FIR Movie Review

Vishnu Vishal’s latest offering FIR directed by Manu Anand opens in theatres amidst good expectations. The trailer and promo materials have made it clear that the film is an action thriller dealing with counter-terrorism. But it’s not a straightforward film; there are twists and turns packed in with an exciting finale when there is a new revelation surrounding the title FIR. The emotions work well all through; like the mother – son angle, good old patriotism sentiments & the lead character’s proud feeling of being an Indian Muslim. After a steady setup, FIR turns out to be a largely engaging affair.

A Muslim youth named Irfan Ahmed is wrongly framed as the most wanted terrorist Abu Bakker Abdullah; that’s the film’s main point of conflict. Vishnu Vishal breathes life into the lead role. His new look and toned physique undoubtedly elevate his screen presence.

FIR is not just a hero driven tale; it’s got many noted support characters. The likes of Raiza Wilson (who is a big revelation), Gautham Menon (who is as usual suave and sophisticated), Manjima Mohan, Parvathi and the surprise package Reba are all integral to the story. Popular Youtuber Prashanth also grabs his share of the screen space and entertains us, as a hacker. But some lesser known actors such as Abhishek and Ram (Survivor fame) are given weighty parts which they don’t quite do justice to.

Manu Anand packs his film with multiple pivotal characters and a very happening screenplay with minimal lulls. The story travels all over the country. His technical crew are all big trump cards in his game.

Composer Ashwath delivers myriad themes in the background score. Cinematographer Arul Vincent does his best to position FIR as a grand visual treat within the given budget. Editor GK Prasanna again proves his craftsmanship in dealing with a complex film with multiple threads.

Kudos to VV and his team’s vision to present a counter-terrorism film which thinks big and delivers too. It’s been quite a while that such a film has been made here in Kollywood; Vishwaroopam and Thuppakki being some not so recent examples.

We all know how well The Family Man series has been received throughout. FIR falls in this space and delivers good bang for our buck. At a runtime of 2 hours 35 minutes, FIR hardly wastes any time in needless commercial elements. Manu Anand sticks to his core story and succeeds in engaging us for the most part. The excessive usage of English dialogs might alienate a section of the audience though. FIR Movie Review by Kaushik LM

FIR Movie Review Rating: 3.5/5