The starting point or chapter of URI retains the spirit of several war films of the past. The rallying song is more of a melody, and the atmosphere is calm, only to be rudely disrupted by terrorists. But after this point, the film presents an even more brooding, strategic version of the army instead of being poetic.

URI moves forward with breakneck speed from the starting point and the distractions are nowhere to be seen. The action sequences of URI is a testament to a brilliant culmination of action choreography (Stefan Richter is the stunt choreographer), sound design (by Biswadeep Chatterjee) and cinematography (by Mahesh Mirchandani of Neerja fame).

The film is a dramatized representation of the 2016 Surgical Strike conducted by the Indian army in response to the terror attack in Pathankot. The operation is headed by Major Vihaan Shergill, who had lost his brother-in-law in the terror attack. The battle becomes more personal for Vihaan. The film hence operates as a revenge drama in this realm. The film narrates the story with a great amount of coherence as the emotional core gel well with the objective of the characters. The emotions pull apart and then motivates the protagonist to carry his duty to the nation, thereby ensuring that the conflict ends with a compelling, though extremely predictable resolution.

The film holds your attention from the start, but the writer-director does not give much insight into the working of the neighbouring country, the advisors are shown as unethical with a touch of buffoonery. But a black and white portrayal is necessary for a film like URI, as the audience must have a clear picture of who's good and who's bad in the film. The film's emotional beat, in a way, drags the credibility of the near authentic depiction of the operation since the emotion of revenge resonate with every audience, but one hopes that it does not turn into rhetoric. The NSA-like character (played by Paresh Rawal) giving a really problematic description of ‘New India’s is one of the major political brownie points scored by a film in recent times.

Vicky Kaushal gives a solid performance and really sells the battle cry moments with so much intensity. Mohit Raina and Manasi Parekh add more empathy to the film. If one can be blind to the political undertones of the film, URI: The surgical strike is a well made, well directed and well-researched army based film.