Rifle Club Review - A Gripping Actioner!

Ashwin Ram

Rifle Club is an action flick starring Anurag Kashyap and Dileesh Pothan in the lead roles. The film is directed by Ashiq Abu of Virus fame.

Premise:

Anurag Kashyap is a weapon dealer, his son is found dead in a trash can. He tracks down the person who committed it, which leads him to the Rifle Club. The war between them forms the remaining story.

Writing/ Direction:

Many clever filmmaking decisions, Ashiq Abu proves his mettle by showcasing an unique voice. There are two opening sequences and both lead the characters involved to the Rifle Club, highlighting the story’s destination. The world building is strongly done, just that it takes a little time in the beginning, but once the setting is done, the grip is super steady. The establishments of the club members are beautifully done, the strength of the flow despite having so many characters is that we don’t feel that even a single person is irrelevant to the subject. It’s not just a blind action saga, in addition to the conflicts outside the club, the internal drama is also interestingly presented. The high-voltage interval block promises a rampage second half and the latter lives up to it. The night to morning transition in between a crucial episode felt so sudden. Also, there could have been an unhurried build-up to the climax showdown. The setups and payoffs are knitted so firmly and it was a joy to watch those sequences. Yet, the last 30 minutes is an absolute banger with so many crowd pleasing theatre moments. Especially, the final frame is a cracker one that sums up the understanding between the characters.

Performances:

Not really a performance oriented film, it is all about the actors’s style and presence. Well, in that case, everyone just knocks it out of the park. The members of the rifle club such as Dileesh Pothan, Vijayaraghavan, Darshana, Vishnu Agasthya have their own character nuances and they have all carried with such sincerity. There are a truckload of other artists who all have a moment or two to cherish. Anurag Kashyap proves he is a great choice for the villain character that has an unique flavour.

Technicalities:

The couple of songs that appear are true to the situation, but the music isn’t appealing enough. Background score is scintillating throughout, creates ample tension and provides the punch during payoffs. Top-notch cinematography, well-planned shot compositions and the visual presentation of the film in totality keep us invested. Crisp editing, such a gripping 2-hour film with barely any lags. Many frames involve animals, dead ones look fine but the VFX shots that require them in movement are sadly in low quality.

Bottomline

One of those quirky and racy commercial flicks that gets both the setup and payoff sequences right. There are flaws, yet there’s enough human drama to relate to.

Rating - 3/ 5