Face to Face Review

After a string of flops down the lane, the latest Mamootty starer `Face to Face' definitely exhibited promise till the mid way. Though a V M Vinu flick, the movie was devoid of any tear jerking sentiments till then,that worked out for the director years back. But as the movie was stepping on to the right tracks, came in the family story, that has catastrophically affected the chances of the movie in the B O. Now with a clear doubt of the intentions of making it a thriller or for the families, the movie achieves success in neither of the genres.

`Face to Face' has an impressively styled Mammootty, in the character Balachandran,  a hot tempered, upright police officer, who is enjoying his life, refusing to join duty after his suspension. He is currently amidst real estate and share market business which has fetched him a big fortune and aids him to lead a life carefree. But his heavy drinking habits has already spoiled his family life, making him live alone amidst riches.

But when Thomas Punchakkadan (Feroze Khan), the influential son of an ex minister is crucified to death in an open beach, all doubts falls on Balachandran as the murdered youth was responsible for his last suspension. As S P Ramdas (Siddique) and CI Latheef (Kalabhavan Mani) are on to crack the case of the murder Balachandran tries to help them but is finally arrested as he commits his involvement. The rest of the movie is all about the mystery behind the murder.

The problem with the movie is that even while trying for a thriller, the makers has tried to integrate the familial elements, which makes it look devoid of logic and coherence. Mammooty's character sounds good in appearance and character, but without interesting punch lines or action sequences, the movie fails to give him the necessary heroic elements. Manoj's scripts appear fine till interval, but the climax pieces really stand away from creating any sort of positive emotions for the movie. Another weak link is that of the four youngsters, whose acting is average but their characters seems to be forcefully integrated into the main plot. Even if the final scene had been reworked, it would have done much difference to the fortunes of the movie.

All the three songs in the movie by Alphonse are unwanted, though songs like `Changathikoottam' are worth a hear. V M Vinu has interestingly pictured all the songs and Ajayan Vincent cinematography is one of those rare high points of the movie. The female stars,

Roma and Ragini are in minuscule roles, but nothing much to do in the narratives. Face 2 Face with an on the face suspense and with devoid of any big thrills , fails due to it packaging and the climax scenes. The loyal fans of the star can have a watch, though.

Rating 6/10