Mirzapur – The Movie – Review

quick review:

Happy to see more of the same? That is exactly what you’ll get. Any newness is done with, with elan.
Streaming Partner: Amazon Prime

Review

You are told repeatedly, again and again, ad nauseum about the power of this so-called throne. Not once, do you see it. In fact, continuing from the series, you see its vulnerability—in the power that is held over it by politicians, in how powerless its heir is, in how many known and secret enemies it has.

So, as you watch the all-too-familiar proceedings, you know how it’s going to pan out. Now, this might be alright for someone who hasn’t watched the series. Maybe this holds nostalgic value for those who have followed the series too. Especially because the movie’s story starts off pretty much at the beginning, maybe an episode or two into the first season of the series.

To be fair, there is an attempt to stir something new. But as it’s happening and down to the end it feels like much ado about very little. That the climax feels like the Mirzapur world has come around a full circle, doesn’t help its case.

What does help is that the performances are head and shoulder above the average. Pankaj Tripathi continues to be able to draw a loud laugh with so much as the slightest of flickers in the eye and quivers outside the lip. Yes, it is intentional. And yes, I am referring to his entire repertoire and not just this series. The one thing that stands out about Mirzapur though is that each member of the cast fits just perfectly and does exactly what their character needs them to do.

Some credit, of course, goes to characters that are reasonably well written too. A special shout out to Munna’s capacity to wear both—his weaknesses and his capacity to be oblivious to them—on his sleeve.

Unfortunately, though, this quality in writing doesn’t spread to the story or even the dialogue. The story meanders uninterestingly. Sure, there is some merit to highlighting how petty men who are so macho can be. But that doesn’t make it any less petty. Neither does calling out the pettiness. It just makes the whole thing repetitive. The 3+ hours’ worth of lines barely leave a mark either.

What’s supposed to stay with you then? The gore, the bloodbath and the action? We can see the effort put in to make that shine, but again it isn’t engaging. And I wouldn’t know if overt brutality is entertaining because I am not in the movie hall for that.

Deceit, revenge, violence, competitiveness, sex even—have made for great stories and, of course, films too. But Mirzapur The Movie ain’t that story, nor movie.

– meeta, a part of the audience