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C.B.I 5 - The Brain ~ An Opinion
Venue ~ Kairali, Kozhikode
Showtime ~ 06:00 PM
Status ~ Balcony Full
When the movie was initially announced, there were loads of negativity surrounding regarding the team. K Madhu is outdated, S N Swamy is unable to produce a classic post The Truth (IMO) etc. Once S N Swamy gave a speech @ Cinema Paradiso Awards, I felt the Swamy seems to be back mainly because of the efforts he took. Maybe thats the sole reason why I was excited about this film despite of negativities. But post first look, teaser and trailer, I should say that I was losing hope on this project until I received underwhelming reviews regarding this movie.
One of the USP projected by S N Swamy during the speech was "Basket Killings". But that didn't live up to the hype by any means other than being a regular serial murder. Still I didn't get bored during the whole experience even once and thats commendable for a film running close to 160 mins. The frames look far superior than whats expected from K Madhu and which hints doubts that he is associated by a strong young team. I recall how pathetic the making of his last movie and this simply rejuvenated my hopes on K Madhu (if its his "Brain"). Now I believe that more than finding the culprit, investigative thriller's main lifeline is the investigation process. Now many might complaint that the movie carries too many characters, taking its time for getting into action. Still there was a sense of suspense during the solid first half until the unexpected intermission shot. With that shot, I felt there is a possibility for the movie to go either ways. I loved the confidence of Swamy & Madhu to introduce Sethuramaiyer 30 mins after the movie commenced. This is something Swamy does well in his previous classics like Oru CBI Diary Kurippu, Jagratha, August 15, Moonam Mura etc. This is what commercial makers fail to understand that a good launchpad is the screenplay and not bombastic intros within first 10 mins.
While coming to second half, the movie started to lose a bit of steam during investigation scenes especially an illogical scene where Sathyadas meets Swamy. As far as Swamy's main suspense if concerned, I felt sorry for him that it was already spoiled by a movie released in the same year. And finally the Basket Killings turned out to be inspired from Swamy's own work of 90s. The biggest weakness wasClick to show spoiler
. The final reveal also just didn't look great and I really wished the makers could have taken a bit more effort in the screenplay and we could have had a far superior experience. I loved how Iyer uses his "brain" to solve out things and using a logical approach and if this subject was given to another maker, he would have followed the current bloody psycho trend. Thats quite a big relief for me. Also I didn't get the answer toClick to show spoiler
,Click to show spoiler
. One shot I would have chopped out from the script would have been Sathyadas remembering his Sethuramaiyer CBI experiences..not once but twice. Also its kinda too outdated to give CBI a perfect image...even when Iyer claim else in the movie.
Regarding performances, Mammotty just lit the screen when he made OCBIDK kinda entry. Its great to see him firing all cylinders despite his age. He was ably supported by Saikumar as Sathyadas. I felt Renji Panicker was a bit too dramatic in his performance while Asha Sharath was surprisingly controlled even through her eyes still dance a lot. Soubin Shahir was literally bad and a big miscast. Also Dileesh Pothen looked more like a local goon than a Chief Minister. Rest of cast comprises of Sudev Nair, Anoop Menon, Jayakrishnan, Suresh Kumar etc. who did well in their roles. Ramesh Pisharody & Prashant Alexander didn't create any impact. It was nice to see Mukesh back as Chacko which was more an extended cameo and great and emotional to see Jagathy as Vikram in a short but important role (Thanks Swamy for coming up with that).
The shots by Akhil George were good and Sreekar Prasad's editing elevated K Madhu's narrative style. Jakes Bejoy's bgm was fine and not outstanding. I felt the CBI bgm didn't show its real potential. How many of you have recognized the Jagaratha bgm in a short portion?
Overall, I am not disappointed as many reviews claims. It engaged me despite the flaws. I really wished the makers had taken a bit more care, they would have had a winner in their hands. Its clearly not lazy work by the writer and efforts are clearly visible unlike Bheeshmaparvam which is completely dependent on shots.
Ratings - 7/10
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Originally Posted by intexaqua
