'L2: Empuraan' review: Mohanlal, Prithviraj deliver an ambitious film that's more of a scale-flaunter than a promise-keeper

Watching Empuraan is like watching a Ram Gopal Varma film, a Thampi Kannanthanam film, a Shaji Kailas film, a Christopher Nolan film, and a Prashanth Neel film all at once. Now, the problem with throwing around these many names in a review is that you run the risk of making people assume that Empuraan feels like the best of all the above filmmakers. That's not what I mean. What I really mean is that this is one of those films that make you think more about the filmmaking influences and scale — basically, how some things were shot — than the content.

There's no doubt that Prithviraj is an exceptional visualist, and Empuraan is yet another example of that. But, here's the problem in Empuraan: The visualist in Prithviraj is more pronounced than the storyteller. There are some impressive stretches — from the disturbing opening flashbacks to neatly composed shots of vehicles, aircraft, guns, sunglasses, and, of course, the slo-mo walks... Empuraan is more ambitious and boasts a bigger scale with more locations, vehicles and weapons than we can count and remember. But it seems to be lacking... something fresh, something innovative.

I wished Empuraan tried something new with a familiar template rather than rehashing some of the high-inducing stuff we already saw in Lucifer. In Lucifer, there was a clean balance between the world-building, action, and drama. Of course, it wasn't exactly The Godfather, but it didn't get carried away in some places. Empuraan, on the other hand, seems interested in giving us more of what we saw before while creating the illusion that it is taking us to some place we have not been before.

Some visual flourishes are repeated, perhaps to pander to those who get high on 'director brilliance'. There are repeated attempts to hammer us with the 'L' symbol through various images, such as a damaged large cross or a fire-stricken tree. Sure, they look good, but the obsession with milking metaphors out of an image doesn't help when the screenplay doesn't supplement them with enough thought-provoking material.

For example, there is a whistle-worthy fight sequence that announces Mohanlal's much-anticipated arrival with lightning and thunder, followed by repeated attempts to position Mohanlal against the flaming bark of a tree. In one moment, twin flames behind him appear like horns, creating the appearance of the 'devil'. There is also a lovely match cut involving the damaged cross and the flaming bark. These are all solid testaments to Prithviraj's exceptional vision, but in terms of storytelling prowess, Empuraan comes up a bit short. The same goes for some... awkward musical choices, like in that collage sequence.

To me, watching Empuraan felt like opening a clickbait article. Now, this article may be well-written and give us some useful information, but we don't get what was promised in the headline. In one of the interviews in the humungous pre-release promotional campaign, Prithviraj teased the possibility of Mohanlal's character Stephen Nedumpally aka Khureshi Ab'raam facing a potentially more formidable enemy — somebody who could make us wonder whether Stephen is really invincible or not. My question is: Where is that film? Empuraan is certainly not it.

Look, I'm not saying this is a dull film. It's not — in fact, it's one of those rare three-hour moviegoing experiences that didn't bore me even for a minute. Murali Gopy's script is packed with enough events, some of which are played out simultaneously in a manner we often see in the Nolan films. (Empuraan even opens with a background score similar to the one in the opening sequence of The Dark Knight.) However, the narrative progressions lack the fluidity of the first film.

Without giving anything away, a certain writing choice pertaining to Tovino Thomas' character, Jathin Ramdas, feels awkward. When you compare the Jathin from Lucifer to the Jathin from Empuraan, you feel like you're watching two different people. The justification for why he takes a different path isn't quite convincing. Of course, when you look at the film's ending, you can see why this character had to be emotionally kept at a certain distance, but, to me, the transformation didn't feel organic.

As for Stephen aka Khureshi Ab'raam, Mohanlal continues to play him as the enigmatic, powerful force that he is but unlike in Lucifer, there is a little bit of confusion as to the motives behind some of his activities. Interestingly, we could see this film more as an origin story of his lieutenant Zayed Masood, whose formative years were shaped by trauma rooted in one of India's darkest chapters.

There is also a suggestion that Khureshi and Zayed may have much in common. There is one action sequence involving the two that should've been more exciting but didn't generate the necessary excitement because, again, the film seems too preoccupied with choreography and visualisation than induce catharsis, which is essential when you're telling a story of vengeance. Sadly, that's missing here. And as for that much-hyped tail end.... Let's not go there now.

 

Film: L2: Empuraan

Director: Prithviraj Sukumaran

Cast: Mohanlal, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Tovino Thomas, Manju Warrier, Abhimanyu Singh, Indrajith Sukumaran

Rating: 3/5

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