The Night Manager Part 2 Review – Fizzles Out
Some of our fears have come true. After a gripping four-episode start, “The Night Manager,” starring Anil Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapoor, has released three new final episodes that don’t match up to the pace of the first half.
Read: The Night Manager Part One Review
A quick recap of the story so far – Shaan (Aditya Roy Kapoor), a night manager, is part of an undercover operation led by Indian agent Lipikia Saikia Rao (Tillotama Shome) to expose the illegal arms dealings of powerful businessman Shailendra Rungta (Anil Kapoor) AKA Shelly. While Shaan successfully embeds himself within Shelly’s inner circle, some suspect him of being a spy, making it increasingly difficult to gather proof against him without risking lives.
Reservations about the show turning into a sob-story romance between Shaan and Shelly’s girlfriend Kaveri (Sobhita Dhulipala) unfortunately turn out to be true. The fifth episode is far too slow, featuring slo-mo shots and unnecessary stylistic breaks that waste valuable seconds. However, the cinematography is top-tier for most parts, except for some weak special effects in the sixth episode, which showcases a fairly impressive presentation of Shelly’s arsenal of weapons to potential buyers.”
Both Shelly and Shaan’s characters become weaker as the plot progresses, with some of their decisions being inconsistent with the personalities they are initially shown to possess. Additionally, a few of the more interesting characters in the show, such as Shelly’s sweet son Taha and his colorful and feisty best friend Brijpal (Saswata Chatterjee), are completely pushed to the sidelines. Tillotama Shome’s Lipika Saikia Rao and her colleague Danish Khan (Joy Sengupta) are the only two characters who continue to exhibit strong growth, despite their limited screen time.
Despite the weaker second half, “The Night Manager” is still worth watching due to its gripping performances and cinematography. You can stream the series on Hotstar.”
