Turbo is the back to the roots for director Vysakh who is known for his masala movies in Malayalam. He had a few average stints with murky and off-kilter material like Monster (2022) and Night Drive (2022), but now he’s back with what one would think is quintessential Vysakh territory, but poor execution leaves much to be desired. The film opens with Jose (Mammootty), a tourist guide who lives with his old mother. She knows him better than anyone else famous among the villagers as ‘Turbo’, she calls him so because of his wild ways and unpredictability given his reputation for ruffianism and street fights, it’s surprising how childlike he becomes when interacting with her.
‘Turbo’ Jose is someone that beats up a rival gang at a festival and also plays Cupid between two lovers. But after an altercation lands him in trouble with the law due to a small misunderstanding, he finds himself compelled to go to Chennai. The stakes are set too conveniently; you can see through them easily this information just wants to keep the plot moving forward, hence it feels abruptly hashed together; however Mammootty’s aura compensates for its laziness by virtue of sheer presence alone, which fuels narrative engine non-stop throughout most parts where story unfolds i.e., streets of chennai where jose wanders around apathetically tiredly jumping from event no introspection whatsoever.
The protagonist shares an amicable relationship with his mother one character even calls him mama’s boy and some delightful moments between Bindu Panicker and Mammootty ensue when they’re together onscreen. This dynamic later becomes the source of many laughs as movie winds itself into tighter corners.
However, the basic setup itself feels rushed and contrived to pack in narrative conveniences that the film hadn’t earned till then. Beat goes after beat packing in all necessary plot mechanisations need to be place for action take off. It takes effort for the film to bring romance, financial scam, ousted hero figure and political nexus under one roof but it doesn’t try too hard. Turbo knows it’s not here to break new ground; content with following conventions which have been beaten into submission by years of certain kind of garden variety commercial superstar vehicles.
There’s nothing wrong about cliches and archetypes in commercial filmmaking many films in past have successfully revived stale old templates and tropes seamlessly to great effect like director’s own blockbuster action vehicle ‘Puli Murugan’ (2016) which incidentally also echoes structural beats story beats Turbo. You get a common man, known for his antics back home forced to come big city and get involved with dangerous nexus that seems unreachable.
The movie then takes us to the world of Vetrivel Shanmugha Sundaram (Raj B Shetty), a political kingmaker described as blood-thirsty and stoic violent who comes across Jose and those close to him. With his role as Raj B Shetty, he elevates one-dimensional philosophy of villainy often portrayed by token villains through an energetic performance that adds some wickedness into on-screen rivalry making one feel unsafe due to unpredictable nature such scenes could take place. What is most unique about casting someone like lean common man Raj B Shetty as this particular character seems to work against stale character graph also he loves saying lines little bit slower.
In Turbo, Indu (Anjana Jayprakash) acts as a substitute for the brother character in Puli Murugan (2016) whom hero has no choice but help after revealing many shocking facts. It seems Vysakh likes heroes who are outsiders because they find themselves dealing with problems bigger than their own lives within foreign environments ‘Madhura Raja’ from Pokkiri Raja(2010) being another example where Mammootty played similar roles coincidentally or not so much? Of course there’s always been an action masala cinema tradition based on these templates but what sets apart good writing from bad ones lies not only breaking down established narrative devices but also looking at them different ways altogether.
Vysakh commits himself fully into creating more tension which lacks in screenplay by telling story through visceral prompts using strange transitions attempts re-imagine action films framing wise shot choreography overall visual design. Cutting rhythms found here are innovative thanks largely too editor Shammer Mohammed whose quirky cuts ensure constant tempo even when script drags its heels under weight familiarity boredom. Action set pieces build up nicely following age old traditions hero movements under assured guidance Vysakh that revels setting blocks with stylistic flourish.
Christo Xavier does little justice towards narrative tension by giving it a low-key treatment which nevertheless injects occasional mild shocks throughout the runtime with unique sounding arrangements. But the sluggishness of plot coupled with confusing levels of double crosses and shifting loyalties begins to wear thin after some time; you start feeling lost like Jose who at one point asks “Can any of you please tell me what you guys have started?” Jose ends up fighting against an unknown enemy. A fight happens inside a bus, there’s also an unexpected brawl inside a police station and finally we get to see hammer-wielding showdown in run down mall that cheekily references Mohanlal’s similar scene from Lucifer (2019).
Sunil is brought into comedy scenes here there however he remains completely unused as his presence merely felt when convenient according script requirements. Action comes thick fast but then narrative loses itself through spending too much on ‘financial scam’ angle. Mammootty effortlessly portrays charmingly naive yet street-smart charmer whose punches hit hard while paternal instincts hover over every frame.
Anjana Jayaprakash has no chemistry with Mammootty which makes it hard for us to take the emotional stakes seriously. Her performance is inscrutable and her immediate emotions are elusive, even though she plays a central character in the story. Turbo picks up lost momentum in the second half with some well thought out scenes that involve intelligent mind games between the hero and villain. Midhun Manuel Thomas brings back interest levels with a series of average but smart discoveries in the last 30 minutes.
You have badly planned action beats, but for Mammootty’s extreme physical fitness, one would marvel at how he still manages to captivate at 72 years old being this action star. Well, if nothing else does it for you; Turbo reminds everyone about that single non-negotiable heritage belonging to one of India’s finest actors who happens also be an action hero.
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