Metro Movie Review

June 23, 2016

2 minutes read

Review Overview

Performances

Screenplay and Direction

Technical Aspects and BGM

A good, realistic thriller!

Director Ananda Krishnan who made a half-hearted debut in the Viddharth-starrer Aal has come up with a good, realistic, hard-hitting sophomore feature with Metro, which is only plagued occasionally by the underwhelming performances.

Cast: Shirish, Bobby Simhaa, Sendrayan, Sathya, Maya, Thulasi

Cinematography: NS Udhayakumar

Music: John

Editing: Ramesh Bharathi

Written & Directed by: Ananda Krishnan

Produced by: E5 Entertainment and Metro Productions

Release Date: 24-06-2016

Run Time: 02:00:00

Weeks after the little gem Uriyadi comes Metro, which has lesser violence and substance abuse than the former, but was denied certification by the censor board for its bonafide portrayal of chain snatching. Fortunately, the film was later issued an adult certificate by the revising committee.

Director Ananda Krishnan who made a half-hearted debut in the Viddharth-starrer Aal has come up with a good, realistic, hard-hitting sophomore feature with Metro, which is only plagued occasionally by the underwhelming performances.

The film opens with the sprawling aerial shot of the Chennai city, which lays the backdrop for the story. Taking basic reference from a book titled ‘Organized Crime’, director Anand Krishnan has explored the underworld of chain-snatching and black marketing of gold with great details. Another interesting facet of the screenplay is how familial emotions are weaved seamlessly into the story. Anand has delved deep into the psyche of thugs, which also includes college-going youngsters, to understand their real temptation behind taking up the crime that sometimes could end up as fatal.

Metro has a peach of a premise with a brilliantly written screenplay including a hitherto unseen emotional undercurrent involving a mother and son which will be frowned on by conventional Tamil audiences. Anand has convincingly pulled off the mind-heart emotional conflict with the younger brother role played by newcomer Sathya, who sticks out like a sore thumb when it comes to performances. Sathya’s role occupies a fair share of screen time in the 120-minute film and it is quite frustrating to see a well-written character bogged down by the inexperience.

Another debutant actor who demands our attention is Shirish in the role of a journalist and a caring elder brother. He is adequate and manages to put up a good show as a debutant, but one can’t stop thinking that a seasoned actor would have lifted the role to a different level, especially towards culmination of the film. Bobby Simha as the gang leader impresses with his body language and enjoyable histrionics. Also, he delivers a measured performance without going over-the-top, unlike his recent outings.

Anand has not endorsed chain-snatching in the film but has indeed created awareness about the issue with a menacing display of Mahesh’s stunt choreography, which is bolstered by the terrific shot compositions of cinematographer NS Udhayakumar.