The Freelancer Season 2 Review: Edge of the seat thriller that will captivate till the end despite not so good climax
The Freelancer Season 2 Web Series Rating: 3.5 Stars
Just watched The Freelancer Season 2 Web Series on Hotstar. So, let’s analyze the cast, release date, story, positive/negatives and at last my personal view on this web series.
Cast: Mohit Raina, Anupam Kher, Kashmira Pardeshi, Ayesha Raza Mishra and Navneet Malik
Director: Bhav Dhulia
Release Date: 15th December 2023 on Hotstar
Duration: 2 Episodes/ 50 Minutes
Story: The second part of the series is basically based on a rescue mission undertaken by an ex-cop turned mercenary Avinash Kamath (Mohit Raina) to save his late friend Inayat Khan (Sushant Singh) only daughter Aliya (Kashmira Pardeshi).
After the events of the first season, Mohsin’s (Navneet Malik) parents Khalid Fazal (Shahid Lateef) and Asar Fazal (Geeta Aggarwal) are killed in a suicide bomb explosion in Raqqa. Aliya continues to communicate with Avinash Kamat who’s moving heaven and earth to safely get her out. She clicks videos secretly of her surroundings and also successfully injects Trojan into the devices of his in-laws and husband.
This enables Avinash to gain access to their activities. He passes on this information to Mark Ross (Shaun Paul) and Radha Baxi (Sarah Jane Dias), CIA officials in Tangier, Morocco. Since they are tracking Aliya and the Fazal’s family, they plan to explode their residence through a drone attack when they are all together at night.
They have decided to execute the plan in 48 hours. This means that Avinash only has two days to form a team and think of a flawless plan that will help him extract Aliya. What happened next is all about this movie.
Positives
1. Performances
2. Story
3. Direction
4. Screenplay
5. Cinematography
Negatives
1. Length
2. Climax
3. 2 Parts
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this web-series, planned to watch this series on premiere day as trailer looks gripping and loved its 1st part.
Based on Shirish Thorat’s book ‘A Ticket to Syria,’ the show follows Avinash Kamath, a former police officer-turned-freelancer who embarks on a rescue mission to recover Aliya Khan, a young girl who has been taken captive in war-torn Syria. Will he be able to return her to India?
The FreeLancer 2 story is detailed and researched. Ritesh Shah and Benazir Ali Fida’s screenplay is simplistic and very captivating. It is only three episodes long with a run time of 150 minutes and doesn’t bore. However, the first two episodes could have been shorter. Their biggest strength is that viewers on the edge of their seats constantly. One can understand the seriousness as Aliya is stuck in a territory ruled by a ruthless bunch who will finish her off instantly if she gets caught. Hence, every time Aliya goes to the washroom to secretly talk to Avinash, one’s heart skips a beat as one fears the worst. The best is, however, reserved for the finale. The tension levels rise to another level in the last episode. Background score uplifts the tension while cinematography is breathtaking, especially the locales of Morocco. The series lives up to the expectations created by the cliffhanger of the first part. The performances are nuanced, and the narrative is fast paced. The makers don’t drag the conflict for too long and stay true to the genre. There are enough elements in The Freelancer 2 to make for a perfect cinematic feature presentation too.
On the flipside, the biggest issue with The Freelancer 2 is the idea of geniuses to split a single-season series into a two-parter. The makers have the build-up for a second season in place, but the execution for this action thriller feels not up to the mark and once again rather convenient. There’s little to no action and a tried and tested formula for the climax and these things just aren’t enough and could have been better for more impact. From a viewer’s perspective, it is indeed a much better viewing experience when watched in its entirety. However, going by how the makers chose to release it, there’s not only a disconnect, but a lot of what we see feels like the convenient choice to make. The arrangement of staying away from family and debriefing by the CIA is not properly explained to the audience. Also, though the last episode is engaging, it has too many cinematic liberties. Agreed that Avinash does stumble upon several obstacles while in ISIS territory, yet his operation also seemed like a child’s play in a few scenes.
Overall, series deserves a watch for its spine-chilling, well-researched and gritty storytelling despite not so. Each episode ends on a cliff-hanger, which leaves you wanting for more, rendering it a very binge-worthy quality. The series holds the attention from the first frame till the end and doesn’t shy away from putting out the harsh truth of the global terrorism scenario brewing between Syria and the rest of the world. It adds another success to Neeraj Pandey’s portfolio. Binge-watch for its engaging plot, tension-filled atmosphere which captivate viewers throughout. My view on this web-series is Highly Recommended.
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