I just concluded watching Alpha, an Indian Bollywood movie that sits comfortably in the top ten of Netflix movies today, and I must say, in all honesty, that I actually thought I'd watch another spy movie based on the description. I was expecting a movie filled with secret missions, people doing impossible things as we usually see in Indian movies, and the like, but then, while the movie comprises these, it wasn't as much as I thought, as it took a more satisfying twist that makes it outstanding, and that's why I'm of the opinion that Alpha tells a bigger story than the actions we usually expect from spy movies.
The movie began with Vikrant staring at the coffin of several Indian soldiers after a battle between them and Pakistan, and we saw Fateh approach him, saying they are the only two surviving in their battalion. He then proposed a project that has the ability to enhance soldiers' abilities and invited Vikrant to join. The project began but failed due to the non-perfection of the serum; however, it was too late for Vikrant, who had used the same serum for his wife to boost her condition during pregnancy. In the end, his wife died, but his baby was saved by the doctor. Unfortunately for Vikrant, taking the serum without permission led to him being punished and his child being taken away, only for him to go back to take his daughter and be given a dead child, as his daughter.
Fast forward to three years, we later realized, his daughter didn't die; Fateh had taken her and trained her because he believed the serum was within her. He went on to make her a weapon by training her and guiding her to kill. Although she didn't know the full truth and began to assassinate people, she finally met her next target, daughter, who then told her they're sisters and that the man she wants to kill is her father. It was during this period we got to know that they were actually twins; the mother was carrying and gave birth to one in the beginning, but it was kept a secret for fear of the project taking the other child.
One of the things I enjoyed about the movie is the relationship both sisters later shared between themselves after the first few hostile treatments when they first met. Especially from Sita, they share a strong bond that's strengthened by trust, sacrifice, and loyalty, and this reminds me that in scenarios where everything could have gone south, having someone stand beside us can be the core reason why we survive and sail through such scenes. It's not like the movie is perfect; of course it has some parts I felt they could have done better. I mean, if you say someone takes a serum and it has enhanced their ability, why would they sit and fight with Fateh for minutes and still get thrown about as though she's ordinary? I mean, the alpha serum in her is expected to make her invisible to be spending time before defeating an opponent, in my opinion. However, despite this, I still find the movie entertaining.
I actually expect a consistent tension and swift action, but the movie follows a slow progress and introduces some scenes that seem irrelevant, like when the two ladies flew the place they first met together to locate a safe house their father told them about, the man like a monk in that place, and the scenes seem irrelevant and are just additional scenes to prolong the movie, but the. I like the ending part, how Fateh was killed after discovering he was a spy from Pakistan that acted like an Indian to penetrate them and use that to gain intel, among many others. Finally meeting his end in the hands of Sita is a good way to conclude the movie, although not a mind-blowing ending.
Image source for first and second image.
Rating: 70/100
