Sikandar begins with a bang. Salman Khan's entry scene is exhilarating and also it's not inserted for the heck of it. The sequence is a part of the story. Sadly, the film goes downhill from here and except for a few scenes, nothing really works. The plot is promising and moreover, talented director A R Murugadoss is at the helm. Hence, it's shocking that he failed to do justice to the story. He had everything going in his favour, including a debutant action director (Kevin Kumar) who has also done a fine job. But alas, things go wrong in the film and how. Certain cinematic liberties in the narrative will shock viewers. Moreover, Salman Khan doesn't seem in top form at all. Rashmika Mandanna is lovely but has limited screen time. Sharman Joshi (Amar), Kishore (Prakash; cop) and Jatin Sarna (De Niro) have longer screen times and they do well. Sathyaraj fails to entice; the villain track is weak. Prateik Smita Patil is over the top but it works for his character. Kajal Aggarwal and Anjini Dhawan are decent while Ayan Khan (Kamaruddin) is cute. All in all, Sikandar is an epic disappointment.

My rating - ** out of 5!