Snakes and Ladders

Review: Snakes & Ladders (Tamil Web Series)

Snakes & Ladders is a moderately engaging cops-and-criminals thriller set in a fictional hill town, filled with family drama and teenage misadventures. While it effectively explores themes of friendship, family, and the consequences of impulsive actions, the series lacks consistent energy and intrigue. The performances of the boys and subplots about their relationships with their fathers are noteworthy, but the overall pace feels sluggish. The scenic backdrop of Kodaikanal adds a unique touch, though the show needed more excitement to fully captivate.

⭐ Rating: 4/5.

I felt it's a good story to be read or to be told, but not so good to bring it on screen with so much effort. It is very far from real-world situations. The story is centered around children who are exceptionally brave, which cannot be imagined in real life at all. No twelve-year-old will have the courage to hold a gun! And firing, attempting murders, or stabbing someone is impossible even to be heard of in stories. But I love such thrillers, and definitely one can enjoy the series. There are nine episodes, narrating the story beautifully without creating any confusion. There are no vulgar scenes or extreme rubbish language. Appreciable direction and cinematography, and all the actors have done a great job, especially the young actors, who are too good.

Its interesting plot. Kid accidentally cause thief death & then story start unfolding.

Dont want to give entire plot, do want people to see this. I can watch this with my 14 years old kid & there are very few series available on ott for such audience.

There are more than few flaws. Till 7th episode, nobody seems to care when school kids not in house till midnight or even after that. Someone visit police station, access room in which police keeping criminal, talk to criminal & no police personnel notice it. A 5/6 year kid using / throwing weapon like thing & no-one really care.

Its really good plot, wish more efforts could put on screenplay.

The storyline is weak, filled with numerous plot holes. The main questions raised are: How do the teenagers regularly venture out at night without their guardians noticing? How does a man enter and move freely within a police station? How are the teenagers able to dig up and move the dead body multiple times? And why does one father join the teenagers? And so on. The entire thriller series is slow-paced, but the ending feels abrupt. The illustrations in the title card are subpar and fail to make an impact. Even in the illustrations, the children's faces are also misleading. However, the standout feature of the series is the impressive performances by the teenage cast. The grandfather and grandmother acted convincingly, while the rest of the adult cast delivered average performances. The cinematography is excellent, and the sound design is spot-on, contributing to the overall atmosphere.

"Snakes and Ladders" is a well written but unevenly executed 9 episode Tamil series.

The story opens with an interesting premise but the execution in the initial episodes feels somewhat amateurish. It begins to pick up it's pace around the 6th or 7th episode, culminating in a strong finish, particularly in the 8th and 9th episodes.

In terms of performances, the 5 young protagonists deliver decent portrayals while supporting characters played by Nandha, Naveen Chandra, Manoj Bharathiraja and Muthukumar also contribute effectively.

Technically, the cinematography, editing and BGM are commendable. The writing provides each character with a distinct or proper arc, complete with clear beginnings and endings. For example, a mischievous character played by a very small kid causes physical harm to one of the antagonists towards the pre climax, and this plot point is well crafted, starting with an introductory scene that establishes the respective kid character's affinity for hands-on tools like a hammer or an axe.

However, the direction in the early episodes could have been stronger, they come across as somewhat artificial or plastic, suggesting that the director was still finding his footing. Thankfully, the series improves significantly, with the last two episodes standing out as the best.

As a conclusion, I would personally rate this series as a decent watch.