Identity

Identity, directed by Akhil Paul and Anas Khan, is a crime investigation drama cum action thriller with a very solid first half, followed by an overstuffed yet engaging second half. The film excels in establishing a highly engaging case, although it occasionally resorts to spoon-feeding scientific jargon. In the second half, the tone shifts from investigation to action, introducing new characters and plot points, which might feel slightly distracting. However, the action set pieces, especially the amazing car chase and the well-executed aviation thrill sequence, keep you hooked. While the twists and turns are intriguing, they could have been more impactful, and the emotional elements feel somewhat underwhelming. The climax includes certain commercial elements that seem out of place.

Tovino delivers another very good performance, with his body language adding uniqueness to his character. Trisha performs well, while Vinay Rai starts off good but later devolves into a clichéd character. Aju Varghese and Shammi Thilakan provide good support, and the rest of the cast does a decent job. Technically, the film is impressive. The camerawork and Bejoy's music complement the narrative effectively. The editing, with its use of jump cuts, might feel distracting at times The screenplay is smart and ensures every question is answered with minute details, while also addressing open points later. However, it feels very overstuffed at times. Overall, Identity is a good thriller that could have been even better if it had avoided being overly packed.

OVERALL - 7/10.

Right from its announcement, I was intrigued to watch this on the big screen, yet I missed it due to fewer shows in Mumbai. Now, I'm glad I didn't spend money on it.

A suspense thriller where police officers hunt down a twisted criminal with the help of a lone eyewitness and a sketch artist. With many twists in the tale, there's much more to the crime than meets the eye. But will they nab the real culprit?

Suspense dramas make for a riveting watch, but there's a thin line between maintaining suspense and creating confusion. This film blurs that line, leaving you scratching your head in confusion and disconnecting you from the main plot. With excessive name-dropping and disjointed incidents, it becomes a mess. It takes almost half the movie to make sense of it all. The screenplay is haphazardly written, making you restless and even bored at times.

Tovino Thomas brings his A-game, only to be let down by weak writing. Vinay Rai gets a meatier role and does a good job. Trisha Krishnan's appearance in a Malayalam film created hype, but this is one of the worst choices she could have made-her role is poorly written, with no screen time or substance to perform. In their limited scope, Archana Kavi, Aju Varghese, Shammi Thilakan, and others are decent.

The BGM works in the movie's favor, creating a sense of eagerness. However, the suspense isn't something that will leave you shocked-it's predictable, and you can guess some twists from a distance. Logic also takes a backseat at many junctures. Tovino's backstory makes no sense, and many developments in the movie seem to exist just for the sake of it. Midway, everything seems resolved, yet the movie starts again with a new plot, testing your patience.

At 150 minutes, this below-average film could have been improved significantly by trimming the last 30 minutes for a better impact. With such a good cast and a promising premise, this is a missed opportunity. Watch it for the leads or your love for the genre-otherwise, there's not much else.

#PranuReviews #Identity #IdentityReview.

I watched this movie after being impressed by the trailer but the movie didn't meet the expectations . I hoped for an edge of that seat thriller but the movie was lagging for most parts . Only thing which I liked in the movie was Tovinos acting . He did one of his best performances and that might have saved this movie from being a flop . The Movie was cinematographed kind of Hollywood level but should have been a bit more bright . Bgm and other things were good. Expected more dialogues from Trisha but the script demanded less dialogues. To Summarise, only the last half an hour of the movie was worth the ticket and rest of the movie lagged for most parts.

In many ways, Identity is technically superior to Forensic and boasts some interesting characters (like that of Tovino's and Trisha's). But the "hack" writing that somewhat derailed Akhil Paul & Anas Khan's previous venture is a major drawback here too. This is a film with several twists and turns, though none of them pack a serious punch. It's almost as if the writers knew this beforehand, so they've tried their best to salvage it in the making. As such, we're treated to some slick action blocks, both on land and in the air. Most of the exposition has a Wikipedia-reading feel to it, packed with a little too much info. Sure, it helps provide additional context, but do we really need SO MANY characters and subplots to get to the rather obvious conclusion?

The technical aspects are commendable - Yannick Ben and Phoenix Prabhu effectively crack the stunts, DoP Akhil George captures the leads and proceedings stunningly, and Jakes Bejoy delivers a killer score (though a bit reminiscent of Forensic). Visual effects are also largely decent (with the exception Aju Varghese's moustache). The screenplay could've gone in interesting directions, especially with respect to Trisha's character. But when the focus shifts to Tovino's Haran Shankar (sketch-artist-turned-whatever), the film starts faltering big time. I think the writer-director duo needs to ensure that their next screenplay is fat-free, unnecessary-characters-free, and most importantly, uses non-linearity only if it amps up the (actual) thrill quotient.

To start with, the movie is not a cheaply crafted entertainment: the team has done efforts to make it something that seems like a suspense thriller: unfortunately, the efforts have not succeeded. Wholistically speaking, it is a slow paced thriller that does not get into the audience to be connected with the characters, or to feel for them. Not even a single character leaves a sentimental impression on the audience while the cinema is over. There is little emotional content that can be felt and related.

The thriller part does not excite audience who have witnessed better movies. There is a whole load of stuff as thrilling packed, but without any effect.

The theme is somewhat new, however, not novel. There are many occasions where improbable surpasses reality, which fails to connect to the audience. There are so many questions unanswered for the audience, such as the identity of the protagonist himself. In a nutshell, it is cheap parody of a suspense thriller.