ahmedrockinblues

So Lalettan is a retired stunt master/fighter. A million scenes dedicated to reiterate this particular point...this is the first half. Then tragedy strikes and answers to the pre interval build ups...beating the baddies to pulp. This is being touted as vintage Mohan Lal and blah blah blah. Every scene written to squeeze out the past Lalettan looks forced and fake just like the photoshopped images on the walls. Shobhana is added to mishmash,again to evoke the late 80s vibe, nothing special. Jakes Bejoy here decided to run a riot on the viewers eardrums...songs are pleasing but bgm is loud and jarring. The new villain makes his presence felt. Overrated.

This movie is a living testimony of how to abuse the right to make a movie and unleash it on unsuspecting working class of Kerala. The whole 2.5 hours is non stop ridiculous tomfoolery,I started harking and rolling in joy...I salute the brass neck of producer Sheelu Abraham. Unbelievably hilarious are Devanji, Bheeman Raghu and last but not least...our good old superstar Shankar. You have seen many foolish thugs portrayed in movies, here foolish thuggery is taken to another level by Tiny Tom and his cohorts. The terrifying kingpin Babu Antony going soft and the transition is mega. Rahman looks adequately stupid and his gang is no less .The script of this movie should be archived and taught to students of cinema. It deserves a Hollywood remake.

The movie starts with a title sequence in pictures or frames,not moving visuals showing a train getting torched and the passengers scrambling for their life and succumbing to the flames. Then u read " 2002". A follow up to the incident, a group of Mohammedans including pregnant women and children takes refuge in a Hindu women's haveli. Later in the dark of the night a mob enters the shelter lead by a menacing Balraj aka Bajrangi and a rampage that results in the violent murder and molestation of the people on the run as well as the Hindu guardian angel. A boy from the group who manages to witness this a and swears revenge as he flees the scene. Its obvious who the bad and good guys are in this scenario. Thats it...that should be it.

Coming back to the movie,Muraly Gopi writes a super complex script with ample dose of contemporary politics and relentless action, taking digs at every existing political parties in Kerala as many times as possible. The movie shuttles between this Kerala political scenarios and inter Galactic espionage/cartel/you name it seamlessly like a Lexus hybrid engine. Stepehen Nedumpally has gone into exile after coronation of Jithin Ramdas as Chief minister. Its time for his return as Jithin has gone rogue. Now comes director Prithviraj Sukumaran who has shot one of the most stylish and organic action star vehicle of recent times at par with any international action franchise rated between 6.3 and 7 in Imdb. The Abraam K intro banger scene is a testimony of the directors no compromise attitude with real Apache AH-64s (hope I'm right) spraying 30 mm rounds from its M230 chain guns followed by AGM Hellfire missiles. It was quiet a spectacle watching the killer machines up close. Theres' an absolutely cool chain gun auto reloading moment u don't want to miss. The props, US/UK army combat fatigues, trucks and Humvees, everything looks spot on. Take a bow Raju.

Abraam the elusive devil (and his sidekick Zayed Masood, the boy who grew up hating Bajrangi all have back stories, watch it) is forced to return to his homeland, to help Manju Warrier aka Priya who joins the political fray to confront her brother who has joined the powerful political baddies from North. This is where superstar Mohan Lal comes alive and Raju has milked every bit of his stardom starting from night time action sequence with some mad angles and cool moves. Manju Warrier gets an author backed powerful with punch lines conveyed subtly, again kudos to the writer and director.

Vfx and Sujith Vassudevs cinematography are top notch. Easily trumps Pathaans" stupid gadgets and flying suits sans eye protection. Raju has gone for attention to detail like mad. BGM is ok yet jarring at times. Supporting cast is simply overshadowed by a gargantuan Laettan as Stephen.

I felt The Abraam Kureshi character and its universe created by MG and PS is too big for Mohan Lal. As Kureshi he doesn't carry the required weight...As Stephen he is a steamroller decimating everything in its path. Though Jerome Flynn gets a lot of screen time its Abhimanyu Singh as Bajrangi who wreaks havoc. He looks menacing every time he is on screen. Suraj V though brief leaves a mark mimicking one of Kerala's most celebrated politician.

To conclude i beleive L2 justifies its budget and Prithviraj Sukumaran has established his footing as a director firmly in the industry. Leave all the prejudices and enjoy Malayalam cinemas' entry into the big league.