IBTimes review: 2.5

"Kanal", which is a joint project of superstar Mohanlal and filmmaker Padmakumar, was released in theatres on Thursday, 22 October.

USP of the movie

"Kanal" is perceived from a different angle, a path most people fear to tread into. Though the revenge thriller does not justify vengeance, it underlines that "the law of the jungle is the truth; hunting to quench hunger is not a sin."

Director Padmakumar, who proved to be a great filmmaker with his 2010 film "Shikkar", has disappointed most of the film-goers. While the first half is busy building up the suspense factor, the second half fails to keep up the viewers' expectations.

Mohanlal

Mohanlal has come up with a remarkable performance in the latest Malayalam revenge thriller, "Kanal", despite the slow-paced storyline.

Though the film failed to create twists of a typical thriller movie, it was the facial expressions and gestures by Mohanlal that kept alive the suspenses throughout the film.

Other performances

Anoop Menon has perfectly complimented Mohanlal as a great co-actor. With similar looks and build, the duo was successful in polarising the screenspace.

Atul Kulkarni, as usual, has delved into the character of Kuruvila, which is the third axis in the storyline.

However, the women characters -- including Honey Rose -- of "Kanal" did not enjoy enough screenspace.

Script

The script of the film was lagging from the beginning and unnessecarily stretched throughout. A tighter screenplay would have made the film more engaging and given the viewers a more thriller-like experience.

Writers' Opinion

The only thing that is fast-paced in "Kanal" is the train that appears in the screen from the beginning to the end. The rest of the movie scenes seem to lack energy and hence, unable to engage the viewers. The scriptwriter could have tried to make the screenplay tighter. 

Otherwise, "Kanal" is great for one-time watch and Mohanlal has performed remarkably well as expected.

Verdict: A slow-paced revenge thriller

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