Dabangg 3 is just another cop film in which a police officer battles a dangerous criminal. This is the third installment of the much loved franchise and the audience is well used to the larger than life cop Chulbul Pandey and his heroics. The film offers nothing fresh or interesting. This edition of Dabangg is a prequel in part, traces Chulbul Pandey’s journey from a young man and his untold tragic love story. Unfortunately, Dabangg 3 ended up as a completely unrealistic and boring prequel which made no sense. 

Chulbul Pandey busts a prostitution racket and saves a bunch of girls, which angers the rich and powerful Balli Singh. That’s when we get to know that Chulbul and Balli had a revengeful past. There are a few clap-worthy moments tailor made for Salman Khan (specially catered for fans) which includes the trademark shirtless fight. But most action scenes are unreasonably stretched. Dabangg 3 hardly has a story and the audience are always ahead of the proceedings. The story is very predictable and ordinary. More than that, the storyline looks so disoriented. Even the attempts to make people laugh with comedies seems rather forced.

It is another unapologetic Salman Khan mass movie that can only be enjoyed and not analyzed. So, does Dabangg 3 satisfy the masses? It does to an extent and that’s only because of Salman’s star power, swag and dialogue delivery. After experimenting a little with his previous 2 films, Salman has come out with an out and out commercial action movie, just to treat his hardcore fan base for this Christmas. Yet another energetic performance from him. Salman Khan can do such roles with hardly any preparation and it is a cakewalk for him. 

Sudeep is menacing as the baddie, who is out to make Chulbul’s life miserable. If there is something interesting in the film, then it has to be the battle between Salman Khan and Sudeep. The Eega actor has a great screen presence, which makes the face-offs between Salman and him entertaining. Sonakshi in this film is mostly used for songs and to cry when required. The film takes time to settle down but once it gets going you get a partially satisfactory ride till the mid-point.

Pre-climax fight happens to be one of the high points of the film. Post the mid way mark, the film resorts to a over beaten screenplay pattern. A couple of impressive scenes here and there keeps you alert. The films falls flat towards the end and does not excite you. The film, with a runtime of 2 hours and 42 minutes, seems very long and could have been better with a tighter edit. Also, few scenes looked over dramatized and could have been toned down.