Alpha reviews: Critics call YRF spy movie ‘weak,’ Alia Bhatt a ‘miscast’ — ‘Copied from multiple Hollywood flicks’

Alia Bhatt's spy thriller Alpha was released in theatres on Friday, July 3, and viewers found it very weak. Most movie critics and the audience said that the movie is “impossible not to carry the Dhurandhar duology” to Alpha. “Those films have set a new benchmark for spy thrillers rooted in patriotism.”

Film critic Taran Adarsh gave the movie 1.5 stars and called it the “weakest film in the #YRFSpyUniverse”. Despite the “few well-executed sequences,” Adarsh said, “The writing simply doesn't connect.”

The critic bashed Alpha lead Alia Bhatt as a “miscast,” while he felt Sharvari was “relegated to the background”. “Anil Kapoor and Bobby Deol deliver competent performances in their respective roles,” he said. “Hrithik Roshan's cameo feels forced and doesn't work.”

“YRF needs to reset and reboot the #YRFSpyUniverse and bring back the believability, emotional connect, and relatability that got audiences hooked on these films in the first place,” Adarsh said.

Another movie critic, Sumit Kadel, gave the movie 1 star and called it a “CRINGE FEST that puts the final nail in the coffin of the Spy Universe”.

Kadel noted that Alia Bhatt and Sharvari’s characters resemble a “Spider-Sense and other powers copied from multiple Hollywood flicks.”

“The story is so illogical and absurd that as the film progresses, it makes you feel angry, irritated, amused, frustrated, and completely bewildered all at the same time,” he said.

The critic also noted that he personally considers Alia Bhatt as “one of the finest actresses of the generation,” but he found she should seriously take an oath never to do another action film.

“It simply doesn’t suit her. Watching her single-handedly overpower 10–20 men who are over six feet tall is impossible to believe. She neither has the physical presence nor the raw intensity that such a character demands,” he said.

Kadel said the YRF spy universe has “managed to surpass even #War2 and #Tiger3 in delivering one of the weakest and most nonsensical scripts”.

“Alpha is a very poor film. It lacks thrill, substance, and even the kind of action that audiences can genuinely enjoy,” the critic said. “Watch it at your own risk.”

Rohit Jaiswal, another movie critic, said that apart from its disastrous writing and painfully weak story, “the biggest thing that could go against ALPHA is Bobby Deol’s character.”

“Instead of making the villain look brilliant, the film ends up making India’s security and intelligence establishment appear helpless, clueless, and easily outsmarted,” he noted.

Critic Nishit Shaw said Alpha is “DISAPPOINTING and is nothing but wastage of resources”.

“Alia Bhatt goes overboard in most of the scenes and Sharvari seems to be on vacation mode throughout,” he said. “The whole ‘female led’ USP fails as eventually its the men who lead and control everything in the film.”

Shaw noted that the first hour still felt promising, but things started to go downhill as soon as the female leads appeared. “The first half is still entertaining, but the remaining half is outright poor.”

Alpha netizen review

Social media users were also disappointed by the “cringe” movie.

“If Alia and Sharvari weren't in this film, I would have walked off after the interval. Above that, I would never watch this movie,” a user said.

Another added, “Imagine being 14 years into the industry and still can't act, giving these cringe expressions in an action movie! Mother of mediocrity.”

“The final nail in the Coffin. Game over. YRF Spy Universe shuts down. What could have been, such a shame,” commented another user.

On Hritik Roshan's cameo, the netizens said, “Kabir is a pleasant surprise in Alpha.” “It is a cameo where he delivers the charisma and authority expected of Kabir and exits without overshadowing the protagonists. This deserves appreciation because it allows the film to remain firmly centred on its female leads. #HrithikRoshan,” the netizen said.

“This is the most hopeless movie made in the history of Bollywood… @yrf has spoiled the name and reputation of Yash Chopra … @aliaa08 acting is very fake, trying to be Macho Man ohh sorry Women but failed completely,” said another netizen.

What Does The Alpha Teaser Reveal?

The teaser opens on a seemingly quiet moment between Alia Bhatt's character and a man played by Bobby Deol.

In the scene, Bobby Deol's character wishes her a happy 18th birthday before handing her a card with a room number. He then tells her that the time has come to put her years of training to use.

The teaser then shifts gears, offering glimpses of high-octane action sequences and suggesting that Bobby Deol's character has spent years grooming Alia's character into a formidable operative.

The brief footage establishes her as a highly trained assassin while hinting at a mentor-protégé relationship that appears central to the story.