Mohanlal's character spends a total of at least 20 minutes walking and talking with reticence in this political crime drama that depends so much on both writer Murali Gopy's and the audience's fantasy that it stops being clever right at the initial frames, which is problematic because that's what it pretends to be. Lucifer is a form of ambitious and hedonistic filmmaking that registers a peak in spicy and high-octane products in Malayalam cinema that I cannot highly recommend it because of its gassy narrative and artificial setup.
Lucifer narrates a legendary political family's quest for a stranglehold in its party's internal polity, triggered by the untimely death of the party's benevolent leader. As is common in most political dramas in film, the leader's diverse set of offspring scramble to take charge, which sets off sirens across the state where it rains today and Deepawali is celebrated tomorrow. While Mohanlal plays the prodigal son with a sketchy past and an even more suspicious lineage claim, factors that the party as a whole are wary off, Manju Warrier, Vivek Oberoi, and Tovino Thomas make up for the rest of the orphaned family. The interactions between these bratty kids (despite some of them eligible to experience mid-life crisis or death even) as well as the superior supporting characters' play are what supplies enjoyable sequences throughout the film. Sequences that are guaranteed to help you orgasm, one after other, whether it is because of a man's show against a bunch of armed goons or sassy dialogues thrown around like you have been waiting for it. There is so much that Lucifer packs in its 3-hour-long self-indulgent almost-sexual fantasy that it can become difficult to detect the glaring issues let alone digest them.
Murali Gopy's story and its treatment is a combination of cliche and pop culture references. Where dialogues and slow-mo walking sequences present cooked chicken to a house packed of hungry wolves, it goes on to celebrate itself by giving what the audience wants. The protagonist is an influential politician under the disguise of a benevolent leader, a term that you may have read a few seconds ago in this same review. It has a serious lack of plot density which is brought about by its contrived nature where everything - EVERYTHING - happens to the wishes of the protagonist which spoils the film for most, and perhaps even moderate fans of the lead actor. It is clear from the first frame where the plot is going and that in itself is a bad mark on Lucifer which boasts of a battalion of actors playing usual characters of a film on political vendetta.
The problem with this type of screenwriting is that it does not fight the predictable nature of such stories and does not pique the interest of a discerning viewer. It converts that viewer - especially if he's a fan - into believing that this is the peak of clever films, and who refuses to accept that it is, in fact, hollow. Lucifer time and again reminds that there is nothing more to it than actual punches delivered effortlessly, punchy dialogues, and an unsurprising thread of events. Of course, I'll give it to Prithviraj for a decent work as a first-time director, managing his battalion of veteran actors with sagacity, not letting any one of them, except Mohanlal, to go beyond their boundaries. This is also why the film flows smoothly, albeit with a few abrupt scenes also involving an unwanted, preposterous addition towards the end: an item dance whose main viewer is the audience who has now a bucket of popcorn to handle. This last element confirms my doubts about the makers' intention. That it is to cash in on the singular popularity of Mohanlal and his superior ability to handle a meaty character with plenty of scales like this.
Mohanlal enters the scenes where he's certain to be the most charming person like a boss and exits with same panache, only better. I'm still wondering how he manages to pull it off, not making a single mistake either in delivery or acting even while he's surrounded by thespians who are equally daunting. Oberoi comes second in Lucifer in the cast due to his ability to flex the muscles of his wooden face, playing a character that reignites my trust in him to make a comeback to mainstream Indian cinema. The supporting performances of Sai Kumar, Tovino Thomas, Baiju, and Indrajith Sukumaran are equally satisfying, but are still overshadowed by the idea of Mohanlal's character even when he's not in a particular scene. Because Warrier is weepy and distraught throughout the film, there's nothing much for her to do in Lucifer; same goes to a lot of the supporting actors. For a moment, I even thought this was another likable stunt a la Joshiy's Twenty:20 (2008). Figure not because at least that one had humor in it.
English speaking is surprisingly very good in Lucifer, a quality that I am so happy with that I would even nominate the film as a must-watch for any Malayalam director who wants to sample the language in their films. We all know that English dialogues are cringeworthy in almost all Malayalam films, and this is where Lucifer breathes fresh air. However, the attention to such details is still not up to the mark, be it about technology involving the Interpol or something as ubiquitous as social media. Brownie points also for doing a great job in diction as well as dialogue writing.
There is a lot of back and forth dilly-dallying in Lucifer, which makes the film longer by at least 30 minutes. For a fan, these 30 minutes will be critical because that is when Mohanlal does what he does best: look outside through a window staring at the sunlight without wearing sunglasses, turn his neck to the right so that he can take a look at the person behind him with one eye, and then utter a washed-up dialogue that made him popular twenty years ago. People around me erupted in a jubilant mode of maddeningly loud cheering and I know the makers accepted it as an affirmation for maybe a second part. As a reviewer who wants to promote cinema that it true to the art form and not to the external factors like that of a film star's crowd pull and fanbase, I would not recommend Lucifer as a must-watch. But if you are a diehard fan I have nothing to say to you. TN.
Lucifer narrates a legendary political family's quest for a stranglehold in its party's internal polity, triggered by the untimely death of the party's benevolent leader. As is common in most political dramas in film, the leader's diverse set of offspring scramble to take charge, which sets off sirens across the state where it rains today and Deepawali is celebrated tomorrow. While Mohanlal plays the prodigal son with a sketchy past and an even more suspicious lineage claim, factors that the party as a whole are wary off, Manju Warrier, Vivek Oberoi, and Tovino Thomas make up for the rest of the orphaned family. The interactions between these bratty kids (despite some of them eligible to experience mid-life crisis or death even) as well as the superior supporting characters' play are what supplies enjoyable sequences throughout the film. Sequences that are guaranteed to help you orgasm, one after other, whether it is because of a man's show against a bunch of armed goons or sassy dialogues thrown around like you have been waiting for it. There is so much that Lucifer packs in its 3-hour-long self-indulgent almost-sexual fantasy that it can become difficult to detect the glaring issues let alone digest them.
Murali Gopy's story and its treatment is a combination of cliche and pop culture references. Where dialogues and slow-mo walking sequences present cooked chicken to a house packed of hungry wolves, it goes on to celebrate itself by giving what the audience wants. The protagonist is an influential politician under the disguise of a benevolent leader, a term that you may have read a few seconds ago in this same review. It has a serious lack of plot density which is brought about by its contrived nature where everything - EVERYTHING - happens to the wishes of the protagonist which spoils the film for most, and perhaps even moderate fans of the lead actor. It is clear from the first frame where the plot is going and that in itself is a bad mark on Lucifer which boasts of a battalion of actors playing usual characters of a film on political vendetta.
The problem with this type of screenwriting is that it does not fight the predictable nature of such stories and does not pique the interest of a discerning viewer. It converts that viewer - especially if he's a fan - into believing that this is the peak of clever films, and who refuses to accept that it is, in fact, hollow. Lucifer time and again reminds that there is nothing more to it than actual punches delivered effortlessly, punchy dialogues, and an unsurprising thread of events. Of course, I'll give it to Prithviraj for a decent work as a first-time director, managing his battalion of veteran actors with sagacity, not letting any one of them, except Mohanlal, to go beyond their boundaries. This is also why the film flows smoothly, albeit with a few abrupt scenes also involving an unwanted, preposterous addition towards the end: an item dance whose main viewer is the audience who has now a bucket of popcorn to handle. This last element confirms my doubts about the makers' intention. That it is to cash in on the singular popularity of Mohanlal and his superior ability to handle a meaty character with plenty of scales like this.
Mohanlal enters the scenes where he's certain to be the most charming person like a boss and exits with same panache, only better. I'm still wondering how he manages to pull it off, not making a single mistake either in delivery or acting even while he's surrounded by thespians who are equally daunting. Oberoi comes second in Lucifer in the cast due to his ability to flex the muscles of his wooden face, playing a character that reignites my trust in him to make a comeback to mainstream Indian cinema. The supporting performances of Sai Kumar, Tovino Thomas, Baiju, and Indrajith Sukumaran are equally satisfying, but are still overshadowed by the idea of Mohanlal's character even when he's not in a particular scene. Because Warrier is weepy and distraught throughout the film, there's nothing much for her to do in Lucifer; same goes to a lot of the supporting actors. For a moment, I even thought this was another likable stunt a la Joshiy's Twenty:20 (2008). Figure not because at least that one had humor in it.
English speaking is surprisingly very good in Lucifer, a quality that I am so happy with that I would even nominate the film as a must-watch for any Malayalam director who wants to sample the language in their films. We all know that English dialogues are cringeworthy in almost all Malayalam films, and this is where Lucifer breathes fresh air. However, the attention to such details is still not up to the mark, be it about technology involving the Interpol or something as ubiquitous as social media. Brownie points also for doing a great job in diction as well as dialogue writing.
There is a lot of back and forth dilly-dallying in Lucifer, which makes the film longer by at least 30 minutes. For a fan, these 30 minutes will be critical because that is when Mohanlal does what he does best: look outside through a window staring at the sunlight without wearing sunglasses, turn his neck to the right so that he can take a look at the person behind him with one eye, and then utter a washed-up dialogue that made him popular twenty years ago. People around me erupted in a jubilant mode of maddeningly loud cheering and I know the makers accepted it as an affirmation for maybe a second part. As a reviewer who wants to promote cinema that it true to the art form and not to the external factors like that of a film star's crowd pull and fanbase, I would not recommend Lucifer as a must-watch. But if you are a diehard fan I have nothing to say to you. TN.