One part of Razor is about a strange method of RGB video reconstruction that reveals visual evidence. The film almost makes you think maybe something good is going to come from all the gloom for a few brief seconds. Unfortunately, the small light is all there is to experience. Ravi Babu's survival thriller is full of tension, creativity and emotion but fails to deliver all theses elements when they are most needed.
I'd been reading a positive review of The film from The Dispatch Reviews that gave it a 3.5/5 rating before I saw it. The review called Razor an "entertaining, quick-paced violent thriller" that kept the suspense alive till the end, and credited Ravi Babu for his story-telling, dramatic structure, emotional motivations and ending up with a twist. Despite the lack of faith I had in the film after seeing the trailer, I was hoping it would surprise me when I read that point of view. Unfortunately, my experience turned out to be different.
I had already been concerned with the trailer. Seemed a little over-staged and on the way out, I can't recall exactly what I thought, but I recall saying, “What is this?” Why is it that this looks so bad?” But after going through a couple of interviews of Ravi Babu on YouTube, I realized that there might be something more substantial behind the poor promotional stuff. Now looking back, I should have listened to my initial impulse.
The biggest issue with Razor is that pretty much every scene is plagiarized from somewhere else. Every few minutes the film brings the sense of déjà vu, like these scenes could have been accomplished much better in other thrills. The RGB reconstruction idea came and went for a split second because it seemed as if the film was finally trying something creative. Sadly, such moments happen very rarely. The bulk of the movie falls flat due to weak plot and woefully boring acting.
The acts make matters even worse. It was difficult finding one actor on screen to whom I related. There seems to be no one who is "here". Faces are blank, responses are slow and dramatic moments are unresponsive. Ravi Babu tops the list of disappointments. His face remains unchanged throughout most of the two hour film, regardless of what is going on around him. When there is danger or a time of emotion, his performance doesn't change much. Then, in one emotional moment, he changes tone and begins to get very emotional. No movement – the change of expression is forced and artificial.
The minor characters are also soon all too much to keep up with. The film is not without an intent to be serious, but one of the characters acts too big for their own boots and spoils the fun. I really was not sure if the film was supposed to make me laugh or if it was supposed to be tense. The villains sound like one dimensional fools, but the hero sounds like he's still flattered. The girl in the middle of the story receives little meaningful dialogue, further diminishing the emotional heart of the story.
I thought that the action scenes would make up for the feeble drama, since Ravi Babu had boasted about the work done in those. Instead, the major failing of the film is the action. No sequence at all worked for me. The concept itself is simple, protect the child from dangerous attackers. This alone would have been a source of tension. Rather, the movie is so overly violent it becomes absurd. Limb is sliced off, body is stabbed for no good reason, head is cut off, and almost every second of the show is just to entertain the viewers.
It is not the violence that is the issue. The audience can certainly have a lot of fun with brutal action that is grounded and technically convincing. Every explosion and a violent moment in this instance seem fake with the CGI and VFX. I was never in danger, always conscious of being under digital effect. Eventually, all the gore becomes over-acting and not intense storytelling.
The pace gets all out of control in the latter half. By the middle of the interval, the conflict, stakes and direction of the story is clear. The movie could have just rushed towards its climax, but instead it does a flashback that really does little to nothing for the plot. It's only there to praise the hero and to create an elevation moment, but even that isn't successful.
At the end, I nearly lost all my patience. The last 10 minutes are too long. I was watching my mobile phone and kept asking myself how the movie can still be ongoing. Before one time I was about to exit the theatre, but with the conclusion being imminent, I decided to stick around.
The production design was another thing that was distracting me throughout the movie. Nearly all frames are overlaid with black and grey colors. All rooms, buildings, vehicles and costumes are colorless and unimaginative. After a while it actually seems as though the whole film was shot in one massive grey building and the rooms were used for various different scenes. The film's visual palette is repeated throughout so that there is a lack of atmosphere.
Even big names such as Tanikella Bharani can't save the film. As he continued to make his grand entrance into the film, I couldn't help but think of the re-enactments from Crime Patrol, and I knew that the film wasn't going to get better.
I also had a bit of a lift before I went to the theatre as a couple of positive reviews came out from The Dispatch Reviews – citing that Razor's suspense and violent thriller atmosphere, and twist-filled conclusion, kept their interest. I was, however, less enthusiastic about the emotional depth of the script, maybe because I wanted more that was more emotionally subtle and some more convincing tension under the surface of the excessive violence. Also I was curious to check out reviews of other platforms like TamilYogi and Lensmen Reviews, which were yet to be published at the time of writing.
All this is because it seemed there was something good in the original premise. A solitary savior whose sole purpose is to protect a helpless child from the ruthless killers is a nail-biting thriller, when it is written with emotional sincerity and technical finesse. There is no balance for Razor. Implies that noise equals intensity, violence equals impact, and the grim visuals equals atmosphere. At the end, I never was shocked, never was thrilled and never was moved emotionally. I just wanted to sleep, to go back to bed, to take a break.
Rating: 1.5/5
(This is a syndicated feed)