Bazooka Movie Review: A Late Surge from Mammootty in a Game-Inspired Thriller
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Bazooka movie story: Kochi ACP Benjamin Joshua (portrayed by Gautham Vasudev Menon) and his team—comprising Arjun (Siddarth Bharathan), Tony (Dinu Dennis), and Sanya (Bhama Arun)—face a significant challenge in their city-wide clean-up initiative when a new foe emerges. This time, they confront a skilled gamer who executes elaborate heists, much to the frustration of Joshua and his team. Their irritation intensifies when they discover that the mastermind has been taunting them by revealing his plans prior to each heist.
In response, they seek the assistance of former forensic expert John Caesar (played by Mammootty), who skillfully turns the situation around on the gamer, giving him a taste of his own tactics.
Bazooka movie review: Recently, Gautham Vasudev Menon, who portrays ACP Benjamin Joshua in Bazooka, inadvertently revealed a significant spoiler during a rapid-fire segment of a promotional interview, which went unnoticed by many. This spoiler appears to be the sole redeeming aspect of debut director Deeno Dennis’ Bazooka. This review will not delve further into spoilers.
The film reflects leading actor Mammootty’s persistent desire to explore new roles and narratives, a quality that only becomes apparent in the final 20-30 minutes. Prior to that, his character feels rather conventional—an expert summoned by the police to assist with a challenging case. Despite his longer, unkempt hair and small ponytail, he remains visually impressive on screen. Unfortunately, this is where the positives end, and they are insufficient to create an engaging viewing experience. If two out of the two and a half hours are tedious, it is unrealistic to expect the last half hour to redeem the film. Bazooka does not compare to Kantara.
The first half of the film is notably disorganized, primarily set during a bus journey to Bengaluru. It features a completely unnecessary action scene involving a group of bikers, which, while it has some relevance to the overall plot, is executed so poorly that it becomes comical. Picture five individuals armed with advanced weaponry engaged in a shootout with Mammootty, who is taking cover behind a table at a roadside eatery. There is more to this narrative, but at that moment, the absurdity of the situation is hard to ignore.
My primary concern regarding Bazooka is the casting of Gautham Vasudev Menon; I find it difficult to understand the contribution he makes to the character. Despite the fact that over half of his dialogue is in English, his delivery in Malayalam remains quite disconcerting. He only sounds somewhat natural during a few lines in Tamil at the beginning; thereafter, he struggles with the appropriate emphasis on syllables. Curiously, the filmmakers appeared to favor his Malayalam enough to assign him the task of delivering the anti-tobacco disclaimer. It’s quite disappointing.
The heists themselves lack excitement, and the final revelation of the culprit does little to enhance the overall experience. The background music, when evaluated independently, features a range of pulsating segments, yet it often fails to align with the visuals, fluctuating between being overly intense and disappointingly subdued. Saeed Abbas, who took over from Midhun Mukundan (known for Rorschach, Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana, and Toby), seems to have invested his full creative range into this film.
Bazooka movie verdict: A decent concept marred by the making – that is how Bazooka can be best described. Is the film meant for hardcore Mammootty fans or for the gamer community? That’s the befuddling bit, because it does not do justice to either.
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