Mohanlal's Villain movie review: Live audience updates on Vishal-starrer

Superstar Mohanlal's most anticipated Malayalam movie — Villain — has finally hit the theatres on Friday in Kerala (253 screens) and other parts of India. Expectations are sky high from the mega-budget multi-starrer, which has already impressed filmmakers Lingasamy and Mysskin.

Check Villain movie IBTimes review

Read: Villain review by celebs

Storyline

Mohanlal plays Mathew Manjooran, a retired police officer, in the investigative thriller. Vishal appears as antagonist Shaktivel Palanisamy who teases the entire police department with his flawless crimes. However, he gets chased by a retired stylish cop (Mohanlal) whose past influences the killer's future.

Cast and crew

Villain marks the acting debut of Tamil stars Vishal, Hansika Motwani, Telugu actors Srikanth and Raashi Khanna in Mollywood. The movie also has Manju Warrier, Siddique, Renji Panicker, Aju Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose and Edavela Babu in pivotal roles.

Also check: Villain Hindi dubbing right was sold for THIS record amount

Popular Tamil producer Rockline Venkatesh has bankrolled the project under the banner Rockline Entertainments. While Manoj Paramahamsa has cranked the camera, editing is handled by Shameer Mohammed. Team 4 Musics has composed songs and Sushin Shyam rendered background score.

Promo videos

All the promo videos of Villain have been opened to positive response. The trailer promises a suspense entertainer that revolves around murder cases.

Box office expectation

The suspense thriller directed by B Unnikrishnan is expected to perform tremendously well at the Kerala box office on the opening day itself. Being a solo release, Villain is sure to rake in some big money as a record number of fan shows are lined up for screening in Kerala.

The Mohanlal-starrer is expected to become the biggest opening day grosser among the Mollywood movies. The advance booking clearly hints at houseful shows. 

Check out what viewers have to say about Mohanlal's Villain movie:

Villain has been opened to mixed response from the audience. While some viewers claim it to be a thrilling entertainer, others say it is not upto the mark. Nevertheless, Mohanlal's performance remains as its highlight.

Anan Priyakumar

One of the most awaited film of our Lalettan's Villain Movie. Utterly a complete crime thriller genre one. It would make us think, claps the hell out!! Unless if Lalettan was in the lead cast, the movie would not have been in that peak as it is. Neither throughout the movie was lagged, quite was. Before watching the movie, you people should be aware of that the movie was not at all MASS one. Rather than being a MASS one, it is a CRIME THRILLER. Meanwhile, along with Mohanlal; Vishal, Hansika Motwani, Siddique, Renji Panicker, and Chemban Vinod Jose has shared a well on screen appearance. Let us hope that Lalettan would be bagging the first day Kerala gross record to date. ❤❤ There is something what doesn't need to be answered in the film, WHO IS THE VILLAIN? Rating :- 4/5

Syam Krishnan Mohan

#Villain : Except climax it's an average movie for me! #Lalettan & Vishal done their parts very well! In my view #Grandmaster is far better than Villain! As a Director #IG & #Thriller are my personal favourites of #Unnikrishnan till date! As a writer he is outstanding in writing thrillers. But, as a Director he will felt in direction sometimes & he has many limitations in direction. My Rating : 3/5* (strictly personal) (3/5 only for Lalettan & Vishal's performance. otherwise I will give 2/5)

Visakh D Bhat‎

Story line: Typical B.Unnikrishnan one
Cast: Exceptional
Direction: Justified the triller series which follows the movie Grandmaster
Background scoring: Loved it, which suffice the on screen sequences.
Stand out from this movie: Technically sound strong, specifically n specially the digital graphics which displayed during Cops part...looks cool
Acting: Manju warrior as always proven class, Vishal acted more stronger, Renji Panicker did well but bit of normal character in this film, Siddique serious cop n rightly opted for the head of police character, Chemban Vinod simply the best, Aju did a decent job along with Hansika and Raashi Khana sweet (dubbed by Swetha Menon's voice, which really suited her in this character...lip sync was superb)
Not least but not last...........Mohanlal sir (Laletta kallaki), what a clean sweep acting from intro till end, you're gem of an actor hence versatile in finishing this character. Specially the action sequences in the ship ward.... clean sheet. Your make over through out been taken cared by your makeup artist to sum up the looks or minute changes not missed on the frame.
Overall a good thriller to be watched!

Sethu Suresh

VILLAIN Movie
My rating 2/5
Poor script is the Villain of Villain Movie
Lalettan as usual was the backbone and his class performance was the only positive of the film...
B Unnikrishnan ..U have disappointed ....
with poor scripting .
Making was good.
Stunt sequence were good.
Even I am a Hardcore Lalettan Fan....I think only good films have the right to be praised...And I can't praise a Movie With a poor script ...

Akshay Mohandas

Villain - a Decent Investigation movie.
Mohanlal never fails to impress, and I honestly never expected such a great delivery from neither Vishal nor Hansika. The movie is slow paced , emotional and dark shaded but is predictable at some points. Manju Warrier, Chemban Vinodh and Sidhikkikka were great too.
Everybody delivered a decent performance and the movie was satisfying for me.
Lose your expectations and hype and definitely lose your hope for a negative shaded Lalettan character and the movie will work out fine for every viewers.
Take it from a Mammootty fan.. (I know, "so what" Right? Well it kinda grabs people's attention you know.) And also let me say it again , Mohanlal never fails to impress.
Thumbs up. Strictly my opinion.

Aravind

#Villain Movie Review : A Complete Crime Thriller Genre from B.Unnikrishnan ! The movie is slow paced , emotional and dark shaded but is mostly predictable at some points. The movie discuss about how a villain is born ! 

Lalettan was in the lead cast, the movie would not have been in that peak as it is. what a clean sweep acting from intro till end, you're gem of an actor hence versatile in finishing this character. Manju warrior as always proven class, Vishal acted more stronger, Renji Panicker did well but bit of normal character in this film .Lipsync from Swetha Menon for Hansika Motwani was superb! and the rest of the casts delivered a decent performance !

Before watching the movie, Everyone should be aware of that the movie was a Class One ! Background score was top notch ! Action sequences was so intruging. ! Slow narration throughout, felt drag in First Half and well as Second Half! Climax is not much worthy! With out having no twist and turns or any other elements ,the movie ended up with nothing. !

They can release this as a simple emotional movie without hype then it would create a high positive buzz Real Villain of Movie is not Lalettan nor Vishal..! The movie was not much satisfying for me. :) In my view Grandmaster is far better than Villain! It will not disappoint if you have zero expectations! Strictly, One Time Watch ! :) My Rating : 2.5 / 5

Shijin Raj

Villain Movie a decent emotional thriller... the movie discuss about how a villain is born ....
Slow paced thriller....lalettan's top quality performance..vishal did brilliantly ....

Jacob Kuriako

#Villain as an 'emotional thriller' justifies one part of it. Carries good emotions but fell flat as a thriller. @Mohanlal just rocked. Felt like its nt properly arranged. Flashback in btwn killed d pace & investigation part z nt wl written to d calibre of director. Director is clearly a fan of @Mohanlal and utilised him well as an actor. But not that paced that hooks you to seats. Its avg

Tennyson Thomas

Villain Movie: Engaging, emotional & philosophical with its content, this flick seems to have elements of both #Grandmaster & #Memories as the protagonist saddened by personal loss hopes to solve a case of multiple murders. As expected, it is #Mohanlal who shoulders this movie, & those emotional sequences of him are going to leave a certain abiding sadness in you. Beginning with a certain talk about Lady #Macbeth's bloody hands & ending with dialogue about different kinds of murder, #Villain could have been an even better thriller with a more accurately tuned philosophical side & finer twists. I have surely enjoyed this movie more than Oppam & Pulimurugan.

Anshad ÏkKä

Villain Movie Review,
The technical aspects of Villain are appreciable and Mohanlal carries the character very elegantly. But cinema ultimately needs a convincing and fresh story. In my opinion Villain has a template killer vs cop plot which needed a better reconstruction.

Aravind‏

Never expect a class movie from #Villain. Simply one time watch from Lalettan - Unnikrishnan Combo!Not much existing first half and Second Half. Climax could have been changed with some thing with punch scene! Expect a lot from @unnikrishnanb. #Villain is a movie to watch with low expectation! Being as honest, the movie will come under Below Average. Poor script which badly affects the movie. @RaashiKhanna Epic performance from #Villain! Strong dialogue delivery. You really lived up with the character. More power to you. @ihansika overflowing love. Such a beauty you're. Every frame of you in #Villain nailed it. Literally I'm flirting

Arun S J‏

Grandmaster..that's the max of BUnnikrishnan, the movie is neither a mass masala nor a family one, my rating is 2.3 #Villain #Villainreview

Sreekrishna H

#Villain , expected a thriller but rather got an emotional slow burn thriller. Overall watchable 3/5. Keep your expectations low & watch it.

AJ Movie Reviews

First of all the story of B. Unnikrishnan just ok with revenge formulas and serial killing followed by family tragedy past but the actual reason behind the murders and killing doesn't impressed much because it had been seen various times. As a thriller mystery movie, with the top lead actors of Malayalam and Tamil the writer had done a decent job and the story was ok with a mediocre screenplay but the direction had perfectly sinked. The core strength of the movie is its direction along with the class performance of main lead actors. The complete direction was well implemented and the making style was also good and the making style of the director was having an engaging clutch but the story is a bit slow at first half to the end and was predictable. The targeted factors like creating the thrills and mystery had not worked enough but still good. An another notable factor is that the screenplay had the convincing mix up factors of actions, thrill mood, family emotions with a depth and all these was totally enjoyable.

The emotional outline in the movie was also brilliantly executed by the director and the emotions portrays a significant impact which moves to the turnovers of the movie. The revenge methods in the story was different and new. The movie begins with a tragic incident of the central character followed with murders and moves to an investigation. The dialogues was also having the meaningful impact for maintaining the profundity which is a plus factor and the movie steers on the notable tagline which potions out as 'Good Is Bad' and the movie is balanced for it to a level and also have a controlled and balanced writing with surprise twist and turn but predictable, still the film resulted out as watchable. An another impressive thing was the movie doesn't travel on a same track because at first the movie moves with Flashbacks, murders with further investigations along with some suspense. The real preeminent tone of the Villain is its mystery backdrops and also offers good backgrounds and visuals packages.

The movie is enjoyable but not genuine in all manner. The performance of Mohanlal and Vishal saves the big time. To conclude Villain won't disappoint and a good choice just for a one time watch * RATING : 5/10

Ajesh Bhaskar

#Watched Villain movie.
Nice filim by Unnikrishnan.
Made like a Hollywood movie.. But not reach at its level :-)
Manju, Visal also acted well..
Amazing stund scenes by Lalettan
#Brilliant 1st half.. . 2nd half didnot reach as expected :-)
#A nice thriller #Watchable <3

Anandhu R Rajan

Villain movie best and intrestive thriller
Good crime thriller

Rahul 

#Villain A class film !! Much better than snail paced #tgf Lalettan is a treat to watch And the 8k visuals Overall a decent outing

Ranga Subramanim

#Villain first half Very gripping Complete actor Lalettan Very interesting screenplay. Can't wait for second half.

#Villain 3.75/5 Lalettan stand out, Vishal what an entry to Malayalam cinema, Manju . Climax best in the business. Fights intruging. 3.75/5 @unnikrishnanb hats off, such a knowledgable direction. Gripping scenes throughout. Asset to Indian cinema.

Martin N Joseph‏

#Villain - Engaging 1st half with perfect mix of emotions and thrilling moments. Stylish visuals from @manojdft. Try to watch in a 4K screen.

#Villain- An ordinary thriller with great emotional contents. Not much twists & turns. Watch it for the classy performance of @Mohanlal. 3/5

Moovipedia

#villain
Average 1st & 2nd halfs !
Script is not up to the mark!
Overall an average for fans and above average for family !
Don't expect a high octane thriller!
Its an emotional drama!
May be a letdown for fans !
Watch it for #lalettan !
2.75/5

Akhil Janardhanan

Created Hints, but ended up with Nothing. No twists, Turns, Mass Elements atleast a haunting story Can be described as a Emotional movie No other title Suits ☺A better movie when considering as an emotional movie (not thriller though)  #Lalettan shines with his Emotions He is beauty They can release this as a simple emotional movie without hype then it would create a high positive buzz Real Villain of Movie is not Lalettan nor Vishal, its B Unnikrishnan He can made this movie more beautiful without Big budget, 8k resolution, Big production team and every hypes he created Lalettan- Manju & Lalettan-Vishal combo is the saviour It will not disappoint if you have zero expectations NB : Strictly Personnel !

Hrkhrx10

#Villain
Not action packed bt classic emotional film
Diff story, descent dialogs bgm & directn
Diff Lalettan, ozm performnce #emotions

Afsal Afzi 

Watched Villain ❤️
A well planned family Emotional crime thriller portrayed by B Unni krishnan
Extraordinary performance from Lalettan
All other co actors also did their best performance!!
Loved watching every bit of the movie especially the performance of lalettan in the climax
Grab ur ticket & go watch with ur family .. it will never dissappoint 

Jingle Mathew

#Villain
Stylish entertainer
Lalettan excellent
Vishal, Hansika,Manju superb
Over all superb movie
Congrats @unnikrishnanb

Shamsheer Chozhakade‏

Watched #Villain an emotional thriller @Mohanlal hav done well @VffVishal good performance nothing new .just an average flick 5/2.75

Muhammad Adhil‏

#Villain Anthr poor outing from Bunny who tried a class flick and end up fulfilling nothing.A decent Lal,dialogues,visuals that's it.

Shibil‏

#Villain : Average Emotional Thriller With A Splendid Performance From #Mohanlal,Technically Brilliant But Lacks A Solid Script!!!

Malayalam box office‏

#Villain
The cast has done their job well
But @unnikrishnanb fails
Just an Avg emotional movie
Bgm Dop Music good
Watch with no exception

Chaitanya kancharla‏

#Villain: Just now watched the movie . @Mohanlal : the best performance always from my childhood @RaashiKhanna ,#vishal,@ihansika : congos

Ashik ks‏

Its high time mohanlal has to decide to give dates to major ravi and b unnikrishnan..Villain is just average #Villain

Forum Keralam 

#Villain Average film which didnt meet the expecatation..A novel idea which cud have been narrated better !! Postives: .@Mohanlal 's Performance and technical side especially DOP Negatives: Weak Screenplay and Slow naration Vishal and Hansika gets meaty roles while Rashi Khanna is passable.Srikanth is okay.Siddiq, Chemban etc does their job. Overall it had potential but Unnikrishnan couldnt raise above mediocrity. Screenplay & dull narration brought down the excitement

Neelima Menon

#Villain reaffirms the Directors' obsession with his superstar actor. A thriller without any thrill or novelty, the film is far too long. And what pretentious dialogues really!

Rahul‏

#Villain is very slow paced emotional thriller... Not everyones cup of tea.. Watch
it for @Mohanlal s classy performance..

Rockstar

#Villain - Less engaging thriller with dead slow screenplay. @Mohanlal 's screen presence & performance good. Average !

Aashish John‏ 

#Villain Not action packed bt classic emotional film
dialogs bgm DOP Mohanlal awesome performance
Direction,story slow pace @Mohanlal

Sruthin

#Villain What a movie! One of the best Emotional thriller in Malayalam #Lalettan carries the Movie throughout. @ihansika as Shreya gives a performance of Life time we get to see @ihansika the ACTRESS not Bubly-Cute heroine (but she is cute though). @VffVishal What an amazing actor this man is, That climax scene No words to say. Not forgetting Srikanth sir, Siddhique ikka & Renji sir also all of them did what they always expected to deliver. @RaashiKhanna as Harshita Chopra was Apt for the role... And did an AMAZING work. A role to be remembere all through her career. Thank you dir @unnikrishnanb for a class thriller like #Villain. It will be loved by everyone.

PJ Arun Ngl‏

#Villain 1st half slow.. abv avg. Few scenes only for Vishal.. Mohanlal n bgm superb.. 2nd half fyt scene marana Masssssss #VillainWave. Villain review in single sentence.. Not up to d mark.. acting wise Mohanlal Vishal Manju Warrier did a teriffic job. but too slow , predictable twist.. 1 tym watchable #VillainWave

Athul Satheesh

No twists...No suspense...!! Even without those things Villain Moviemanages to make the audience engaged from start to end. Great performances from all the actors and Mohanlal as usual make things look easy with his underplay act...!! A less complex simply told emotional thriller which deserves a 'Thumbs Up' ...!! :)

Movie Planet‏

Watched #Villain
Strictly Average
My Rating : 2.5/5

Ankit Krishna

Villain Movie Just finished the show, Honestly, I never watch films as a critic. I don't look at the technicalities. As a true movie lover I've to say, the movie is disappointing. It's not upto my expectations. Mohanlal done a brilliant Job again. Do not expect a speedy Thriler.Its a very slow paced predictable thriller. Unnikrishnan Bhaskaran Pillai sir please work with some good directors as an assistant and learn from them Take it as an advice from a true movie lover. Verdict : Below average

Arjun

1st half done. Slow narration which is good. Rich in making. Emotional scenes are good. Hospital scene good. Waiting for 2nd half. #Villain

Movie done.Strictly average.Nt justified as a Thriller.Making Script Real #Villain is nt d director Unnikrishnan,bt writter Unnikrishnan

Abid

It has some thrilling moments here and there but not that much. Strictly an average first half. Verdict depends on second half #Villain

A strictly average film. Considering the genre it's a big let down for me. Lalettan's perfo is the only positive thing in the film. #Villain

Forum Reelz‏

#Lalettan Perfo. Average Emotional Thriller With A Splendid Performance From #Mohanlal,Technically Brilliant But Lacks A Solid Script!!! 

Avg at Max.! More of an Emotional Film!! Lalettan Perfo Holds the Movie!! As a Thriller

Murali T

#Villian average stuff.. wat else to expect from unnikrishnan. 2.5/5. Mohanlal's was good..tats it

Midhun mohan‏

Just out from #Villian .. Another big disaster from #Mohanlal. Total waste of time

Jinu‏

#Villain 1st half Nice till now emotional scenes-mohanlal character- nice intervl punch - postives so far

Kûttü

#Villain. Pakka Emotional Thriller. Interval ♥Villain First Half - Very engaging and emotional thriller till now. Movie is gaining momentum & building up the pace steadily. Interesting watch so far !!!

Sachu Gladston

Villain First Half - Very engaging and emotional thriller till now. Movie is gaining momentum & building up the pace steadily. Exceptionally written & Impressive making. Interesting watch so far!

Karthik Krishna

Villain Movie. Interesting First half

Paravamedia

#Villain First Half Little bit lag but classic one #Vishal interval heavy #Lalettan Fight

Paranoid 

#villain First half is peculiar.Different lalettan with a different class commercial film.Going tobe the next 100 crore club movie for sure.

Sanju Shams‏ 

So #Villain is a dud - no surprises there. The 2 min trailer itself was a yawn

Malayalam box office‏ 

#Villain Decent 1st Half Excellent performance from #Lalettan Not a mass movie More of an Emotional Thriller 2nd Half is crucial

Akhildas‏ 

first kidu..

Allan J

An engaging first half that doesn't lag for a bit. So far so good. Mohanlal,Vishal,Chemban and Hansika #Villain

Akhil VS

Watchable FirstHalf Not Bad , just OK

Friday Matinee

#Villain: 1st half is above average with good performance from Mohanlal and Vishal.2nd half is Crucial.Interval Portions Predictable

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