Before the opening credits finish rolling, you are airdropped into the thick of action. Secret agent Walrus (Achyuth Kumar) warns another agent, Zara (Malavika Mohanan), that a danger they once encountered now threatens to destroy the entire nation. Before Zara can respond, the villain behind it all—the head of a mercenary group called Black Dagger—arrives, kills Zara, and warns Walrus that he is next. Over the next 90-odd minutes, the story unspools in layers, giving us a front-seat view of a rollercoaster espionage thriller. Actor Karthi and director PS Mithran’s Sardar 2, which serves as both the prequel and sequel to their 2022 spy actioner, is a great example of how an elevated spy-action story must be set up. Every second beats with urgency, every moment peels layers, and every scene increases the stakes.After the events of Sardar, cop Vijayaprakash aka Viji (Karthi), now works in RAW’s DAS unit, even as his father, the titular agent now branded as a terrorist (also Karthi), is said to have been executed in Northern China. To prove himself to his authorities, Viji intercepts their mission in Mysore to capture Walrus before Black Dagger gets to him. During the mission, a concussed Walrus, in his dying breath, gives Viji a uniquely fashioned knife, believing he is his long-lost colleague Sardar, and urges him to stop the Black Dagger head (SJ Suryah) from unleashing a deadly weapon on the country. Who is this dangerous new villain? What is this weapon, and where is it? And most importantly, is the titular hero really dead?Writer-director Mithran’s filmography, especially Sardar, is an interesting showcase of how good writing, blocking, and staging can make a film engaging. It also shows how one or two poor sequences can disrupt the immersion and dilute the thrill. And Sardar 2 seems like an oddly symmetrical depiction of this. Scenes move like butter in the first half, seamlessly propelling the story forward (editor Vijay Velukutty deserves praise). The stretch from when Viji learns who Agent Tiger is to the most-awaited flashback moves at breakneck speed and feels so satisfying. Even the inevitable flashback is convincing, making you sit up — a recording plays in two specific locations, one where Viji is and one where the villain is, orchestrated in such a way that the moment the flashback ends, the two are on a collision course.The flashback itself is a major highlight of the film. Bose (interestingly, just a trainee then) and Zara, in the 1980s, are tasked with retrieving a crucial package from a Japanese plane. It is, on the one hand, a quintessential spy action set-piece, and on the other, the fulcrum that reveals the franchise’s emotional core and defines Sardar’s actions in both films. This is the mission in which Bose becomes Sardar. In this mission, he learns what a moment of kindness can cost and what it takes to be an agent. And this pivotal emotional core is written and fleshed out so beautifully that it almost carries the rest of the film.And if only the second half had reached such heights, Sardar 2 could have become one of the most satisfying action films of its generation. If only. After the intermission, the film loses steam, especially during an underwhelming scene at a fort. And, at times, it almost seems as if Mithran has exhausted his ideas for writing suspense. The ticking time bomb works only a few times. Here, either the mission inherently has a countdown, or the villain starts a countdown. One scene atop a hijacked vehicle (like the aforementioned Japanese plane) should be enough. Two are too many.Of course, several ideas work even in the second half — Suryah’s character is revealed to be a sociopath who, in his own twisted, immoral way, fights for a social cause (remember Pakshirajan in 2.0?). It is quite something to see a villain utter socially conscious dialogue, and a scene featuring Suryah, Yogi Babu and Nizhalgal Ravi leaves you in stitches while also conveying a social message as noble as the first film’s call against plastic water bottles and privatisation of water distribution. But again, Mithran could have written more to justify how Suryah’s villain became who he is. Much of his backstory points to a routine revenge arc, and so this sudden turn of events is contrived.Sardar 2 (Tamil)Director: PS MithranCast: Karthi, SJ Suryah, Ashika Ranganath, Malavika MohananRuntime 179 minutesStoryline: After Sardar is presumed dead, his son Viji, an R&AW officer, races to uncover a deadly weapon and stop a ruthless mercenary leader from unleashing it on the nationThe biggest setback — one that really baffled yours truly — is how early the film spills the beans about the antagonist’s real identity, when it had the perfect opportunity for a thrilling reveal that could have also saved that underwhelming fort scene. However, revealing the identity to the audience blunts the impact of when it is finally revealed to Sardar.ALSO READ: Malavika Mohanan talks about ‘Sardar 2’ and life between film setsThough it ends on an underwhelming note, Sardar 2 has enough going for it to warrant a watch. Remember that moment in Sardar where Viji, while taking his jeep out of parking, asks an off-frame character to move his bike? Mithran believes in those nuggets of realism; here, during a chase through a market, Viji pauses for a moment and looks dazed, as we all would, before continuing his sprint. Even when the stakes and setting restrain Mithran from adding too many genre pleasures to the mix, like gadgets and disguises, elements like codes, symbols, and complex machines should please spy-film fans. If that’s not it, cinematographer George C Williams and production designer Rajeevan ensure exciting visuals; the intricate design of the deadly weapon at the centre of the plot deserves a mention.And, as always, what joy it is to see big heroes like Karthi, also one of the finest actors of the generation, consistently champion author-backed roles like this. If not for the post-intermission blues, Sardar 2 could have been a feather in Karthi and Mithran’s caps — as a defining spy actioner that many Indian filmmakers still struggle to crack.Sardar 2 is currently running in theatres