PremiumTurbo movie review: Generic script and weak villain weigh down Mammootty’s action-thriller
Turbo review: Like most of the action-thrillers these days, Turbo too ends with a hint of a sequel featuring another superstar from another industry. But does it really warrant one?
Last Updated: 02.47 PM, May 23, 2024
Turbo story: After his attempts to help his friend Jerry makes it difficult for him to get back home, Jose is forced to find a job in Chennai. In the due process, Jose's path crosses that of brutal kingmaker Vetrivel Shanmuga Sundaram as Jerry uncovers a major scam that could have fatal consequences.
Turbo review: Post the pandemic, it’s almost become a joy to catch Mammootty’s films - purely because more often than not they have offered something new. That the actor has been able to entertain and further expand his fanbase without the support of ‘mass’ films, except for Bheeshmaparvam, that are the staple of superstars just makes it an even bigger feat. That’s also why his latest film Turbo, which is helmed by Pulimurugan director Vysakh and scripted by Midhun Manuel Thomas, had even more riding on it in terms of expectations from die-hard Mammootty fans. Does it deliver a knockout blow? Not quite.
Vysakh, who had previously directed Mammootty’s Pokkiri Raja franchise, had managed to extract elements of comedy, ‘mass’ and action from the superstar through their previous two outings. But in Turbo, he relies almost entirely on action to carry the film through. It could be a deliberate ploy to shape Mammootty’s character Jose as a simpleton from a high-range area in Kerala, who has a penchant for getting into fights but is also a quintessential mamma’s boy. This means that the ‘mass’ elements are kept at bay, except for when Jose unleashes his ‘Turbo’ mode.
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But given that Jose aces all the fights he has been involved in, makes it hard to believe that he can be beaten. That’s also where Raj B Shetty’s antagonist of Vetrivel Shanmuga Sundaram, who is built up as a brutal kingmaker, takes a massive beating in terms of character development. The villain never feels powerful enough to challenge Jose despite his ruthlessness, which by the way lends to the usual tropes of killing people on the spot if they make a mistake or cross the line. That Jose isn’t the usual ‘mass’ hero further weakens the antagonist as the film is caught between being a slick action thriller but the action sequences that would rather find space in a ‘mass’ movie. This makes it almost tiring in the second half where the film has three action set pieces.
Make no mistake, these stunt sequences ably show why Jose is called Turbo Jose and Mammootty - aided by cinematographer Vishnu Sharma - does a fine job flexing his muscles in these scenes. That said, some of it is too lengthy, especially the climax showdown where Vetrival unleashes his henchmen one after the other, that even Jose has to say, ‘Is there no end to this?’ It’s a good thing that the makers are aware of this monotony setting in - and this comes through in dialogues where Vetrivel points out that he hates cliches and the makers intercut to comedy scenes in between a high-speed chase. But just because they address it doesn’t mean it makes it easier to watch after a point of time.
The movie starts off with an entertaining element of Jose trying to help his friend Jerry but instead goofs it even more that even he can’t go home and has to spend his days in Chennai. It gets further interesting when Jerry uncovers a financial scam involving Vetrivel. But after that Midhun seems to have run out of any fresh ideas and let the action sequences and loud music do most of the work.
Apart from Mammootty, Shabareesh Varma gets a good role and makes the most of it. Anjana Jayaprakash does her portions well as does Raj B Shetty from what’s been offered. But given the latter’s potential, some original writing could have definitely given a memorable villain. Vishnu’s cinematography makes this one of Vysakh’s better films in terms of the visuals. Christo Xavier’s music though fails to live up to his own standards that he has set with Bramayugam.
Like most of the action-thrillers these days, Turbo too ends with a hint of a sequel featuring another superstar from another industry. But does it really warrant one?
Turbo verdict: Mammootty aces the five action scenes in Vysakh’s directorial, but it doesn’t rise above that. The generic script and a weak villain rob Turbo off the power to deliver a knockout punch.