Prithviraj Sukamaran's Ambitious Sequel L2 Empuraam: When Mass Appeal Meets Missed Opportunities

The much-anticipated sequel to Prithviraj Sukumaran's Lucifer, L2 Empuraan, opened today with hopes of infused Malayalam cinema's elegance with mass appeal. Despite the large canvas and the enormity of Mohanlal's presence in the film, it suffers from some identity issues and pacing. It takes nearly one hour to get to the main character, involving timelines and various locations, which makes the viewer puzzled. The back half of the film has more rigorous pacing and has some good action scenes, especially a good jungle fight scene. The pacing and long length of the film took away its thunder. Mohanlal has a great performance loaded with a Rajinikanth-type swagger that looks charismatic, and the supporting cast of strong actors, including Tovino Thomas and Manju Warrier, were underutilized. Abhimanyu Singh does a good job playing the menacing villain. Visually impressive with a grand and ambitious scope, L2 Empuraan lacks a degree of emotional depth in exchange for style. Ultimately, L2 Empuraan is a mixed bag, and fans of the original Lucifer will want for something more.

 

Source: Hindustan Time