'Kattalan': A self-absorbed Marco-style film that never fully lands | Movie Review

When Malayalam cinema tried out a Hollywood-style making in ‘Marco’, with the stylish villains trading the usual mundu and shirt (either bright or dark) for sleek, body-hugging suits and hats, there was reason to celebrate, just for the change. The neo-noir atmosphere, shadowy corporate-style meetings, and glossy visual treatment borrowed heavily from Hollywood action thrillers, but it still managed to carve out an identity of its own. Even though ‘Marco’ often prioritised style over substance, its brutal intensity and visual flair kept audiences hooked for months.

However, with Cubes Entertainments’ second production, ‘Kattalan’ directed by newcomer Paul George, the makers appear to have mistaken repetition for reinvention. Reworking the same template with a different hero does little to recreate the magic of Marco. Instead, the film feels derivative, almost like a shadow of the blockbuster featuring Unni Mukundan in the lead.

‘Kattalan’ stars Antony Varghese as a brooding, intense character, who works under Mari, a ruthless kingpin in the illegal ivory trade played by Telugu actor Sunil. Interestingly, the actor gets to keep his own name for the character, while Jagadish (Ali), plays another trusted aide in Mari’s growing empire fuelled by greed and violence.

Forest-based crime dramas dealing with illegal trade have become increasingly common in recent years. Whether it was ‘Pushpa’ exploring sandalwood smuggling or the 2023 series ‘Poacher’' delving into ivory trafficking, audiences are familiar with stories rooted in the underbelly of forest crime. ‘Kattalan’ too enters that territory, with its characters constantly on the run. But unlike ‘Pushpa', where the protagonist is hunted by law enforcement, ‘Kattalan’ centres on a bloody power struggle between rival cartel leaders fighting for dominance in the illegal ivory trade.

To the film’s credit, the makers stage an ambitious elephant chase deep within the forest, resulting in some genuinely cinematic high points. More impressive is the fact that these sequences were not heavily reliant on CGI. Instead, they were executed with real elephants through rigorous action choreography led by Thai action maestro Kecha Khamphakdee, lending the scenes an authenticity and scale rarely seen in Malayalam cinema.

Yet beyond these isolated moments of spectacle, ‘Kattalan’ remains overly consumed by style. The film gives audiences very little emotional or narrative substance to hold onto. Slow-motion hero walks and stylised entries dominate the screen, amplified constantly by Ravi Basrur’s thunderous background score, which ends up doing most of the heavy lifting. The villains are frustratingly one-dimensional, existing merely to sustain the illegal trade without any meaningful exploration of their motives or the tensions driving their rivalries. The pulsating musical build-ups may still work for viewers who enjoy visually charged, mass-action filmmaking, but they cannot compensate for the absence of depth.

Ultimately, ‘Kattalan’ is too self-absorbed. The lack of strong characterisation and emotional grounding leaves the audience disconnected from the drama unfolding onscreen. Sunil, Jagadish and Kabir Singh deliver compelling performances, while Antony Pepe remains firmly within his comfort zone. Though physically convincing, his dialogue delivery lacks the intensity his character demands. Ravi Basrur and Ajaneesh Lokanath’s music injects undeniable energy into the film, but its overpowering presence sometimes overwhelms rather than enhances the narrative.