12th Man

A decent investigative thriller from the Jeethu Joseph stable replete with twists and turns. Mohanlal and the rest of the cast did full justice to their roles. I thought Anusree was especially good in her role. It does get a bit confusing here and there with the multitude of twists and careful concentration is needed to join all the pieces together. It was not easy to digest like Drishyam which is the only negative I have to say about the movie. Definitely recommended.

I felt this as a decent thriller. Kept me engaged till the end. Story is not perfect, there is slight lag in the beginning and some confusion towards the end, but still keeps us in edge of the seat.

I watched the movie without watching any reviews, so it was a good experience. If you are planning to watch it, I would recommend watching it without watching any YouTube reviews as I seen some spoilers in some reviews.

Its a classic whodunnit movie with right amount of twist and turns. Movie is well made and most of the cast have done good with their performances though some standout as too comical to me. If you like a classic mystery whodunnit gener movies you will not be disappointed by this. Some of the twists are predictable but overall the movie is entertaining. It has some inspiration from Perfect Strangers movie .

While I admire Jeethu Joseph's presentation and choice of transitions used (except on a few occasions where they look dreadful), 12th Man takes too long to get to its boring conclusion. There's no knockout punch in this whodunnit - just the same old tropes (like debt, adultery, and cover-ups) rehashed. Since almost 75% of the film plays out in a hall, many of the twists are in the form of expository dialogue (especially over phone calls). I wish all the detailing that has gone into the script to modernize an "Agatha Christie novel"-like setting translated into more edge-of-the-seat moments. 12th Man's script is too mediocre and derivative (referring to 2016's Perfect Strangers) to leave a lasting impact. Plus, there's no Antony Perumbavoor cameo to make memes out of!

P. S - Someone please let A10's scriptwriters know that double entendre doesn't qualify for comedy anymore.

12th Man (2022) : Brief Review -

Jeethu Joseph forms a clean mystery thriller out of dirty characters. My instant memory of any mystery thriller having a roundtable investigation takes me back to William Powell's "The Thin Man" (1934). The next best thing I remember is Sidney Lumet's iconic "12 Angry Men" (1957). No matter how many films I have seen that came later, these two always stand on top, and I don't really think that any film will come up to this level. Jeethu Joseph's 12th Man has a similar theme but is set in an entirely different atmosphere and tone. The murder mystery starts with an interesting idea of exposing secrets, which seems far better than how other murder mysteries begin. The whole concept starts off on a clean note, or better yet, I say, with clean characters, but that's just an illusion. As we know, everyone has some secrets that they cannot share with their friends, partners, or family members, but this film makes it look so serious. Everyone among those 10 culprits and even the 11th dead person has something to hide, and it makes every character look very dirty. You lose connect and sympathy towards them, and that's the biggest issue with the film. Be it any character, a good friend, a loyal partner-male or female-or a friend of your partner, every single soul is impure. The plot reveals many filthy secrets, but the reactions on screen are too mild, while off screen, you as an audience start doubting the reliability of all the characters. However, the narrative has many twists and keeps you guessing throughout the two hours (out of 160 minutes) once the investigation begins. Mohanlal as the cop is good, and the other actors have done a decent job despite the busy and alternative framework. Joseph's thriller may not please your heart, but it definitely feeds your brain enough. Overall, a nice attempt despite the bad surroundings. Lotus in the mud, I guess.

RATING - 6.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.