- Watched the movie in Amazon Prime Video.
- It is a different kind of making. It takes time to understand the story of the movie.
- Dialogues are good and powerful, but lacks enough context.
- Fights are good.
- Characters are not given enough background details.
- Can't say the movie is bad or good, somewhere falls in the average.
- Final Score - 4.5/10.
8 Reviews
Different execution, but lacks something - (4.5)
sujith789_reviews2 January 2020
The writing totally lets it down! [+29%]
arungeorge1314 December 2019
Under World, in my eyes, seemed like a pretentious gangster flick. It has the necessary elements that conventionally fit into gangster-film-territory, however, the writing (by Shibin Francis) and the packaging (by Arun Kumar Aravind) are underwhelming. It revolves mainly around four characters - Stalin John (Asif Ali), Solomon (Lal Jr.), Majeed (Farhaan Faasil), and Padmanabhan Nair (Mukesh), and a stash of cash worth 70 million USD. The 'how' and the 'why' behind these characters entering each other's lives has been written with a clear lack of conviction and therefore, the actors struggle themselves to put it all across in a convincing manner.
The film tries too hard to look and sound slick. Every interaction between characters forcefully comes with a punchy closing line (for what?) or a drastic change of expression (again, for what?). It's all serious business right from the opening credits all the way to the gory finale but Under World finds it very difficult to engage its viewers. The storyline is based on a one-liner: a politician in jail, a large sum of money, the near-psychotic partner-in-crime, and a couple of thugs who seize an opportunity that unexpectedly comes their way. The few (failed) attempts to introduce a tinge of comedy into the proceedings were downright pathetic.
The writing, without a doubt, needed more substance. Even with a proper backstory for Stalin, certain key elements centred around the character haven't been fleshed out. For instance, the reason for Stalin's lawyer, played by Muthumani (who's also the only woman character to get a good amount of screentime in the entire film), standing by him at all times, especially when he knowingly commits crimes, isn't elucidated. Majeed isn't very strongly written either, and Faasil seems to have had a hard time trying to exude the much-required ruggedness. Lal Jr. offers an interesting take on the psycho villain, but that it's his first on-screen acting attempt is highly evident. Asif Ali carries Stalin with a decent amount of flair, but the character doesn't have much to root for.
Coming to the technical aspects, the music and background score (by Yakzan & Neha) are okayish; the track played in the beginning was the only one I felt like checking out after the movie was over. The set-pieces are nothing out of the world (this is where a gangster film especially needs to stand out) and looked very plain-vanilla. The pacing, while deliberate, doesn't work in favor of the film, and at a butt-numbing 160 minutes, Under World is quite a tiresome watch. The final 15 minutes is probably the only interesting stretch but then, the film wraps up with hints of a sequel (I'm sure it won't happen!).
The film tries too hard to look and sound slick. Every interaction between characters forcefully comes with a punchy closing line (for what?) or a drastic change of expression (again, for what?). It's all serious business right from the opening credits all the way to the gory finale but Under World finds it very difficult to engage its viewers. The storyline is based on a one-liner: a politician in jail, a large sum of money, the near-psychotic partner-in-crime, and a couple of thugs who seize an opportunity that unexpectedly comes their way. The few (failed) attempts to introduce a tinge of comedy into the proceedings were downright pathetic.
The writing, without a doubt, needed more substance. Even with a proper backstory for Stalin, certain key elements centred around the character haven't been fleshed out. For instance, the reason for Stalin's lawyer, played by Muthumani (who's also the only woman character to get a good amount of screentime in the entire film), standing by him at all times, especially when he knowingly commits crimes, isn't elucidated. Majeed isn't very strongly written either, and Faasil seems to have had a hard time trying to exude the much-required ruggedness. Lal Jr. offers an interesting take on the psycho villain, but that it's his first on-screen acting attempt is highly evident. Asif Ali carries Stalin with a decent amount of flair, but the character doesn't have much to root for.
Coming to the technical aspects, the music and background score (by Yakzan & Neha) are okayish; the track played in the beginning was the only one I felt like checking out after the movie was over. The set-pieces are nothing out of the world (this is where a gangster film especially needs to stand out) and looked very plain-vanilla. The pacing, while deliberate, doesn't work in favor of the film, and at a butt-numbing 160 minutes, Under World is quite a tiresome watch. The final 15 minutes is probably the only interesting stretch but then, the film wraps up with hints of a sequel (I'm sure it won't happen!).
Don't watch, Waste of 3 hours
ashishtom-5760527 December 2019
I completed the whole film, because i started it and can't bare to pass it on. I heard some "OK" reviews from few people in whatsapp and decided to watch.
But film gave me nothing,but disappointment. The film trailer was promising with some mystery, action and under world, but movie was just a shadow with a weak plot.
But film gave me nothing,but disappointment. The film trailer was promising with some mystery, action and under world, but movie was just a shadow with a weak plot.
Not recommended
joppanLive12 December 2019
Outstanding movie
praveenksnettayam2 November 2019
Worst movie of Asif ali
arjun-tkalathil11 December 2019
Capsule Review: Under World / Hollow Crime Drama / 3 Stars
nairtejas22 February 2020
If you give some more time to Arun Kumar Aravind's stylish yet hollow crime drama Under World after it has finished majority of its stitching of slow-mo sequences mainly involving Asif Ali's character after he's blurted out some punchy dialogues, it will start making sense to you. That the story revolving around a sum of INR 500 crore that has been stolen by a biggie, foxy former politician (Mukesh) and now a couple of goons are behind the stash which has somehow also undergone conversion to USD is unimaginative is obvious. Other than the terrible editing by Aravind himself (which is why the film is at least 45 minutes longer), Under World boasts of a poor storyline and an overall lukewarm attempt at creating a grisly crime ambience. Of course, the score by Neha Nair and Yakzan Pereira add to the haunting mood of the film (especially involving Mukesh and his monologues in front of his one- or two-person large audience) and the production setup makes it all feel glamorous. But when you look back and think about the film after it has ended, there's nothing to take away from it. Except for Mukesh's starling good yet wooden performance and Lal Jr.'s horrendous debut as an actor. One of the damp squibs of 2019. TN.
A good watch
babubinesh15 November 2019
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