Kick 2

Movie Review: Kick 2

Rating: 2.5

Cast: Raviteja, Rakul Preet Singh, Brahmanandam, Ravi Kishan and Others.

Music: SS Thaman

Producer: Kalyan Ram

Direction: Surender Reddy

Banner: NTR Arts

Release Date: 21st of August, 2015

Sequels proved to be unlucky for Tollywood. Raviteja & Surender Reddy, however, gone ahead with their gut feel to make 'Kick 2' inspired from the success of 'Kick' which released 6 years ago. Has the new outing broke the jinx? Let's see...

Synopsis:

'Kick' Kalyan resigns to his job as an IPS Officer and settles down in USA. His Son Robin Hood is completely contrast to him and prefers his 'comfort' rather than searching for 'Kick' in others well-being. Upon knowing that the property owned by his family has been encroached by a local Gangster (Ashish Vidyarthi) in Hyderabad, Robinhood reaches India and that's when he meets Chaitra (Rakul Preet Singh). Just when Robinhood confesses his love for her, Chaitra gets kidnapped and this makes him go in search of her to Vilaspur village. Who kidnapped Chaitra and what did Robinhood do in Vilaspur forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Raviteja's impeccable energy levels are a treat to watch and he carries the whole First Half on his shoulders. However, His role turns passive in the Second Half except for the last 30 minutes. The characterization of hero and heroism elevation scenes have turned out well. Age factor might have affected his physical appearance but Ravi's energy levels are intact.

Rakul Preet Singh is flawless in the movie. She shares a good rapport with Raviteja and score brownie points with her performance in emotional scenes.

Ravi Kishan's look as Antoganist is appreciable and he does a good job even though his character wasn't etched well towards the end of the movie. 'Jil' fame Kabir Khan isn't successful in leaving good impact. Brahmanandam keeps the audience in splits. Bollywood Comedians who made debuts in Telugu are just okay. Tanikella Bharani is natural. Ashish Vidyarthi and Posani were alright. Pruthvi, Sreenivas Reddy and Chanti are just okay. Kovai Sarala irritates.

Pros:

Raviteja

First Half

Cinematography

Cons:

Direction

Screenplay

Run Time

Technicalities:

Three Songs composed by Thaman namely 'Nuvve Nuvve', 'Jenda Pai Kapiraju' and 'Title Song' are nice. Background Score is too loud at times. Manoj Paramahamsa's Cinematography is mind blowing. Art Direction isn't up to the mark and the village set looks artificial. Editing is lacklustre in the Second Half. Story provided by Vakkantham Vamsi isn't bad but the execution is poor. 'Kick 2' stands only next to 'Ashok' in the worst films directed by Surender Reddy. Of course, He leaves his mark with comedy and mass-heroism scenes. As Producer, Kalyan Ram hasn't compromised on making standards.

Analysis:

Few subjects could be narrated in a funny manner (for example Race Gurram) and audience don't bother about logic in such cases. While dealing a serious issue, You can't deviate much and incorporate silly sequences when the subject was actually meant to narrated in a highly emotional way. This is the main setback in the case of 'Kick 2'.

In 'Kick 2', Hero & Villain don't have any personal rivalry and they don't even knew about each other in the first two hours. Inspite of negative feedback received for 'Oosaravelli', Surender Reddy risked again by choosing a similar format and it eventually prevents the audience from connecting to the subject emotionally. Attempts made by the Villagers to bring Protaganist to Vikaspur and create a dispute between him & the antoganist appear silly.

'Kick' was largely successful due to the high comedy quotient. Even 'Kick 2' doesn't disappoint to an extent as far as first half is considered and the 'comfort' characterization gives a unique feel. Raviteja-Brahmi comedy track is entertaining even though it appeared to be a bit routine. Overall, There is nothing much to complain in the first half and Surender Reddy proves how capable he is here.

The problem is with Second Half where the actual story begins with the Kidnap of Heroine. Lack of direct conflict between Hero-Villain and Few Silly Sequences meant to generate comedy play the spoilers. Mass Audience will appreciate High-Voltage Action sequences in the last half-an-hour but lack of connect with either story & screenplay is quite evident. Even the Climax sequence wasn't designed well.

Bottomline: High Level of Discomfort!