Special Ops 2 Review: Kay Kay Menon's spy thriller builds no-nonsense anticipation for a slow-paced yet engaging operation

Special Ops 2 Story: After a long wait, Kay Kay Menon's Special Ops 2 is finally here. The new season focuses on the growing threat of cyber-terrorism and the dangers of artificial intelligence, with a spotlight on a potential massive data breach in India, a major user of UPI. Himmat Singh and his team are tasked with fighting this new digital enemy, navigating a world where everyone is a potential target.

Special Ops 2 Review

Special Ops is special because of its realistic espionage approach, strong character development, and compelling story. The series, created by Neeraj Pandey, stands out for its detailed exploration of both central and supporting characters, as well as its ability to blend high-level action with personal narratives. The show has also received praise for its cinematography, direction, and music. Like the first season, Special Ops 2 also explores interesting topics, including the growing threat of cyberterrorism and the dangers of artificial intelligence.

Consisting of 7 episodes in total, Special Ops 2 not only has Kay Kay Menon's Himmat Singh trying to protect his country from cyberattacks along with his team, but also goes through an emotional phase in his family. The second season is not just based on terror attacks, but the makers swiftly presented the cyberattack issue that is ongoing worldwide and focused on how AI can be a dangerous weapon in executing the attack.

Special Ops 2 follows the story of Dr Piyush Bhargava (Arif Zakaria), an American national, FBI cybersecurity consultant, and a top scientist in the field of AI and next-generation technologies. He can fix the cyberattack with his genius mind and has access to the top government offices in India. After a conference on AI, he gets kidnapped, and the case of finding him is assigned to Himmat Singh. Himmat, along with his team, starts planning on how to rescue Bhargava as soon as possible; otherwise, the nation will be in danger.

The series sees the return of Kay Kay Menon as Himmat Singh, along with other familiar faces from the first season, including Karan Tacker, Vinay Pathak, Muzammil Ibrahim, Saiyami Kher, Gautami Kapoor, Parmeet Sethi, Kali Prasad Mukherjee, and Meher Vij. Meanwhile, new additions to the cast include Prakash Raj and Tahir Raj Bhasin (antagonist).

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Kay Kay Menon is impeccable as Himmat Singh. He is an officer whose cool demeanor is his biggest weapon. He sets out to face off the villain of this season, who is popularly called the Collector, Sudheer Awasthi, played by Tahir Raj Bhasin. He is cold, calculated, and completely unpredictable.

Each episode of this Neeraj Pandey masterpiece is layered and full of slow-burning intensity. Special Ops Season 2 makes a refreshing change as it does not deal with the repetitive Indo-Pak terror plots, but cybercrime, which is growing in recent times. It was shot in several picturesque international locations, including Budapest, Türkiye, and Georgia, providing a visually rich experience for the series. The series also features scenes filmed in India.

Also Read: Special Ops 2: 5 reasons why Kay Kay Menon's series should be on your watchlist

On the other hand, we finally saw Himmat's daughter (Revathi Pillai) learned about the real backstory of her mother, Saroj (Gautami Kapoor), and Himmat, which temporarily shook their family. But it is the mastery of Himmat that balanced it out at the end. 

Coming to the writing and directing part, these make an impact because they ultimately succeed in keeping up with expectations. 

Speaking about rescuing the Bhargava operation and saving the nation from being hacked, Himmat Singh and his team went all out. Karan Tacker, Muzammil Ibrahim, Saiyami Kher, and others proved their mastery in executing action sequences. Their expressions were praiseworthy as well, but the whole operation from episode 1 to 7 was slow. It could have been more intense with additional suspense and mystery. However, the scene when Himmat found out that Mr. Chadda (Parmeet Sethi) betrayed his own country was a real shocker. At the end, you find Himmat and his proud face as they became successful in the operation, and that scene was quite heartwarming, yearning for a season three with a new plot. 

Special Ops 2 Verdict

Kay Kay Menon's Himmat Singh in Special Ops 2 won hearts once again as he protects his country with his team, and this time they have fought against cyberterrorism. The dialogue, craft, acting, and direction were impressive. Although the whole operation is slow-paced and lacks intensity, it makes you pull an all-nighter to finish the series. 

Catch Kay Kay Menon's Special Ops 2, directed by Shivam Nair and Neeraj Pandey, and produced by Shital Bhatia under Friday Storytellers, streaming on JioHotstar via OTTplay Premium!