Movie Review: Top Gear

Aadi Sai Kumar is battling with a series of failures. His last film Crazy Fellow got okay talk but the film failed to rake in moolah at the theatres. He is now banking on a crime thriller Top Gear directed by debutante Sasikanth. Will Aadi deliver this time around? Let’s check it out.

What is it about?

Arjun (Aadi) a happy-go-lucky guy who works as a cab driver and loves his newly-wed wife Aadya (Riya Suman). He goes to duty like any other day. But on the fateful day, people who are involved in a big crime hire his cab. They are connected to a most-wanted drug peddler (Mime Gopi). What forms rest is how Arjun gets involved and how he overcomes the hurdles that come his way.

Performances :

Aadi Sai Kumar is alright as an innocent who gets part in a serious crime. He is okay as a helpless cab driver. His role requires more dynamism to deal with this. Riya Suman is confined to the role of a dependent wife. Her role offers nothing much. Mime Gopi shines as the main baddie Siddharth. Playing a dreaded villain is his cup of tea and he does his part. Shatru as ACP is okay. Narra Srinu, Brahmaji, Satyam Rajesh are good in their portions. All the characters in the film have limitations owing to the writing. Too many characters also take away the steam. 

Technicalities :

Top Gear is bogged down by half-baked writing laced with predictable elements. The flat screenplay makes the film disengaging and disconnecting. Debutante director Shashikanth suffered with the second-half syndrome. BGM is the blessing in disguise. Less run-time turned out to be good for this crime drama.

Highlights

Watchable First Half
Background Score

Drawbacks

Second Half
Predictable Elements
Flat Narration

Analysis

Making a thriller is not a cakewalk. Audiences are exposed to nail-biting thrillers on OTT space. So, our makers should also hone their writing skills. Aadi Sai Kumar’s Top Gear is a crime thriller on paper. But it is not fully developed. The take off of the story is alright and till the interval, the film holds the audience with its okayish writing. It just sets the tone and mood. The real story begins only post interval. But what comes in the second half is a total let down. It is marred by the predictable elements and flat narration. However, there are certain elements in the first half, which rescue audiences to an extent.

The second-half needed more attention in terms of writing and direction to make it more engaging. In many parts, the film misses out on some logic. One wonders why doesn’t the cab driver immediately alert police personnel at the initial portions although he gets the decent chances to escape from the culprits. There are so many bullets fired at the protagonist and he gets away easily. There are many characters in the film who get killed one after the other creating some confusion. The makers took certain cinematic liberties which put audiences off, particularly it is a disappointing experience to the fans of the thriller genre.

The film rushes towards its climax, clearly for the convenience of the makers. Overall, Top Gear is bogged down by the brakes used by the makers itself. It fails to thrill. It is a bumpy cab ride from Aadi and the team. 

Bottom-line: Wrong Ride

Rating: 2/5