RDX: Robert Dony Xavier

I watched RDX just today. It is one of the best Action film I have seen in recent years. The film's action is made well with great camera work and also a great choreography. The slow motion in those action scenes were wonderful and apt to make me feel the impact of the scene. The editing and direction deserves another kudos as the scenes were arranged in a flow with impactful scenes were added beautifully added before the action sequences.

Only downside I felt about the film was that the story could have been made better especially the emotional scenes could have been made more meatier.

Overall the best Action film I have seen this year.

RDX offers good action sequences. But the script fails to impress. Malayalam film industry is going through a hard phase. We have been provided with too many poor movies which lead us to a point where we get so excited or impressed over slightly above average movies.

Most of the scenes felt illogical because of the situations and the things they do. The main character's friends are not there. Their uncle who's a policeman is not there. It's always just the 3 leads fighting their own battles. The climax made no sense at all. I'm not gonna spoil anything.

The song was unnecessary. Pepe was so good and so was Shane. Neeraj did great with action scenes but lacks the mass aura.

It works better if you watch with an electrifying crowd.

Robert, Dony and Xavier are basically bros who seek an opportunity to create mayhem. They are martial artists too, trained by Xavier's father while Robert and Dony's father Philip doesn't approve their shenanigans. After an hiatus involving non-violence, their casual brawl from the past puts the family at risk and RDX have to take matters into their hands to safeguard the family. But it's not an ordinary brawl anymore and RDX have to realize, it will take a lot of nunchucks, punches and kicks to take down this opponent.

It's a threadbare storyline and there isn't much innovative story wise. It's a revenge story and all that matters are the six action set pieces choreographed by Anbariv and good background score to elevate them. The first half was pretty mediocre with the three action scenes not really leaving any impact and the actors too try to make merry from what's offered to them. The story moves in a decent pace and the sole advantage is that the first half doesn't drag.

The second half is where the film shines with three terrific action scenes which raises the bar as well as tension. It's all non-stop action here and it stays entertaining till the end. The trio gets a lot of slow motion shots to show their heroic side, with Neeraj Madhav using the nunchucks in the best way possible while Antony Varghese packing solid punches. It is Shane Nigam who is given ample scope to spread his charms while showcasing his action skills. The problem is they aren't the typical martial artists and thankfully the well conceived action scenes, elevate them too.

I'm so proud of Nahas Hidayath for overcoming all the obstacles he faced as a filmmaker (including shelving his first film with Antony Varghese) and surprising us this Onam with a banger like RDX! Here's a pure action entertainer that we can add to the likes of Ajagajantharam and Thallumaala, with higher emotional stakes than both those films. The three leads - Robert (Shane Nigam), Dony (Antony Varghese), Xavier (Neeraj Madhav) - share great brotherly chemistry and that helps elevate even some of the ordinarily written scenes.

Nahas attributes distinct specialties to the fighting styles of each protagonist - something that, I felt, was picked up from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - heck, we even have a character like Master Splinter (Babu Antony). Robert's kicks are crazy, Dony's punches are thunderous, and Xavier's good with nunchaku. Plus, when we have stunt masters Anbarivu on board, the action blocks are carefully designed, choreographed, and stylized. The introductory fight (during the flashback) is the only one that felt a bit out of place, and it's also because, at that point, I was only getting used to seeing Shane Nigam and Neeraj Madhav execute action the way they do in the rest of the film (whereas Antony Varghese had already proven his point!). Out of all the set pieces, my favourites include one that takes place on a boat, one inside a colony full of thugs, and the climactic showdown outside the hospital. The good thing is that the story necessitates the action, not the other way round.

The cinematography work also gets better with each set piece. Sam CS produces a riveting score that not only underlines the action, but also the breather scenes in between. The antagonist (Vishnu Agasthya) is splendidly portrayed and his viciousness is felt from the very first scene. The guy emanates a kind of naturally devilish charm that's been lacking in Malayalam actioner villains lately. Mahima Nambiar, who plays Robert's love interest, also does well. She even gets a whistle-worthy moment in the final act. Speaking of whistle-worthy moments, Babu Antony gets the best one in the entire film (a treat for us '90s kids).

Big thanks to Sophia Paul for bankrolling this venture, trusting Nahas and his team's conviction, and offering a great addition to the list of kickass Malayalam actioners!

Action choreography, direction and background music made the movie.

If you insist on a story, you might want to carry a balarama with you.

Nothing Nolan about this movie - simple stuff, stylish action weaved into emotions. With a no-star cast, the director has been able to pull off a pretty good movie.

Background music had a freshness to it and complimented the action very well. Facial expression closeups backed by Sam CS' BGM.

Action choreography is very well done, lot of meticulous work has gone into stylizing each and every shot. Acting performances have been great - good screen presence from Pepe, Shane and Neeraj. Pepe stood out a little more.

It is a light stylized action movie.