Mammootty playing his age as a veteran cop in a stylized avatar is a wonderful sight, as the man has a reputation for displaying great swagger on screen. The comeback of Kamal Haasan through a movie like Vikram might have given B Unnikrishnan and Uday Krishna the idea of exploring such a space of star worshipping. But like their last venture Aarattu, both aren’t really bothered about delivering something fresh to the audience. Since the hero is playing a cop who provides instant justice to the victims of rape and physical assault, we might not express our disappointment by booing.
Christopher is a senior IPS officer in the Kerala Police who has a reputation for shooting the accused people in rape cases before trials. He has a lot of fan-following on social media, as the system here has always delayed justice for the victims. The movie primarily focuses on one such incident, which leads to a departmental inquiry about Christopher. What they find out in that investigation and what happens with Christopher during that investigation is what we see in this B Unnikrishnan film.
The off late filmography of writer Uday Krishna has not been good, and the primary reason is the repetition of similar stories. This lack of ability to find interesting or new ideas is the problem with Christopher as well. It is almost like they want to show Mammootty the star in slow-motion walks and minimalistic dialogues. And they have written a cliched vigilante justice story that never gives you the mass masala high or a thought-provoking sigh. They are just showing one back story after another in an attempt please those who just want to see the megastar in a lengthy mashup video. The pattern is highly predictable, and it is very disheartening to see filmmakers exploiting a pertinent theme rather than addressing it more sensitively.
Mammootty might have worked for this movie with the attitude of an employee on notice period, as he pretty much has nothing to do. All he has to do is carry the style factor in the walk and in the way he holds the gun. Amala Paul and Aishwarya Lekshmi have roles with relatively lengthier screen time. Sneha and Dileesh Pothan play vital roles with less screen time. Even as a police officer Shine Tom Chacko is cast as a drug addict. Vinay Rai has the looks and aura of a ruthless antagonist with zero remorse. But the lack of depth in the creation of that character makes his performance look too theatrical.
Regarding craft, B Unnikrishnan is still clueless about visual packaging. If you look at the way he uses the stylizing, it is the Aarattu way of overtly using slow-motion shots and background scores. The detailing of the events that happened in Christopher’s life does not help the movie in understanding the character any better as the only emphasis is making it look stylish with bolt camera level FPS. I genuinely feel Uday Krishna needs to see some of the mass masala films that worked in the industry. Murali Gopy’s Lucifer, which was also shot in an Anamorphic format and had a very linear structure, was much more absorbing than this instant justice drama. The action sequences that looked great in the teasers looked tedious and unexciting in the film, mainly due to how they were edited.
Christopher from B Unnikrishnan and Uday Krishna is a flat vigilante thriller that uses the good intent of its title character as an excuse to deliver the same old justice story. Compared to the sleaziness of movies like Aarattu and Monster, Christopher feels less of a pain and more like a dull movie.
Christopher from B Unnikrishnan and Uday Krishna is a flat vigilante thriller that uses the good intent of its title character as an excuse to deliver the same old justice story.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
