Michael Review: Sundeep Kishan Stars in a Wannabe Mix of 'Pulp Fiction' & 'KGF'

'Michael' is a Telugu-Tamil gangster drama that is also dubbed in Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam.

A still from Michael starring Sundeep Kishan, Divyansha Kaushik,Gautham Vasudev Menon, Vijay Sethupathi and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar

(Photo: Twitter)

Presented by Vikram fame Lokesh Kanagaraj, Michael is directed by Ranjit Jeyakodi and set in the streets of Mumbai. The story revolves around Michael (Sundeep Kishan), an orphaned kid who raises himself against all odds to become a gangster.

But why does he want to conquer the underworld? Why did he choose blood and gore over a simple life? Is he here to settle a score? These are some of the questions the film intends to answer.

Like Rocky in KGF, Michael is driven by the most important woman in his life—his mother. Her words become his purpose. Meanwhile, Michael saves a leading don, Gurunath (Gautham Vasudev Menon), not once but twice. Gurunath soon becomes his godfather and treats him like his own son.

Michael is tasked by Gurunath to kill Theera (Divyansha Kaushik) and her father. However, he falls in love with the girl, and the plan goes haywire. What are the repercussions of failing to complete the mission? This forms the rest of the story.

A still from Michael

(Photo: Twitter)

Michael is a class apart with its excellent visuals and nuanced colour grading. Kiran Koushik’s brilliant cinematography simply amps up the mood of the film.

With Pulp Fiction-like rustic sequences that are aesthetically shot, every frame in the film screams exquisiteness.

The action sequences in this revenge drama are choreographed in such a way that they perfectly let you experience the adrenaline rush.

While the film is so obsessed with style, one cannot help but notice that it loses focus on its screenplay. It lacks novelty in its narration. It is good but feels way too simple. The twists and turns toward the climax get predictable.

Also, for a bilingual film, it neither feels like a Tamil original nor does it do justice to the Telugu landscape. The mismatched dialogue delivery keeps you from feeling connected with the film, and moreover, the plot is as generic as it can get, jumping across Bombay and Delhi without any context as to why it is happening.

A still from Michael

(Photo: Twitter)

The heroine in the film keeps saying, "Don’t fall for me; I will break your heart." I just felt the director indirectly spoke about the film to the audience.

Knowing that this is filmmaker Ranjit Jeyakodi's follow-up to his successful Ispade Rajavum Idhaya Raaniyum, starring Sundeep Kishan and Gautham Vasudev Menon, as well as some interesting cameos by Vijay Sethupathi and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, I fell for Michael, and it did break my heart.

Michael is running in cinemas now.