100 Movie Review: Responds to the desperate call for a high-potential action thriller only in its last quarter!

Akash

After a string of comedy films, director Sam Anton is back with the police-based crime thriller titled 100 starring Atharvaa in the lead role. With the film’s theme providing for an interesting storyline, has the team kept us hooked throughout? Read further to find out.

Atharvaa plays SI Sathya,a young, energetic and strong cop that works in the control room. Hansika Motwani has been chosen to play the female lead and it is a pity to say that she does not have any importance with respect to the script. In fact, their pairing didn’t seem fresh and this pops up as a major negative for the first half. The heroine conveniently disappears in the second half and we are introduced to an antagonist who looks fresh on screen, thanks to his age and an above average performance. The idea of 100 is definitely not new but does seem fresh when all of the pessimism is executed by a fresh youngster. Yogi Babu is a saviour as his one-liners work in the first half here and there.

Apart from the main cast, there are many other characters such as the Eruma Saani team consisting of Vijay and Harija but both of them seem helpless on screen. The Youtube influence is evident and they do not add value to their characters with acting skills. The antagonist does well in the last quarter and Atharvaa looks comfortable as SI Sathya. Another new-face plays Anwar, Atharvaa’s best friend and his role has some importance in the script. Radha Ravi has a scene or two to show us why he is a fantastic actor and he does well with the limited screen time he gets.

The first few minutes could have easily been avoided as there are unnecessary build-ups, a college fight and a couple of numbers in the first half that only hamper the pace of the overall film. The second half has the crux and this is definitely not as bad as the first. In fact, like in many other commercial films, one might just wonder why the best part of the film was pushed to the last quarter.  How a cop accomplishes his mission/ vanquishes the villain, is what one would look for in a police based crime thriller. This part could have been given more importance in the first half just as it is in the second.

As for the technical team, editor Ruben saves the day and his cuts are mention worthy. The music by Sam CS could have been much better as the BGM’s and the songs leave no impact on the audiences. When the intention is good, one looks for a moderately fresh execution and this is where 100 falls flat. The cinematography could have been a tad bit better especially in the interior portions of both the godown and the police station.

100’s problem lies in the lack of an engaging screenplay and this is not made up until we are introduced to the antagonist. He does seem impressive in certain portions and only this keeps us interested for the last few minutes. In fact, the rivalry between Atharvaa and the antagonist could have been explored a lot more and one might expect a convincing set of twists and turns to keep us at the edge of the seat. But this isn’t accomplished for a predominant part of the picture and the audiences can only feel bad for the makers who didn’t tap the potential of the issue that they took in hand as their core.

On the whole, the intention that Sam Anton and team have conveyed at the end is definitely good but what is lacking is the grip in the sequence of events that lead to the summit. If for a better pairing, more interestingly shot montages, fresh and good supporting actors and a jump into the conflict a lot earlier, we might have been in for a terrorising action thriller that could have been termed as a must watch. But all this said and done, there are a few good things to watch out for at the fag end and one might need patience to sit through 100 minutes to witness the last 40 minutes. A sub-ordinary crime thriller for Atharvaa making it to the long list of such similar action based, crime drama films. 100 has all the intent but lacks for execution and engagement.

Bottomline

Atharvaa’s 100 has all the good intent but lacks the execution and engagement!

Rating: 2.25/5