Turbo Review: Mammootty Takes A Break From Class For ‘Turbo-Charged’ Mass Act

Mass potboilers wouldn’t need reviews, that’s the perception of many including this writer. Because such movies are merely made with the only purpose of making fans of the hero and the fans of the genre happy. Turbo ticks only one box when it comes to entertainment – it’s Mammootty in a Vysakh movie. Yes, the same director who managed to expand the Joshiy and Shaji Kailas school of mass movie culture in last decade in Malayalam movie industry.

In Turbo, there are not many rooms for defogging- things are crystal clear and the detailing of the move is mere embellishment. As he did in the beginning credits of Pulimurugan when he told the audience that what he is going to present in the movie, in Turbo as well, he makes sure that the forward journey is full of noise, death, blood and ultimately the fall of the bad guys.

Mammootty’s Turbo Jose is both Liam Neeson (Taken) and Jean Reno (Leon) when he travels from Kerala’s Idukki to Chennai and ends up in a complex web of crime, murders and fraud. He delivers. But with not much improvisation from what he has done previously in Christopher, Shylock, Master Piece, Kasaba, Bhaskar The Rascal, Nasrani and Valyettan. He is in his normal terrain.

But, the energy is different in Turbo. Discussing Mammootty’s age is a cliche. Though it may not be on his side but the actor pulls off extraordinary energy in action sequences. But, this Mammootty is different from the classy actor we saw in last couple of movies like Kaathal The Core and Bramayugam.

In “Turbo”, the turbocharger is none other than Mammooty and his extravagance, used for the internal combustion of the movie to “enhance performance and efficiency”. Throughout the movie, he (along with vehicles he drives, especially at the climax) burns more ‘fuel’, thus producing more power into the character. If the name is relevant, Turbo Jose symbolises speed, power, and efficiency in various contexts.

Yet, there are other important characters as well: Anjana Jayaprakash’s Indulekha has good screen time and performs well with the chances she is given. Bindu Panikkar as Mammootty’s mother makes sure that little bit of fun sustain in the movie which is otherwise mostly about action.

Then, there is Raj B. Shetty as Vetrivel Shanmugha Sundaram, the antagonist. He is really good as a villain.

The thing with mass action flicks are that if it’s not neatly packed, there is always a chance it might spill out of the container and will corrupt everything around it. The director and the lead actor were careful about this reality and they made it sure that the whole packaging is intact – and you get a mass spectacle.

Two people managed to do this business very well: the writer and the director.

Midhun Manuel Thomas, as Vysakh tries to move away from the typical Udaykrishna potboiler scripts to embrace the aroma of new-generation scripting, shifts gears here from his familiar creative realms of crime and light comedy and finds rhythm with exceptional balance in a mass thriller-drama. With Mammootty on board, he effortlessly maneuvers the engine and drives smoothly to the destination with minimal turbulence. If the Aadu series was about a new-generation comedic journey, and Anjaam Pathira and Abraham Ozler were about crime, medicine, and punishment, this road is less traveled for him. However, his magic pen has made the voyage safe, avoiding the killer waves of predictability and the icebergs of unwanted heroism that have endangered many mass movie scripts.

In Pokkiri Raja and Madhura Raja, Vysakh’s problem was the absence of a story. Though the movies performed well at the box office, the creative essence was missing. Mammootty, in a way, seemed to refuse to shed the blockbuster roles of Rajamanikyam and Chattambinadu to portray a non-Malayali or someone who stayed outside Kerala and returns to seek revenge – a prodigal son returns series avatar, aimed just at pleasing the fans.

Sheer ridiculousness was Vusakh’s main act earlier, but Turbo in a way removes that derision, and replaces it with composed and carefully packaged presentation.

Timeline verdict: Watch if you are waiting for a mass entertainment movie. Otherwise, watch Turbo with enough precaution.

(Turbo released in May 23, 2024 and now running in theatres)

Timeline rating: 2/5