Retro movie review: Suriya shines bright in this stylish but uneven genre

Analysis

Suriya looks in terrific form, displaying tremendous commitment to performances of the various looks in the film, which spans across the shifting timeline. He infuses action sequences with gravitas and emotional scenes with depth. Pooja Hegde is a classic example and she has an important part in the role but her screen time is very little. As King Michael, Vidhu brings some unpredictability in the second half to keep up the suspense while Joju George does a passable job as the gangster on the trail.

The film’s technical department has delivered it in style — stylish action choreography, especially a single-shot scene around “Kannamma” song. The scene is further elevated by Santhosh Narayanan’s brilliant background score which saves some of the film’s lows. Shreyaas Krishna’s cinematography coupled with sound production design also helps in making this film visually appealing.

Technicalities

The film is confused in terms of genre — it begins as a love story, turns into a crime drama, and shifts tones again in the final act. This lack of story specifically, weakens the whole. It slows way down in the second half and meanders, with an emotional focus that never takes hold. With an ensemble cast of many well-known faces, including Jayaram, Nasser, and Prakash Raj, the actors are all wasted with parts that do nothing to the narrative.

Director Karthik Subbaraj’s ambition of narrating a genre-non-conforming epic is evident, but the narrative skids on coherence and momentum. The screenplay is slack, and the emotional arcs fall short. Editing, too, could’ve been tighter, as a few scenes are dragged beyond necessity.

Verdict

There are flashes of brilliance in Retro — mostly, courtesy of Suriya’s terrific performance and Santhosh Narayanan’s uplifting score, but it fails to sustain through. The genre-hopping narrative in the film may strike a chord with some audiences, but the emotional payoff and the whole point of the story become diluted. Except for die-hard Suriya fans, many may struggle to keep themselves entertained. It’s a chic ride that runs out of gas too soon — see it with modest expectations.

Retro Cast & Crew

Retro movie stars Suriya, Pooja Hegde, Prakash Raj, Nassar, Joju George, Jayaram, Sujith Shankar, Krishnakumar Balasubramanian, Prem Kumar, Uday Mahesh, Sandeep Raj, Nandita Das, Remya Suresh, George Maryan, and Karunakaran among others in key roles. Shriya Saran shot for a special song in the film.

Santhosh Narayanan is working on the film's music and background score. Suriya's 2D Entertainment and Karthik Subbaraj's Stone Bench Creations are jointly producing the movie. Shreyaas Krishna is working as the cinematographer and Shafique Mohamed Ali is the editor of the movie Retro.

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Director: Karthik Subbaraj

Cast: Suriya Shivakumar, Pooja Hedge, Joju George

Production: 2D Entertainments and Stone Bench Creations

Rating: 2.75/5