118 Movie Review
118 grabbed the attention of film buffs with its engaging and intriguing promos. The film is a mystery thriller based on a few science fiction elements. Cinematographer turned director Guhan makes an engaging thriller with racy screenplay.
What is it about?
Investigative journalist Gautham (Kalyan Ram) is haunted by a dream in which an unknown lady (Nivetha) is killed. Gautham gets curious after he gets the same dream when he stays in the same room. Now he is hell bent to find what is the mystery behind it. In the process he unveils a major medical conspiracy.
Performances:
Kalyan Ram who is known for doing commercial potboilers has done away with regular masala elements and went with the flow of the character. His performance is decent. Nivetha gets very less screen time, but she did well within her space. Shalini Pandey doesn’t get much to do except for hanging around Kalyan Ram. Rest of the actors are pretty standard.
Technicalities:
Being a cinematographer, KV Guhan had a clear vision of what to do. He didn’t waste time on unnecessary elements and made sure to keep the narrative engaging. The direction in the first half is very impressive. Despite a few hiccups in the second half, it is a decent attempt on a whole from the ace cinematographer.
Sekhar Chandra’s captivating background score keeps the interest alive. Guhan does a good job behind the camera. Dialogues are strictly okay. Production values by Mahesh Koneru are commendable. Technically, 118 is decent in all aspects.
Thumbs Up:
Engaging first half
Mystery element
Screenplay
Thumbs Down:
Regular flashback
Predictable ending
Analysis:
118 has a different premise in spite of having common tropes of a mystery thriller. The director doesn’t much time on anything that is unnecessary to the plot. It quickly gets to the point and keeps the interest alive for most of the time. First half of 118 is very impressive with racy screenplay and engaging action episodes. The director does well in connecting the dots and keeping the suspense element intact until the penultimate scenes.
Second half gets a bit tiresome with so many characters and the protagonist running around without getting to the core of the problem. Flashback episode is based on a medical conspiracy like most of the mystery thrillers. 118 loses its sheen in these portions as we are very familiar to such scenarios. Lucid dreaming concept appears too cliched now. However, despite the hiccups and a few shortcomings, 118 ends well.
Nivetha does fine job in keeping the emotional core intact. There aren’t unnecessary songs or romance breaks to break the flow of the screenplay. Director has stuck with the theme all the while and offered a fairly engaging thriller on a whole. 118 is not a ground breaking or an entirely different experience for its viewers but has enough to keep them engaged through its runtime.
118 will definitely appeal to the viewers that love to watch thrillers. It has decent chances to do well in A centers and multiplexes. With so many mediocre films being offered lately, 118 is a film worth spending your time and money.
Verdict: Engaging Thriller!
