This is one film which leaves you guessing till the end and every guess you make is almost always wrong. That's what makes a good thriller film.
40 Reviews
Surprised that the IMDB score for this film is very low
narthuvel9 February 2020
Good Movie
mohammedmunthasir24 December 2019
The first half of the movie is so average and gave a feel like below average movie but, after interval block it had totally changed because of the superb twists and turns. Karthi,Sathyaraj and jo had given a decent and beautiful role in this film.One time watchable,book the tickets and go and watch with your family
Director has handled the twistsssss with perfection
raghulsrivatsa22 December 2019
Another engaging thriller movie from Jeethu Joseph, which is slightly different from his earlier movies like Drishyam and Memories.
Chandrasekar_V24 December 2019
Though the story doesn't move too much up until then interval block, the first half is very much enjoyable with Karthi's humorous mannerisms. The internal block presents a couple of twists which sets the tone for the second half, which is a mix of emotions and twists and is very much engaging. The performances of Karthi, Jyothika and Sathyaraj form the main pillars of the movie along with the brother-sister emotions and the well-executed screenplay. Definitely a worth watch in theatre.
Good thrill movie...👍👍
susimaa20 December 2019
Shrisanchith
shrisanchith24 December 2019
The twist and the story saves the movie
papergaery20 December 2019
Acting on the part of everyone except for Sathyaraj are mediocre...
The music is dull and the background score leaves a lot to be desired.
The direction and editing is a bit messy as well and there are gaps and goof-ups that a good writer or director would have corrected...
But, the movie works and keeps you engaged purely for its story line .. and when a movie comes under the banner of being a thriller and is able to throw a twist that most people would not have expected, then it surely does succeed to some extent :)
Decent watch.
Roller Coaster!
eminem-sam22 December 2019
Unexpectedly good
indianature29 December 2020
I chose Thambi at random on Netflix (orig. Tamil w.Eng subs) not expecting anything much and prepared to switch off if it did not sustain my interest.
Surprisingly Thambi turned out to be quite a good watch with a decent quotient of humorous dialogues, some masala but well choreographed dances and action, literally cliff hanger stunts and a few good twists in the tale. Jyothika for a change was not in an action Jackson role!
Karthi was good as Saravanan the wayward Thambi. Ilavarasu was the perfect Inspector (he was great in Pattam Pole too). Sowcar Janaki made a good crafty Paati!
Some parts are slow which can be easily fast forwarded without losing substance.
The locations especially in the Nilgiris are stunning. The cottage in the estate with the slanting roof where the Inspector meets his end, looks like a fancy bungalow overlooking Emeralde Lake just out of Ooty. Wonder if it is.
The cinematography, sets etc are good.
No spoilers as there are indeed a few twists and turns that need not be revealed to those who havent yet watched the film.
Overall: A good entertainer and thriller.
Surprisingly Thambi turned out to be quite a good watch with a decent quotient of humorous dialogues, some masala but well choreographed dances and action, literally cliff hanger stunts and a few good twists in the tale. Jyothika for a change was not in an action Jackson role!
Karthi was good as Saravanan the wayward Thambi. Ilavarasu was the perfect Inspector (he was great in Pattam Pole too). Sowcar Janaki made a good crafty Paati!
Some parts are slow which can be easily fast forwarded without losing substance.
The locations especially in the Nilgiris are stunning. The cottage in the estate with the slanting roof where the Inspector meets his end, looks like a fancy bungalow overlooking Emeralde Lake just out of Ooty. Wonder if it is.
The cinematography, sets etc are good.
No spoilers as there are indeed a few twists and turns that need not be revealed to those who havent yet watched the film.
Overall: A good entertainer and thriller.
An okayish thriller that could have benefited from better writing! [+48%]
arungeorge132 February 2020
Jeethu Joseph tries hard to retain the vibe of Drishyam/Papanasam in his latest outing, starring Karthi, Jyothika, Sathyaraj, and Nikhila Vimal. The effort is commendable, and Thambi indeed is a 'family thriller', but the thriller dots barely connect and the emotional dots do not connect at all. Yet, what keeps the film afloat are the casting choices and the manner in which Jeethu tries to pull off a rather far-fetched make-believe.
It, however, fails in drawing great connects between the various members in the family, especially between brother and sister. Also, the placement of red-herrings is sometimes too evident in the screenplay. The first half is quite underwhelming with the prodigal son (or just a con-man?) returning to his home after 15 years and adjusting to the newfound surroundings. There are a number of song sequences, a by-the-numbers romantic angle that doesn't add meat to the central storyline, and a subplot that barely reveals character intentions.
Things do get better in the second half, but at one point, you're subjected to fight sequence after fight sequence without any solid improvement in the plot. The murders in Thambi aren't covered up as phenomenally as the one in Drishyam was. And when the big twist comes around, one does tend to feel that the sole purpose of many earlier scenes was only to distract and deceive. The ensemble does a neat-to-serviceable job with their characters, with Sathyaraj the only one standing out. I also enjoyed Sowcar Janaki's presence in the movie.
Thambi is no Papanasam or Parasite, I can tell you that. It's not a difficult film to sit through, but it could have been a lot (I mean A LOT!) better.
It, however, fails in drawing great connects between the various members in the family, especially between brother and sister. Also, the placement of red-herrings is sometimes too evident in the screenplay. The first half is quite underwhelming with the prodigal son (or just a con-man?) returning to his home after 15 years and adjusting to the newfound surroundings. There are a number of song sequences, a by-the-numbers romantic angle that doesn't add meat to the central storyline, and a subplot that barely reveals character intentions.
Things do get better in the second half, but at one point, you're subjected to fight sequence after fight sequence without any solid improvement in the plot. The murders in Thambi aren't covered up as phenomenally as the one in Drishyam was. And when the big twist comes around, one does tend to feel that the sole purpose of many earlier scenes was only to distract and deceive. The ensemble does a neat-to-serviceable job with their characters, with Sathyaraj the only one standing out. I also enjoyed Sowcar Janaki's presence in the movie.
Thambi is no Papanasam or Parasite, I can tell you that. It's not a difficult film to sit through, but it could have been a lot (I mean A LOT!) better.
A decent thriller with twists all around
naren-reviews20 April 2020
An entertainment roller coaster of a thriller story with enough twists and turns till the end. I didn't expect anything from the movie in the name of Karthi or Jothika. Just started watching it as any movie on Netflix... and the movie did well till end. Its just that, unfortunately I read the "Parental Guidance" on IMDB before watching the movie which normally I do to watch with my kids, but that had a line of spoiler that made me guess the end twist a little earlier. So, please don't read it if you want to enjoy it through out and yes, there's nothing too much to worry to watch with Kids apart from the regular Indian movie fight violences and song glamours.
Worth watching
kgskaran27 December 2019
Not worth watching
msundari27 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
At first seeing the reviews I thought that the movie will be as good as papanasam which is director jeetu Joseph's own thriller movie but total disappointment. Story is so simple not that much thriller. Only plus point is karthi's acting. Jothika as usual over acting. If parvati character played by actress simran or sneha it would be better.
Thriller with overtones of sentiments
shyammukundan22 December 2019
" Thambi" Tamil movie.
Mystery thriller with an extra dose of sentiments.
MLA living with his wife and daughter, searching his son, who had disappeared, 15 years ago. A con man, from Goa, comes into the scene as his son, bringing happiness and brightness in that family.
Story unfolds in first half, mostly as drama genre movie, to take us to an unexpected interval with a chilling suspense. Second half is in tune with thriller, with overtones of sentiments.
Story and screenplay carefully crafted well and director Jeethu Joseph has presented well, yet another thriller. Compared to his previous outings like 'Memories', 'Drishyam' ...this thriller is not that intense.
And these kinda story, we had seen in movies like 'Charithram' 1989 Malayalam, 'Imposter' 2012 English.... So this movie storyline maybe inspired or plagerized from the references.
Camera work is superb to keep the suspense and tension intact.
7 on 10 for this dragging thriller lasting 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Karthi as the con man and Sathyaraj as the MLA, shone well in their respective performances.
Well knitted presentation with unexpected twists and turns to keep the audience, guessing who is hero and villains are.
Safe watch
Mystery thriller with an extra dose of sentiments.
MLA living with his wife and daughter, searching his son, who had disappeared, 15 years ago. A con man, from Goa, comes into the scene as his son, bringing happiness and brightness in that family.
Story unfolds in first half, mostly as drama genre movie, to take us to an unexpected interval with a chilling suspense. Second half is in tune with thriller, with overtones of sentiments.
Story and screenplay carefully crafted well and director Jeethu Joseph has presented well, yet another thriller. Compared to his previous outings like 'Memories', 'Drishyam' ...this thriller is not that intense.
And these kinda story, we had seen in movies like 'Charithram' 1989 Malayalam, 'Imposter' 2012 English.... So this movie storyline maybe inspired or plagerized from the references.
Camera work is superb to keep the suspense and tension intact.
7 on 10 for this dragging thriller lasting 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Karthi as the con man and Sathyaraj as the MLA, shone well in their respective performances.
Well knitted presentation with unexpected twists and turns to keep the audience, guessing who is hero and villains are.
Safe watch
Overrated action thriller
PS-Harshendra26 December 2019
Love the plot, but the movie travelled in a very slow phase, or something was really missing. Leads done their best, songs are ok. From 2nd half I see only Kaithi Karthik in face/reaction, etc. no change in make up, reaction, etc. overall a watchable action thriller but worth for 6/10.
Comedy action thriller
thejassivakumar23 December 2019
Good but not excellent
yousuf-8547122 January 2020
As per our jeethu joseph film this movie also had a huge twist at the conclusion. This twist is not even predicted by anyone while watching this movie but not too much as Papanasam. Comparing to Papanasam this movie is less packaged twist. Worth a watch
Good thriller to watch with your family!!
saranyak-2547025 December 2019
Nice movie
ajeetdewangan1 December 2020
Movies twist and turns are interesting but some scenes very unnecessary . acting of sathyaraj , Karthik and jyothika is powerful . background music is average. First half is slow could be better. Overall movie is good entertainer movie .twist and turns is plus point of movi.
Didn't meet the expectations
saru202024 December 2019
A pure family drama with almost the same storyline as the director's last installment Drishyam with few changes in it, but on a high level the moral of the story stays the same. Drishyam worked well because it is a pure Malaya movie with casual scenes but Thambi is like mixing up a Malayalam's casual moviemaking with Tamil commercial masala sprayed on top of it which feels like nothing but crap because we've seen all these craps in so many older movies. There could've been some emotional bonding scenes which might've made it work at least for the family audiences but I think they omitted it just to avoid the mocks from the audience since it impacts the baseline of the story which breaks only in the end of the movie.
No words
yogatharani24 December 2019
Brilliant but lacks logic!!
sriramthestranger8 February 2020
The plot is pretty old - A fraud protagonist enters a family claiming he is the long lost brother they are looking for. There are lot of twists and turns behind this and keeps you hooked most of the time. Though the plot is racy and unpredictable, it lacks logic after the reveal and it keeps you wondering - "Why?!?". It could have been much better flick had some small elements in the narration had been taken care of. A good entertaining watch in Netflix!!
Waste
raveenr-1917027 December 2019
Family drama with suspense
sunilaas31 January 2020
Great storyline spoiled by songs and fights
i_lalindra30 August 2021
The storyline is great same as his masterpiece drushyam. But songs, fights and traditional way of presenting the story destroyed the greatness of movie.
It seems jeethu joseph back to era of 2010. It could have earn more stars if he did little bit modernization.
Music should be more suspense type.
Anyhow jeethu joseph did his magic at the end with great twist, so you will not disappoint of watching it.
It seems jeethu joseph back to era of 2010. It could have earn more stars if he did little bit modernization.
Music should be more suspense type.
Anyhow jeethu joseph did his magic at the end with great twist, so you will not disappoint of watching it.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
