Marco

Marco is definitely watchable for its gory action blocks, however inspired they might seem. If you know Haneef Adeni's previous works, you'd be wary of how weak his writing in general can be. But the guy knows how to present a testosterone-charged male protagonist with swagger (Ulakka Chakka Chakka being the exception!)-he does the same for Unni Mukundan, ridding him of any lore or connection to Mikhael except for the name, family name, and the character played by Siddique. That does him a lot of good cinematically because the Marco Jr I saw in Mikhael was unbearable. Here, he's just a pure killing machine in a suit, with magnetic screen presence and swagger.

The pre-release interviews said this would set the benchmark for violence in Malayalam films-I'd say they've done it for Indian cinema as a whole. One particular home-invasion scene in the latter half is insanely brutal, and I actually want to see the Director's Cut version of it. Also, 8 minutes of footage have been cut by the Censors, so I'm curious what that contains (what did they do to ma man Riyaz Khan?). The action blocks have been executed with rigour and passion; kudos to Unni Mukundan for doing an amazing job in that department. I especially loved two set pieces-the pre-interval and post-interval ones; solid work by stunt director Kalai Kingson. The colour grading (Srik Varier) and costumes (Dhanya Balakrishnan) are fantastic too. DOP Chandru Selvaraj lends the frames an internationally appealing touch.

As expected, it's the writing (especially the dialogues) that proves to be the film's weak link. Siddique and Jagadeesh rise above the wafer-thin screenplay to offer some meat to their respective roles. Abhimanyu Shammi Thilakan and Kabir Duhan Singh shine as vicious, menacing antagonists. Ravi Basrur's score gives the protagonist some high moments, but the complete absence of music in the staircase sequence was a great decision. It helps the punches and slits land with more power. Even when the rest of the film lacks a credible flow, Shameer Muhammed stitches the action well (not at all a fan of the CG blood splashes though). No lead-up to a sequel was necessary but they do it anyway in a weird post-credits scene that cuts abruptly.

Obvious inspirations: Oldboy, I Saw The Devil, John Wick, Saw, Animal, Big B, KGF, Leo, and many more.