Review Overview
Performances
Story & Narration
Technical Aspects & Music
A fine mainstream cop entertainer.
100 is a better commercial outing for Atharva than his recent films, for the actor has given it all as the raging cop. Some more fine-tuning would have aided it more, but at the moment, it definitely isn’t a film that can be written off. Fine watch overall.
Cast: Atharvaa Murali, Hansika, Radha Ravi, Yogibabu, Arjai and othere
Cinematography: Krishnan Vasanth
Music: Sam CS
Editor: Ruben
Stunts: Dhilip Subbarayan
Written & Directed by: Sam Anton
Produced by: Auraa Cinemas
Release Date: 11-05-2019
Run Time: 02:21:00
Cop films are the go-to mechanism for actors who are struggling to pick up sparks in their career, as it organically brings in the heroic angle and presents the central character as the ‘hero’ of the proceedings. After some damp outings, Atharvaa returns in the khaki for 100, a mainstream thrill-entertainer that has a fair share of good moments, specifically in the second half.
For starters, 100 is a nice genre shift for Sam Anton, who was busy with the comic space in his first two films. Here, he tries to do new things in a premise that has been beaten a lot over the past, and the first of them all is setting the trigger of the film inside the police control room. Atharva, who gets his appointment order after we are thirty minutes into the film, takes us through the little incidents that lead up to the control room and beyond it as well. The first half mostly wanders with some needless commercial elements such as songs, inane comics and the plot establishment taking place at leisure. It is only at the interval point that the film actually picks up pace, and leads to a better second half that does have some surprises in store.
Sam Anton’s ideas are really interesting. Instead of posting the weight of the film on a single twist, he opts for a mind-game structure that keeps altering between the hero and the villain. While the audience is made to play the guessing game for most parts, it is the final stretch of the film that has a lot of little tricks which pump up the engagement factor. However, what bobs down the end product is the towering amount of needless heroism that is flushed into the film. For almost every reveal or fight sequence that the script has, there is about a minute of slow-mo shots and facial expression changeovers, that would only be required and work in a film with a bigger hero. Some more of the get-to-the-point attitude would have really helped 100 gallop faster.
Krishnan Vasant’s cinematography compliments the film well, with a special mention to the club scene that shines with its colors. Sam CS’ score is built on the theme from the Agulu Bagulu track, with little otherwise.
In totality, 100 is a better commercial outing for Atharva than his recent films, for the actor has given it all as the raging cop. Some more fine-tuning would have aided it more, but at the moment, it definitely isn’t a film that can be written off. Fine watch overall.