Slick, stylish spy-caper with an international flavour. On surface, Agent Vinod can be described in those words. But unfortunately it fails to translate into a memorable or even a satisfying movie- experience.

Before arriving at its climax in Delhi, writer-director Shriram Raghavan’s story takes the viewer on a non-stop round-the-world trip from Afghanistan to Russia to Morocco to Latvia to Pakistan. We see Agent Vinod (Saif Ali Khan), a cool as a cucumber Indian secret service-agent trying to intercept the delivery of a portable nuclear device before it falls in wrong hands to cause a major mayhem. While on that mission, he trots across the globe, encounters multiple villains, gets into a lot of chases and fights, meets a damsel in distress (Kareena Kapoor) and spouts canny one-liners.

The story moves at such a breakneck speed that it doesn’t give any breathers to understand and get involved in the central plot. So we keep trying hard to follow the new characters, which keep appearing and disappearing at new locations in quick succession. By opting to make his hero bereft of any emotions, the director makes the proceedings seem even further remote.

Top-notch production values, Saif’s noteworthy performance, some clever odes to old thrillers and some eye-catching stunts are the positives of this film. But for a multi-crore extravaganza, Agent Vinod comes as a big disappointment, thanks to its inability to thrill and an even greater inability to connect!