BOTTOM LINE: An Utterly Boring Thriller That Offers Nothing New
Rating: 2/5
Platform: Amazon Prime | Genre: Action Thriller |
What Is the Story About?
A day after Adithya (Sudheer Babu) gets facilitated for his bravery and is lauded by the department, he is thrown a challenge by a killer. It is simple, he would kill four more people, give clues and if Adithya is as intelligent as people make him out to be; he should be able to stop it.
Meanwhile, Apoorva (Nivetha Thomas) is a psychology degree holder who is interested in helping Adithya. She also allows herself for a crime novel, in the process. Did Adithya find out the killer and stop the murders? Why are they taking in the first place? And what is V is what the movie is all about?
Performances?
Nani has taken a challenging role. It is against his typical selections, which banks heavily on his comedy timing and dramatic skills. Here, the character needs less of the former and requires more of the latter. But, it also needs something beyond the usual acting skills, and that is related to the physique. It is in this aspect that Nani fails to create the impact.
The problem lies in the way the character is created. An equal amount of focus is put on the physicality aspect apart from the psychological aspect. The menacing presence is diluted whenever there is a ‘fun’ in conversation or when Nani veers into his usual dialogue modulation, or the forcibly tries a serious voice. It doesn’t naturally suit him.
In the past, Nani did try a negative part in one of his movies playing a double role. There too he wasn’t able to pull it off due to similar restraints. He has improved from that time, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. The whole block involving the killing of KK, for example, requires a different level of body language and presence. The less said about the ‘other surprise’ part, the better.
Sudheer Babu is okay for the role. There is nothing challenging for him. If not for the brief bit of elevation at the beginning and the end one wonders why he picked the part in the first place. It comes across as a thankless supporting role with nothing to talk about. It is a one-way losing proposition for him.
Analysis
Mohan Krishna Indraganti is one of the underrated directors in Telugu cinema who has been continuously delivering good films. However, more credit goes to his writing, which has a unique flavour than the actual stories. The latter is derivative, most of the times, from the old Telugu films. In V, it becomes a huge problem, along with the genre.
V is an action thriller. Mohan Krishna Indraganti romps up the scale of the film than his usual outings. Eventually, it turns out to be a case of style over substance as there is very little engaging content.
The opening introduction block of Sudheer Babu is nice, which is designed in a crowd-pleasing way. Similarly, there is a nice buzz to the Nani’s arrival. However, the movie fails to take off the moment it gets to the business.
The thrillers need a gripping quality and the antagonist, especially when shown as a psycho killer, to be menacing. None of it happens in V. A couple of scenes written to show the menacing side antagonist (Nani) in the train and bus clearly explain the problem. It leaves one scratching the head like the characters whom Nani talks to in them.
The cat and mouse game between the cop and the killer is also weakly designed. Even these portions are also are flat and fails to hold the audience’s interest. Things seem to be just going through the motion.
The combination of the two tracks mentioned above leads to a boring narrative, wholly. Neither the cop nor the killer provides the engaging factor.
There is a small twist at the interval mark, which makes one expect something unique and fresh ahead. Unfortunately, what follows next adds the banality element into the mix. At least, in the first half, there was a fresh formula in use, even though nothing new is shown. What we get post-intermission is utterly routine and banal.
The moment the ‘flashback’ begins, and a new character is introduced, we know everything about the story. There are zero surprises, and one can see the ending straightaway. Of course, a few could guess that at the beginning itself. But, they would also be willing to give a benefit of the doubt. Sadly, they would be left disappointed.
The entire second half is a clichés narrative with only a small bit of unexpected moment towards the fag end. The writing also is lacking, which further dents the prospects.
Overall, despite grand making and big-screen appeal, V offers nothing new. It is a predictable thriller with little to none redeeming factors. It would be a boring watch anywhere. At least digitally one has the option of forwarding. That large chunks could be forwarded that way suggests how poor of a film V has been.
Other Artists?
Nivetha Thomas and Aditi Rao Hydari play the female leads in the movie. The former starts off well and gives the impression of a substantial part in the making only to fizzle out immediately. After a point, one forgets the existence of the character. Aditi Rao Hydari has a typical good-hearted heroine role, but even she is wasted.
Wastage of actors is a criminal offence in V. There are several known faces, but none have anything decent to talk about them. They only appear to deliver clichéd lines or act out of sync with the rest of the proceedings.
Music and Other Departments?
Amit Trivedi provides the songs whereas S Thaman gives the background score. They both do an adequate job. The songs act like speed breaker, though. As far as BGM is concerned, S Thaman has generously rehashed a striking bit from Ratsasan. It instantly registers and takes away the focus from everything else.
The cinematography by PG Vinda is fantastic. The visuals are made for the big screen. The editing is alright. However, some sharp scissors and trimming could have made the narrative further crispier. The writing a strong pursuit of Mohan Krishna Indraganti is not up to his usual standards.
Highlights?
Intros (Hero and Villain)
Interval
End
Drawbacks?
Formulaic Screenplay
Lack of Gripping Moments
No Thrills
Second Half
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
V Telugu Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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