Michael review: Sundeep Kishan, Gautham Menon and Vijay Sethupathi stand out in this clumsy action flick

2.5/5

Story: An orphan joins the gang of a dreaded don in Mumbai after the former impresses the latter. The don assigns a task to the newly joined hoodlum, but he fails in his mission after he develops a soft corner towards a girl. Quite dejected with the lack of professionalism of his henchman, the don decides to finish him off. But little did he know that the orphan who joined him several years ago has an unrevealed and haunting past. The two indulge in a face-off which turns out to be an unexpected episode in the Mumbai underworld.

Review: Ranjit Jeyakodi's Michael, a gangster drama, is a tribute of sorts to the action films of the 90s. The director takes a tried-and-tested route in setting up a plot against the backdrop of Mumbai. The initial few sequences of the movie remind us of several gangster films, but the intriguing presentation style keeps us glued to the screen.

Gurunath (Gautham Menon), a dreaded don, is an uncrowned king in Mumbai. A young orphan boy named Michael (Sundeep Kishan) saves the life of Guru from a murder attempt after which the former stays with the latter. After several years, Guru assigns an important task to Michael, but he misses the target after he falls for Dheera (Divyansha Kaushik).

Amarnath (Varun Sandesh), the irresponsible son of Guru, utilizes this opportunity to take pot shots at Michael and attempts to finish him off with the permission from his father.

However, Michael unleashes a slew of truth bombs about his past, leaving Guru shattered. Who is Michael and why did he join Guru? What made his relentless focus lose when he met Dheera for the first time?

What elevates this predictable gangster drama is the terrific background score by Sam CS and effective cinematography by Kiran Koushik. The songs do not leave much impact, but the score complements some of the crucial sequences, thus helping some of the episodes stand out.

The visuals, too, look grand on the big screen and provide the much-needed impact to the action-packed genre. The stunt choreography by Dinesh Kasi is interesting and the efforts put by the actors is quite visible.

Sundeep Kishan aces the role of a stoic gangster convincingly, thanks to his well-toned physique and right attitude in action scenes. Gautham Menon as the menacing, but sensible don does his part well. Ayyappa P Sharma's role reminds us of his popular character from the KGF franchise while Varun Sandesh is okayish.

Vijay Sethupathi makes a massive entry in the latter half, but we can't stop wondering about the reason which delayed his appearance. It was his portrayal of a guardian who oozes swag which engaged the viewers in the latter half.

Despite sincere performances from actors and top-notch technical aspects, the movie suffers from a clumsy screenplay because of which we are denied a wholesome experience. Most of the scenes give us "been there, done that" feeling because of the generic character designs and predictability factor.

The conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist is as old as the hills. Though a sincere effort is evident in bringing a unique style to the manner in which their issue is depicted, it falls flat. The protagonist has a touching backstory, but it doesn't affect us in the way it should. The romance track, too, offers nothing new, despite Divyansha Kaushik registering her presence.

Verdict: Michael is a mish-mash of several home-made gangster films which have entertained in the past. The movie is a wasted opportunity and might appeal to hardcore action lovers who do not mind enjoying old wine in a new bottle.