L2: Empuraan, jointly produced by Aashirvad Cinemas, Sree Gokulam Movies and Lyca Productions, hits the cinemas today. In this section, we are going to review the latest political action thriller.
Plot:
The film is a sequel to the 2019 movie, Lucifer, which ended with Stephen meeting Zayed Masood in a desolate location in Russia and revealing himself as Khureshi-Ab'ram, a notorious international crime lord. Headlines reported Ab'ram as the head of an unnamed crime syndicate.
The present film takes off with Kerala Chief Minister Jathin Ramdas (Tovino Thomas) resigning from his father's political party and forming a new party of his own. His intent is to join hands with Baba Bajrangi (Abhimanyu Singh), a north Indian saffron leader with a history of leading a pogrom. Since this goes against Kerala's "secularism", his sister Priyadarshini (Manju Warrier) plans to foil his mission. It is now up to Khureshi Ab’raam aka Stephen Nedumpally (Mohanlal) to emerge from the shadows and help her.
Performances:
Mohanlal brings a slow-burning charisma but there is little space for him in the first half. He pairs his talent with the quiet conviction of Prithviraj Sukumaran, who too plays only a brief supporting role. While Mohanlal is nuanced, the latter is deadpan.
Abhimanyu Singh plays a regular antagonist who doesn't make any impact. Tovino Thomas as Jathin Ramdas and Manju Warrier as Priyadarshini Ramdas add texture without stealing focus. Some artists are the pulse of the gritty world, reacting to the chaos in ways that make it tangible. There are actors thriving on ambiguity. Across the board, the key is subtlety layered with tension. The grit comes from performances that feel lived-in, not polished.
Technical aspects:
Sujith Vaassudev's photography is solid. Shot in varied geographies, the film's visual quality is unshakable. Santa Fe, Morgan City, New York, and Arizona represent its range. Deepak Dev's score unfolds the drama slowly, with a certain precision. Despite the scale on display, no technical department slumps with the weight of ambition.
Post-Mortem:
L2 is more ideological than plot-driven. It is a political action thriller that succumbs to a puerile formula in no small measure. When films of this genre surrender to a template, only one storyline emerges: those against the hero are rendered brainless.
The screenplay attempts to dish out ephemeral highs in the form of heroic moments and the inherent messiah-hood; nothing lingers long enough to draw whistles. The plot revolving around Manju Warrier's character is fairly interesting, but the method of her ascension is treated ordinarily. The rise of a new leader gives goosebumps to her followers, not to the audience. The new leader times her deliberate, strategic self-assertion - but everything looks sudden.
The action sequences are plain and Mollywood-esque, seeking to salvage themselves through Mohanlal's non-stop slow-mo walks. The film's ability to function as an action thriller peters out because of the tedious staging of the finale. The powerful rivals become clowns to make the good side's revenge easy. The loud and formulaic template of the final stretches depresses the impact generated by the first 45 minutes of the film.
The plot-turns are directly inspired by real-life political events such as the deployment of investigative agencies (read ED and CBI) to intimidate political rivals, and the rising prominence of a national party down south. Had this been done with honesty, the film would have looked balanced. L2 veers into the territory of Tamil cinema, whose propaganda movies show Tamil parties and one particular "Hindi" party in white and black terms. This kind of thinking has become so convenient that lazy writing has replaced subtlety and nuance. Bizarrely, such cowardly story-telling is lauded as brave.
Closing Remarks:
While boasting a good premise and strong performances, L2: Empuraan ultimately succumbs to predictable political thriller tropes and a simplistic portrayal of its antagonists.
