Fighter, released on January 25, 2024, is Siddharth Anand’s latest stab at a big-budget action flick, this time taking to the skies with an aerial twist. Billed as India’s answer to Top Gun, it follows Shamsher “Patty” Pathania (Hrithik Roshan), a hotshot pilot leading the “Air Dragons,” an elite Indian Air Force squad formed to tackle a terrorist threat after a fictionalized spin on the 2019 Pulwama attack. It’s got all the ingredients you’d expect from a Bollywood masala potboiler—patriotism dialed to eleven, slick stunts, and a romance subplot—but it lands as a perfectly okay, middle-of-the-road affair that neither soars nor crashes.

Hrithik Roshan is the film’s main draw, and he’s fine—really, he is. He struts into frame with that trademark swagger, flashing abs and a chiseled jaw that scream “hero,” and he pulls off the aerial action with a cool confidence. Deepika Padukone, as his fellow pilot and love interest Minal “Minni” Rathore, gets a few moments to shine—her helicopter heroics are a highlight—but she’s mostly there to look stunning and trade flirty banter with Hrithik. Anil Kapoor, as their gruff commander “Rocky,” growls his way through, adding some gravitas, though his role feels like it’s on autopilot. The villain, Azhar Akhtar (Rishabh Sawhney), is a standard-issue baddie—snarling, one-dimensional, and forgettable. The cast does its job, but no one’s breaking new ground here.

The action is where Fighter puts its money, and it’s decent enough. The aerial sequences—Sukhoi jets zooming through the clouds, dogfights with a Hollywood polish—are the film’s calling card, and they deliver some genuine thrills. Anand, no stranger to spectacle after War and Pathaan, knows how to stage a set piece, and the VFX, while not flawless, are impressive for an Indian production. But the wow factor fades fast—once you’ve seen one jet flip upside down, the next dozen feel repetitive. On the ground, the hand-to-hand combat is serviceable but lacks punch, and the 166-minute runtime starts to drag when the story stalls between explosions.

And oh, the story—it’s the weak link. The screenplay, penned by Anand and Ramon Chibb, is a patchwork of clichés: a tragic backstory, a redemption arc, and enough “Jai Hind” chants to fill a Republic Day parade. It’s loosely inspired by real events—the Pulwama attack, Balakot airstrike—but twists them into a jingoistic fantasy that’s more cartoonish than compelling. Pakistan’s portrayal is predictably one-note, a punching bag for India’s heroics, and the dialogue swings from corny (“Mera desh meri maa hai”) to outright cringe. There’s an attempt at emotional depth—Patty’s guilt, Minni’s defiance—but it’s too shallow to stick. It’s not a disaster, just uninspired, like a script dashed off to meet a deadline.

Visually, it’s slick—cinematographer Satchith Paulose captures the skies and bases with flair, and Vishal-Shekhar’s score keeps things humming, though the songs (barring “Heer Aasmani”) feel tacked on. The production values are high, no doubt, but they can’t mask the sense that Fighter is coasting on flash over substance. It’s the kind of film you watch once, nod at the shiny bits, and forget by the next weekend.

Fighter is fine—nothing more, nothing less. It’s an average fare that ticks the boxes for action buffs and Hrithik fans but doesn’t leave much of a mark. I’d give it a 3 out of 5 stars—it’s got some high-flying moments and a cast that looks good doing it, but the lackluster script keeps it grounded when it should’ve soared. If you’re in the mood for mindless patriotism and jet-fueled escapism, it’ll do the trick. Just don’t expect it to linger in your memory like a true ace.