Christopher Movie Review: Malayalam Cinema is in a strange phase right now. On one hand, it gets praised for its progressive stance through films. On the other hand, there are misogynistic tripe-fest like Unnikrishnan B's Aarattu. On one hand it makes films like Jana Gana Mana (a film I didn't appreciate completely purely for its making but enjoyed otherwise) that questions ethicality of police becoming the judge, jury and executioner and the cheerleading around it. And then on the other hand, we now have Christopher, again directed by Unnikrishnan B, that glorifies police encounter killings, because as its eponymous hero declares at the interval 'Justice Delayed is Justice Denied'. Christopher Teaser: Mammootty, Amala Paul, Vinay Rai-Starrer Promises Action-Packed Investigative Thriller.

So going by the above set of paradoxes, can I say that Unnikrishnan and his scriptwriter Udayakrishna (who has penned both the films as well as the 'classic' Monster) are rebels wanting to flow against the tide? Only in their case, by doing so, it is progressiveness of Malayalam Cinema that is drowning, along with our patience. For not only is Christopher problematic in its messaging, but it is also a boring film that stretches a two-page story across a tedious 150 minutes runtime.

So Mammootty plays DIG Christopher Anthony, a top cop in Kerala Police who has no qualms in gunning down criminals, especially rapists. The introduction of the hero comes with him investigating the brutal rape of two girls and the murder of one of them. Soon enough, he finds the privileged perverts who did this, but instead of letting the courts decide their fates, he kills them in a fake encounter.

While the public and social media cheer his actions, the department sends him on leave, and puts an inquiry on him headed by ACP Sulekha (Amala Paul). Strangely instead of investigating just that particular incident, Sulekha and her team tries to chart Christopher's life story. Maybe that's the only way Sulekha could do justice to that silly tagline of the film - Biography of a Vigilante Cop.

Watch the Teaser of Christopher:

Anyway, what we see next is a vignette of incidents where women get brutally assaulted and Christopher comes as the knight in shining armour to do vigilante justice for them while within the line of duty, with no one batting an eye. What I found funny is that in at least two scenes, where Christopher's 'trigger-happy' methods get justified, there is a either a statue of Mahatma Gandhi or his large picture. Have the makers never been told that Gandhi is also known as a staunch advocate of nonviolence, which is quite an antithesis to its trigger-happy hero? Even funnier is that the CM of the state, played by Siddique, is also cool with the idea of Christopher gunning down culprits and turn them into 'encounters'. His final line in the film made me chuckle when he says 'Truth is just a construct'. Reminds me of that infamous line uttered by a propagandist director, 'Facts are not facts'!

Oh, I forget, the 'biography' kinda ends in the first half. Christopher actually has a plot that is only served in the second half when the villain of the piece, Sitaram Trimurthi (Vinay Rai), comes into play (even though he is introduced in the very first scene). And if you think this improves the film, you are wrong. Christopher further dwindles into a very predictable and tawdry saga, where it attempts to be a 'smart' investigative thriller. Sadly for the film, it is not hard for the viewer to connect the dots, and I was desperately wishing for the makers to draw the lines faster and end this film. Alas, they were rather invested in adding more and more slo-mo shots, while we were left to see Shine Tom Chacko errr... play himself, just two manic notches higher...

Even Mammootty seems as bored as I was watching the film. The superstar always makes any silly scene bearable to watch with his mere presence. But seeing him simply go through the motions and not lend anything to his character makes me assume that the actor simply did this film so that he can balance out the quality stuff he is doing on the side. If my assumption is true, then why not stick to flicks like Bheeshma Parvam? Again, not a fan of the Amal Neerad film, but compared to Christopher, it's a gem! Or even for the matter, Rorschach that also has its protagonist out to seek revenge but he doesn't end up preaching or justifying his actions. Bheeshma Parvam Movie Review: Mammootty’s Invincible Swag Provides Some Cheer in Amal Neerad’s Predictable Blend of Mahabharata and The Godfather.

Amala Paul and Sneha are there in the movie as well, but their characters struggle to jump out the shadow of the protagonist and then just hover around. It is saddening to see fine actors like Aishwarya Lekshmi and Deepak Parambol wasted in such small roles. I don't remember the latter even had a line. R Sarathkumar also has a cameo as Christopher's mentor, who also... yes, you guessed it right, shoots down criminals instead of taking them to custody. Vinay Rai is merely ok as the villain, who is a villain. That's it. The only person who manages to come out tops is Justin Varghese, whose energetic score makes the proceedings more engaging than they deserve to be.

Final Thoughts

Christopher compares better than B Unnikrishnan and Udaykrishna's last film, Aarattu, but only marginally. It troubles you with its glorification of police encounter killings. But even more, it is simply a tedious watch that more than often, tests your patience with plenty of slo-mo!

Rating:1.5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 09, 2023 10:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).