The film does have a few strong bits, including an inspired cameo by Sonali Bendre, and a clever scene in which Shoaib walks into a police station intending to surrender himself. But these are small mercies in a major misfire as this. Too long at over 150 minutes, and way too predictable to ever surprise you, Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara is the equivalent of getting a root canal.
I’m going with one-and-a-half out of five. Call me cynical, call me a spoilt-sport, but don’t call me if they decide to make Once Upon A Time in Mumbai 3!

What I wasn’t prepared for was just how similar it would be, despite the change in leads , and after a point, just how listless it would turn out to be.

Designed as a take on a love story between a real-life don, a real-life starlet and a real-life kabab mein haddi, the outcome is as remote from reality as Earth is from Venus and Mars.

The film is constantly predictable — just like the first film in the series — but leans too heavily on a very hackneyed romantic angle. It isn’t often one gets to say this about a Bollywood actioner, but a few more gunshots could have been nice. Kumar more than makes up for the lack of Devgn, but despite having a similar first name, Imran really can’t match up to Emraan.

It has enough going for it – a no-nonsense script, a clipped pace, punchy dialogues and spiffy cinematography – to justify its 160-minure runtime.
Yet Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! falls well short of being quite as engaging as the film that it is a sequel to.

…screams to Bollywood to do away with its ridiculous trend of Dobaara films simply coz this time the Dobaara was painful on its audience. I am going with a generous 2/5 for its novel concept which was built flimsily. I was left flabbergasted at how audaciously the film spends so much energy flaunting nothing that they give its real theme a miss! It is hard to point out whom to blame, but the bottom line doesn’t change – you can easily miss this one and save yourself a headache.

On the whole, ONCE UPON AY TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA! has a powerful second half and the drama/conflict helps the film regain ground, after a shaky first hour. However, the fact cannot be denied that ONCE UPON AY TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA! pales in comparison to its prequel.

The previous film had a decent story and captured the essence of that period but this one just gives a sense of déjà vu. Similar characters and some very heavy duty dialogues don’t help the cause but more over, it is the insipid story that is a let down.

Milan Luthria has potential and he has proved this before. It is frustrating that Luthria who usually knows the pulse of his audience, seems to have just wasted this opportunity. I can’t think of one memorable moment from the film. It’s glitzy and glamorous but lacks the character of the first part.

Akshay playing an unapologetically bad man sounds like a fantastic idea, only if there was better direction and a script to back it. What a waste.

Walk very gently into this film, if you must. There is enough plywood used for the sets and so much plastic around for performances that if you’re not careful, the whole picture might just collapse on your head.

‘Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbaai Dobaara’ is nothing but an out and out Akshay Kumar film with nothing more to offer.

Apart from Akshay Kumar’s dashing looks and performance Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbai Dobaara has nothing to boost on its own as a sequel.. it’s an uninspired, boring and highly disappointing sequel you’ll ever see. Or not see, if you’re lucky. If you love the first film, seriously, do not see this one. You’ll ruin two movies at once.

To sum up, Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara is a better crafted film than it’s predecessor but unfortunately considerably shallower. It’s style keeps you reasonably occupied but for a runtime of 160 minutes, it needed a lot more substance.