'Agent', produced by Rambrahmam Sunkara, Ajay Sunkara and Pathi Deepa Reddy, was released in theatres today.
Plot:
Ramakrishna aka Ricky (Akhil) has only one goal in life. He desires to be a RAW recruitee and undertake some Planet-saving mission. Mahadev (Mammootty), apparently the one who heads everything at the RAW, ropes him in for the most important mission ever known and unknown to even the Prime Minister of India. Ricky must tame The God (Dino Morea), the megalomaniacal lynchpin of a giant-sized crime syndicate.
Performances:
Akhil Akkineni delivers a compelling performance that rises but he does get over-the-top at times. His physicality is something that animates 'Agent' at least here and there. Mammootty, who dubbed for his character, gives a measured performance showing restraint. Between them, the two actors show an extraordinary will to uplift an otherwise bland outing.
Dino Morea's Telugu debut is drowned by a silly characterization. Predictably, he looks like a generic, cardboard import from the North. Sakshi Vaidya makes a semi-effective debut.
The most notorious criminals are idiots who readily fall into the hero's trap. There is a character by the name Deva who needs just 5 hours to do something with geopolitical ramifications. But he is played by an unfamiliar artist.
Technical aspects:
Cinematographer Rasool Ellore of 'Oosaravelli' fame bathes the frames with a dash of blue hues and a raft of other colours. Better CGI would have elevated them. The backdrops range from Budapest to Vizag port to Manali and Hyderabad.
Composer Hiphop Tamizha's work does sound alien. Bheems Ceciroleo chips in for the song 'Wild Saala', which is as hackneyed as Naveen Nooli's editing.
Post-Mortem:
Agent's story has been written by someone who wrote some of the most inventive stories in Telugu cinema in the new millennium: Ravi Teja's 'Kick', Allu Arjun's 'Race Gurram', Jr NTR's 'Temper' and even the charmingly illogical 'Yevadu'. He is Vakkantham Vamsi, who somehow fails to return to form with 'Agent' nearly four years after his directorial debut 'Naa Peru Surya' flopped.
There is a dialogue where 'magic' and 'black magic' are used in a metaphorical sense by Mammootty's character. The screenplay should have built a fascinating narrative based on this exciting thought. In the end, the film has neither magic nor logic to offer. The hero possesses magical hacking skills. Who told director Surender Reddy that RAW is not the world's best agency for want of genius hackers? While Akhil's character does daredevil stunts and cross-country adventures, he uses his hacking skills as a mega clutch to come up in life.
The arc of Mammotty's character would have looked charming on paper a decade ago. By now, the audience have watched enough films/web series in the genre to be thrilled by what he mouths and does.
The characterizations are lame. Akhil is shown getting wildly animated when he sees vegetables in a market. As far as he is concerned, they are weapons, not eatables. His parents exist to fulfill the purpose of stereotypical parents in a Puri Jagannadh movie. Murali Sharma plays his father and leaves no impact.
Akhil's character becomes so generic that he acquires more personality when he is conversing with robots and romancing weapons than when he challenges the main villain. He messes up a RAW recruitment interview, because why not? He is a wild saala who knows six languages but can't think cogently in any of them.
There is this laughable idea of an auction in which terror outfits from across the world participate. Meanwhile, the main villain is busy issuing warnings over the phone. He lets his enemy have a field day just so that he has an enemy.
There is a Union Minister whose son looks like a fan of Akhil Akkineni. His get-up is messy and he speaks animatedly. His character serves the sexual harasser trope and that's all there is to him.
There is one Mission Rabbit, which, if it becomes successful, can finish India. The drama built around it is languid. The second half is barely coherent.
Closing Remarks:
'Agent' is incoherent and boring. It is built on second-hand ideas.
