(The following review contains mild spoilers for Cocktail 2.)Cocktail 2 promises intoxication, delivers hydration. It promises a strong buzz, delivers a hangover. It promises vintage champagne, delivers lemon soda. But beyond the alcohol wordplay—of which there is plenty in this review—the film does have its merits, which cannot be entirely written off. It manages to quite effortlessly recreate the complicated love triangle we loved in the OG Cocktail (2012).Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid PrizesShahid Kapoor is Kunal. We know little about him except that he is a chef who is madly in love with Diya (Rashmika Mandanna). Try as he might, he simply cannot match up to the goofiness of Saif Ali Khan’s Gautam in the beloved 2012 film. But it helps that, unlike Gautam, Kunal is not a creep who harasses women at airports or comes up with cheesy pick-up lines. That’s a departure that this critic wholeheartedly appreciates. Meanwhile, Diya is the queen of self-sabotage. Why, you ask? When she could have romanced her boyfriend in the vineyards of Italy, Diya chooses to rope in her friend Ally (played by an electric Kriti Sanon) into helping her test if Kunal is truly committed to her.I wasn’t particularly fond of the premise: a woman asking her best friend to seduce her boyfriend to check if he is loyal to her. That’s insane.What is even more insane is that the woman who wants to test her boyfriend encourages her boyfriend to spend time with this seductress by deliberately creating situations where the two are forced to be alone. When you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. So it isn’t a surprise that Ally and Kunal end up developing feelings for each other, leaving Diya blindsided by the very outcome she set in motion.Saif Ali Khan on Shah Rukh Khan, the Industry & Staying Grounded Old Flames, New TemptationsDespite its flimsy premise, the film explores the complexities of romantic relationships with some insight, even if it falls short of the nuance found in Homi Adajania's 2012 classic. Kunal (Shahid Kapoor) and Diya (Rashmika Mandanna) share a relationship which isn’t as electric and exciting as it was in its nascent stages. They have spent years together and are now facing intrusive questions about marriage. Enter Ally—Veronica’s spiritual successor—a free-spirited woman who not only breaks the monotony of this old relationship, but also brings in the much-needed thrill and adventure. Through this love triangle, director Homi Adajania pits the comfort of the known against the seduction of the new. The film ignites a debate over whether love survives when desire fades.Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon in a still from Cocktail 2The central conflict driving the film is compelling. Whether the film interrogates it with sufficient depth, however, is another question. Where it does succeed—in keeping the viewer on the edge—is the showdown between Ally and Diya. The two women sit down at the kitchen table and engage in a war of words which is far more explosive than the one we saw between Meera (Diana Penty) and Veronica (Deepika Padukone, in a performance that changed her career trajectory). The conversation between Diya and Ally had me at the edge of my seat with all the catty jibes. They don’t throw shade at each other; they throw the entire tree.'Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai' Review: An Irritating, Unfunny Showcase Of SillyA Cocktail Without the BurnWhat didn't sit right with me is the final sequence in the film where it is revealed—spoiler alert—that Kunal did not, in fact, cheat on Diya by sleeping with Ally. For the uninitiated, the OG Cocktail showed Gautam (Saif) cheating on Veronica (Deepika) with her best friend, Meera (Diana). Gautam’s morally reprehensible decision—and his betrayal of Veronica—added a layer of complexity to the 2012 film which the 2026 film sorely lacks.In fact, I was quite disappointed that Adajania decided to play safe by not getting his characters to do things which are clearly problematic decisions. By ultimately absolving Kunal of wrongdoing, the film opts for safety over messiness. One can almost imagine the writers' room concluding that infidelity would be too difficult to justify, or too likely to invite backlash. The irony, however, is that flawed characters often make for richer drama. Would it be an exaggeration to say that the 2012 film was braver in its choices? Perhaps. It certainly wasn't as afraid of its characters' imperfections. This is not to suggest that cheating should be condoned, only that flawed choices often create more compelling storytelling.Kriti Sanon in a still from Cocktail 2The Veronica LegacyWhat also significantly hampers the viewing experience is the jarring tonal shift before the climax.One moment, Diya, Ally, and Kunal are engaged in an emotionally charged conversation about their future—a high-stakes confrontation in which all three finally come clean about their feelings for one another. The next, the film abruptly pivots to a broad comedy set-piece involving a make-up artist and a car chase, undercutting the emotional weight of the preceding scene. The tonal whiplash is jarring, diluting the seriousness of the conflict just when it demands the audience's full attention.The OG Cocktail was celebrated for its portrayal of female friendships and solidarity—think Veronica sacrificing her love for Meera and Meera refusing to accept Gautam until she received Veronica’s blessing. Here, the rivalry is more obvious and on the face of it.If Ally is meant to be the spiritual successor of Veronica, it was really unbecoming of her to sabotage Diya’s wedding—especially when she isn’t even subtle about it. Flawed women make for fascinating characters, but Veronica's flaws were tempered by a fierce loyalty to her friends—a quality Ally rarely exhibits. Full credit to Kriti Sanon, for she plays Ally exceptionally well. It is just that the benchmark set by Padukone as Veronica is so high that it isn’t easy for anyone to match up to Deepika Padukone’s unhinged brilliance.Rashmika Mandana in a still from Cocktail 2A Worthy Drink, Not a Vintage PourFurthermore, Kunal's monologue in the penultimate scene on social media and modern relationships comes across as overly didactic, spelling out the film's themes instead of trusting the audience to arrive at their own conclusions. Rather than enriching the narrative, it feels like an attempt to dictate the viewer's takeaway, leaving little room for interpretation.All of this to say that Cocktail 2 doesn’t hold a candle to the original, even if it does succeed as a standalone film on some counts. It does manage to recreate some of the original’s complexity with a fresh premise, but it does not soar as high as its predecessor.This cocktail goes down easy enough, but it lacks the potency, burn, and aftertaste that made the original linger.Cocktail 2 releases in theatres on 19 June.(Deepansh Duggal is a film critic based out of New Delhi. His work has appeared in Hindustan Times, OPEN, Outlook, Frontline Magazine and The Economic Times. He has a particular interest in anti-capitalist narratives and films that lie at the intersection of power and ideology. )Steven Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day' Trips Over its Own Conspiracy Theories