Team FC
Even though his credibility for ruffian behaviour and picking up street brawls is well known, nicknamed ‘Turbo’ by the villagers for his wild, unhinged ways, he is childlike in his interactions with his mother.
The character jumps from event to event with little or no introspection and you feel exhausted at the sheer apathy of Jose forced to roam around on the streets of Chennai – where most parts of the film unfold.
The hero shares a special relationship with his mother – one of the supporting characters refers to him as mama's boy – and we get some of the best moments in the scenes featuring Bindu Panicker and Mammootty, playing out the delightful dynamic between them.
The basic setup itself feels rushed and contrived to pack in narrative conveniences that the film hadn't earned up till then. You go from beat to beat swiftly packing in all the necessary plot mechanisations that need to be in place for the action to take off.
Raj B Shetty elevates the one-note philosophising villainy of the token villain with a subdued yet effervescent performance that graciously lends some malice to the on-screen antagonism and you feel threatened by his unpredictable energy in scenes.
You get poorly staged action beats that are elevated by Mammootty’s immense physical fitness and you marvel at the 72-year-old superstar’s ability to enthral and engage.