[Read IBTimes official review here]

Superstar Mohanlal's latest outing "Kanal", released on Thursday, 22 October, has been getting mixed responses from critics and the audience. While many claim it as a comeback film of the actor, others say it's an average, one-time watchable flick.

The film is narrated in the backdrop of American recession that had a huge impact in the Gulf countries. Two business magnets, played by Atul Kulkarni and Prathap Pothan, get affected by the recession.

Mohanlal is seen as an animator (John David) and Anoop Menon does the role of a journalist (Anantha Raman). They meet during a train journey and what happens next forms the crux of the film.

Kanal - Live Audience Review

The female characters played by Honey Rose and Sheelu Abraham have minimal roles in "Kanal". The film also has Santhosh Keezhattoor, Sadiq, Kochu Preman, Ambika Mohan and baby Akshara Kishor in significant roles, and Innocent in a cameo role.

Directed by M Padmakumar and scripted by S Suresh Babu, "Kanal" has been tagged as a crime thriller portrayed decently.

"'Kanal', an unusual movie and shot on an entirely different perspective and been receiving many reviews saying this is a family entertainer. Thank you," Mohanlal posted on his Facebook page. 

Check out review by critics:

Mohanlal's performance

The movie has an interesting screenplay, written by S Suresh Babu and bolstered by strong performances, especially from the iconic Lalettan. The movie gives enough scope for the actor to showcase his acting skills, which adds the much-needed plausibility factor for the movie. Why the movie portrays his character as a womaniser is a question mark till the end.

Narration

The overall slow pace of the film do gets somewhat a bad feel in the movie especially the first half. Also, towards the end, the narrative gets too snail paced to dampen the mood. But having adopted such a narrative right through the entire duration, can't complain much.

Overall, Kanal though is slow in nature and has lagness it is passable as a suspense and mystery thriller and settle as an above average movie.

Songs and drawbacks

National Award winning composer Ouseppachan's songs and background score do not earn much attention. Kanal claims to be a revenge thriller but the writing falters. Loopholes are aplenty in the plot. Even if one ignores them, the movie has very less to keep the viewers engaged. It burns our patience.

Technical Aspects

Vinod Illampilly's cinematography has perfectly captures the richness of the sand city and Kerala with the complete glory. Ranjan Abraham's editing is not upto the marks as the movie falls into slow pace often.

Overall Review

"Kanal" had the scope to be a better emotional thriller if the makers had tried something different from the usual in terms of scripting pattern and also on the overall presentation. On the whole, "Kanal" is slightly over written and very less intriguing. The content had the scope to be a better emotional thriller if they had tried something different from the usual in terms of scripting pattern and also on the overall presentation.

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