Christopher Malayalam Review - Partially Engaging Cop Drama!

Ashwin Ram

Christopher is a cop crime-drama starring Mammooty, Sneha, Amala Paul and Vinay in the lead roles. The movie is directed by the experienced technician B. Unnikrishnan.

Premise

Mammooty is a strict and sincere police officer who believes in the statement ‘Justice Delayed is Justice Denied’. He has been appointed as a special officer to deal with the crimes against women. How he solves several cases that come in his way forms the remaining story.

Writing/ Direction

Decent script drives the first half, powered with multiple angles to make the narrative more interesting. Since there is enough substance in the first hour, the engagement is pretty much on. Mammooty isn’t just a regular encounter specialist because he is the hero, there is a deeper meaning to it which is conveyed through a crisp yet powerful backstory. The conflict between Sneha and Mamukka is also written well and the story arc brought in at the end is reasonably convincing. Amala Paul’s final reveal reminds us of Samyuktha in Bheemla Nayak, thankfully the connection between her and the characters who revolve around are done right. There are also a couple of mass moments with slow-motion shots plus a foot-tapping score to cheer the fans. Basically, the film is pretty good till the halfway mark. The issue begins post-interval and almost everything goes out of place. First of all, the film sticks to just a single point as unfortunately a closure to all the subplots have already been given. There are no challenges for the hero to face, he achieves everything so easily. Also the situations are repetitive which creates a detachment over the flow and hence the slight boredom in the latter. Villain character is also designed in a weak manner and there are no exciting elements taking place. High points are missing, due to the straightforward narrative pattern with no interesting twists and turns.

Performances

Mammooty has delivered what is exactly required for his role, subtle performance and extends his limits in the action sequences. Meaty role for Amala Paul, neat act and her character brings in some variety to a regular cop flick. Solid cameo by Sarath Kumar, appears in one scene as an inspiring hero material. Aishwarya Lekshmi in an extended cameo adds an additional conflict, but there would be no big difference without her too. Short yet a satisfying work by Sneha. Vinay is apt for his role, but his portions are tasteless as the situations are flat. Also, instead of finding artists to dub for Sneha and Vinay, they could have casted actors who know the language which could have added more authenticity. Shine Tom Chacko gets the weakest role amidst the bunch, shockingly an exaggerated performance from the proven talent.

Technicalities

Thankfully no songs to deviate the picture from its storyline. Background score is a little repetitive at places, but manages to blend well with the happenings. Visually rich from start to finish, some nice high-speed build up shots, the mocobot camera is extensively used which boosts the quality of some important action-involving sequences. The Editing pattern is neat in the first half, but regular in the latter as the film becomes so, the length could have been easily reduced.

Bottomline

Despite being predictable, the film holds well till midway due to a powerful flashback and multiple angles approach. But the second half is dull and fails to exhibit an interesting show.

Rating - 2.75/ 5