Special Ops 2 Review: Kay Kay Menon deserves better than this glossy espionage thriller

His presence alone gives the show its spine, but even his gravitas can’t disguise the fact that this season, much like the last, is light on substance and heavy on style.

‘Special Ops 2,’ jointly directed by Neeraj Pandey and Shivam Nair, was released on 18th July and stars Kay Kay Menon, Arif Zakaria, Parmeet Sethi, Dalip Tahil, Karan Tacker, Tahir Raj Bhasin, and Prakash Raj.

‘Special Ops 2’ is, at best, a guilty pleasure. It’s glossy, sleek, and decked up to impress, but that’s just surface-level polish. Once you’re lured in by its sharp visuals and slick editing, you realise it’s trying too hard to be more than what it is. Thankfully, Kay Kay Menon as the no-nonsense RAW chief Himmat Singh holds things together.

Style over substance

His presence alone gives the show its spine, but even his gravitas can’t disguise the fact that this season, much like the last, is light on substance and heavy on style. The antagonist (played by Tahir Raj Bhasin) tries to look menacing but never quite pulls it off, and the show’s claim of being inspired by true events feels more like a label than a guiding principle.

Espionage without grit

This time around, the plot is centered on the kidnapping of AI scientist Dr. Piyush Bhargav (Arif Zakaria) in Budapest, coinciding with the murder of daredevil agent Vinod Shekhawat (Tota Roy Choudhury).

As links emerge between the two incidents, Himmat and his scattered team of operatives are tasked with unravelling the puzzle. There’s also a subplot featuring Subramanyam (Prakash Raj), a retired government officer whose life savings vanish after a bank collapse—another track that tries to add depth but feels more like a detour.

All of this could have led to a layered espionage narrative, but the treatment is more pulp fiction than realpolitik. The show sidelines its field agents in favour of long discussions and boardroom decision-making. Unlike gripping spy dramas where on-ground action, misdirection, and grit define the tone, ‘Special Ops 2’ places its trust in command centre strategies and flashy tech dashboards. Most of the screen time is spent in Himmat Singh’s immaculate office. It’s hard to buy into the chaos of global espionage when high-stakes crisis unfolds on pristine LED panels and glass tables.

Performances that try to rise

Still, a few performances do rise above the muddle. Kay Kay Menon, as always, brings conviction and control. He’s the show’s emotional and moral anchor. Tota Roy Chowdhury, despite being bumped off in the first episode, leaves an impression through the flashbacks. Vinay Pathak is reliably solid as the Delhi Police cop Abbas Shaikh, even though his screen time is limited.

But the rest of the ensemble—including Karan Tacker, Saiyami Kher, Muzzamil Ibrahim, and Shikha Talsania—are reduced to playing stock agents with little agency. The real letdown, though, is Tahir Raj Bhasin as Sudheer Awasthi, the tech billionaire villain. Lacking menace or depth, he never feels like a real threat. His global-citizen shtick falls flat, making his casting feel off-mark.

Forgotten lessons of the genre

The production design is far too polished for a genre that thrives on shadows and grit. Himmat’s office looks like a luxury showroom, and every object in his office is perfectly aligned—the aesthetic feels more suited to a fashion shoot than a counter-terrorism drama.

Worse, the background score is constant and intrusive, trying to manufacture tension where there isn’t any. The subplot involving Subramanyam, Himmat’s old mentor, is meandering and unrelated to the core narrative. It bloats the runtime unnecessarily, and you can’t help but feel that a tighter, five-episode format would’ve served the story better.

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Watchable yet underwhelming

Neeraj Pandey and Shivam Nair are seasoned names in the thriller space, which makes ‘Special Ops 2’ all the more frustrating. A little more narrative grounding and less cosmetic gloss could’ve done wonders. They’d have benefited from watching espionage series like ‘The Night Manager,’ ‘Fauda,’ or ‘Spy/Master’—shows that balance intelligence, emotion, and action with far more control. Because at the heart of any spy story lies the burden of realism, the murkiness of loyalty, and the messiness of ground action—all of which are sadly missing here.

‘Special Ops 2’ has moments, but they are few and far between. These sparks are scattered and never quite come together. In the end, it feels like a show made with all the right intentions but stuck in its own shiny echo chamber. What could’ve been a gripping homegrown spy saga ends up being an overstretched thriller that forgets one cardinal rule of espionage storytelling—trust the ground, not just the glass.

Rating: 2.5/5