555 Review
by Bharath Vijayakumar
Director Sasi is known for his mild romantic movies. It needs courage to come out of your comfort zone and prove your mettle in other genres as well. Has Sasi successfully done this? Though the answer is not an "emphatic yes" the movie is a laudable effort the works well for the most part.
Plot:
555 is an action thriller with romance at the core of it, Aravind (Bharath) is recuperating from the loss of his loved one Liyana(Mirthika) after a tragic accident in which he himself is severely injured. But people around him convince him that there is no such person called Liyana in reality. Are they speaking the truth or is there more to it than what meets the eye is what 555 is about. The movie is packed with enough twists at various points that are quite hard to guess by.
Cast:
The casting seems to be spot on. That Bharath has put in his heart and soul in this venture is apparent on screen. The young man makes a good impression particularly in the romantic sequences. This could possibly be the break he has been waiting for. Hope he capitalizes on it. Mirthika as the naive and lovable girl is also convincing. Santhanam in a relatively sober role as Bharath's elder brother does justice. Erica Fernandes who plays the other leading lady is adequate.
Music and Technical Crew:
Songs by Simon are quite good. The background score during the climax action sequence is quite jarring at times. The BGM for the villain was quite similar to the theme music from Mankatha. The film has a slick look to it and the technical team has done a neat job. The action sequences too are believable and quite raw. The crisp running time of the movie despite having a quite a few flashbacks and sub plots works well for the movie.
Thinking differently is fine. But is not the 'Elavu' song taking it a bit too far and that too at a most inappropriate place. Bharath's physique that he has so meticulously developed for the movie certainly makes the stunt sequences quite authentic. But there is no other justification for this in the film. If you take 'Ghajini' for instance, the protagonist is aware that he has to take revenge on someone and prepares his body having that in mind. But here Bharath is not aware of what is happening around him and is supposedly in depression and recuperating from an accident. When did he get all this time to develop such a well toned body and for what purpose. At the least a passing reference to this might have helped. Why don't filmmakers who put in so much effort in developing such a neat thriller always have to resort to the one-on-one duel between the hero and the villain at the end. Thankfully it is at least short here. The relevance to the title is also something that could have been thought better. Like in 'Samar' here too a sense of boredom sets in towards the climax after the suspense is revealed.
Bottomline:
555 is a neat effort from Sasi. But you somehow feel it does not attain it's full potential and settles down to the average league despite promising more.
Verdict:2.75/5