where you are introduced to this world and its characters, the best part about Part II is that we are right into action mode of sorts. The pacing of these episodes is fast, urgent and has a truckload of back-and-forth games going on. 

The 'will-it', 'wont-it' factor is so intriguing that inspite of being just under an hour each, The Night Manger: Part II manages to keep you hooked constantly. The screenplay is intricately woven to keep the developments quick but not rushed and nail-biting as it reaches the climax.

Deliciously Devious

It is fascinating how The Night Manager: Part I seemed to have led us to believe that these are grey characters and there is never a certain black and white color to anyone's nature but Part 2 leads these blurred lines to a more definitive version of being good and being bad. But what is even more amazing is how deliciously devious an array of these characters get - especially Anil Kapoor as Shelly Rungta. 

No spoiler per se but Shelly Rungta is the kind of pathetic human anyone despises and we do too upon watching him do these vicious stuff. But credit to Anil Kapoor, who is obviously having a blast being unhinged, bad while still looking suave with style and swagger. I mean, just look at the man!

The Predictability & Sobhita Dhulipala's Character Arc

One of the biggest wondering about the first part was Sobhita Dhulipala's character of Kaveri. It was certain that her 'eye-candy' factor is only one for these first few episodes and she will have a much better arc in the remaining few episodes. To the relief in a manner, that does happen as we see Kaveri struggling with a lot as she dabbles her loyalties between Shelly and Shaan. She also has a backstory that intrigues you for a moment. 

However, this is all that is as Dhulipala gets an underwhelming character arc as she just ends up being a damsel in distress - and while that would have been in the story but teasing with a backstory and then having no exploration on the same further dampens the impact. Towards the finale, you predict what is going to be happen when it comes to ultimate showdown and add to that some shoddy VFX portions  - but the final few seconds act as a good cliffhanger, so great job there!

The Verdict

I already called Part I to be Aditya Roy Kapur's career best and this is just another confirmation on the same. Roy Kapur is subtle with his emotions no matter what the situation is -  and of course, his obvious good looks help. Tillotama Shome's Lipika is yet another character that receives a full arc and even though some plot developments pertaining her character are questionable, Shome is brilliant with her portrayal. 

The good guys vs bad guys war does get predictable towards the end but some fine writing. large-scale production value and engaging characters makes The Night Manger: Part II a worthy big-screen style extravaganza. So, try to watch on it on the biggest screen possible at the convenience of your home or otherwise.

Rating - **** (4/5)