CBI 5 The Brain Malayalam Full Movie Review

The impact of a mystery thriller lies in the time it takes to solve it. The writer and director should be a step ahead of the audience in some places if not all. CBI 5: The Brain; the fifth installment of the CBI series, takes a little more than sweet time to do the same.

Sethurama Iyer has been assigned with a new case. He has a new team and the murders are aplenty now. With his proficiency being questioned, will Iyer be able to crack the case?

Mammootty is the holding barrel here. The actor’s magnanimous screen presence recreates the magic left off by the iconic character and it is so enjoyable to watch. Renji Panicker gets an equal share of screen presence or rather more. The performances of the cast were good, barring a few. Jagathy Sreekumar again on screen was a scream!!

The screenplay by SN Swamy is detailed; very detailed! It expresses, comes back, and repeats it and this happens a lot. It wants to make sure that even the illiterate understand it. This may bring uneasiness to the viewer of today. Second of all, Swamy’s screenplay is bulky with factual matter. Though there isn’t anything so explosive about it, the film has a strong script. The inclusion of nostalgic moments was such a tribute to the series’s legacy.

Jakes Bejoy proves his mettle once again. The recreated CBI theme is also good. Akhil Geroge’s visuals give a new tone to the film and make it look updated. K.Madhu has also maintained a clean standard in capturing Swamy’s script.

The main aspect that has taken a hit is the editing. Sreekar Prasad’s narrative style is also new to the series but a long-long narration makes it tough. The bulky detailing and repetitive dialogues could have been easily chopped off. Bringing the film down to 2 hours 15 or 20 minutes would have done more good. The blurring of the wrinkles on the faces etc. could have used better technicians.

Review By Gautham Ravichandran