A Colossal Waste of Potential, Time, and Money by Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran

RATING – ⭐ ⭐ 2/5*

L2 Empuraan Review Movie Talkies:

At times, we ponder how to make a bad sequel to a good film. Well, here’s L2 Empuraan as a fine and recent illustration of it. Occasionally, people create a good movie and then make a forced sequel to it to earn some good money. That’s what L2E is. Directing the legendary Mohanlal is a dream for any prominent director, and then Prithviraj Sukumaran got that chance as a newbie when he made Lucifer (2019). He truly made a good film, and the movie was filled with moments of his fanship towards the superstar. After the huge success of Lucifer, Sukumaran decided to continue the story, but sadly, he and the entire film disappointed big time. If this is how you make a hyped sequel, then it’s better not to make it. Not everyone can do what Baahubali 2 (2017) or Drishyam 2 (2021) did. But L2E is a significant failure, man. I mean, forget the critic reviews, but even the masses are going to hate it, and I can see the box office tumbling down after the huge opening already.

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L2 Empuraan Story:

L2E starts with a foreign operation by an international team as they try to nab Abram Khureshi (Mohanlal). Cut to Zayed Masood’s past and the revenge he has been seeking for 23 years. Immediately, cut to Kerala politics, as Jathin Ramdas (Tovino Thomas) has turned bad and has joined forces with the villain, Balraj (Abhimanyu Singh). Cut to Priyadarshini’s counterattack, and then there is news of Abram, aka Stephen’s, death. As God’s own city is under political threat, the devil, Lucifer, must return to save it from evil.

L2 Empuraan completely wastes the first half with several plot setups that are far too predictable, even for a child. Mohanlal’s entry scene was dull, as it resembles the visuals and style of Lucifer’s ending scene. The second half features Mohanlal in one action-packed sequence in dark settings, which remains the best scene in the entire film. The climax fight sequence is similar to the mid-action dramas usually seen in Telugu and Kannada cinema. L2‘s script has nothing to offer as a sequel to Lucifer, and it doesn’t do any justice to its predecessor. It’s outdated, tedious, and moreover, stretched to almost 3 hours. It feels so incomplete because you hardly see Mohanlal and Prithviraj in action for barely 20 minutes; then where the hell did those other 145 minutes go?

L2 Empuraan Cast:

Mohanlal has delivered a decent performance, and for me, it wasn’t an acting-driven role. This is about witnessing the massy avatar of the legendary superstar, and he does it right. Sukumaran was underwhelming in the climax and much weaker compared to his performance in Lucifer. Tovino Thomas was quite decent, while Manju Warrier was better this time. Abhimanyu Singh didn’t really scare me as an antagonist. Indrajith Sukumaran was fine, and Suraj Venjaramoodu didn’t get enough space to be noticed.

L2 Empuraan Review:

Regarding the cinematography, this film looks better in IMAX but could have featured those top views and close-ups done better. The widescreen format helps extend the horizon, but only if the director knew how to use it. The best frame in the film remains that “L” sign with two metaphorical elements—cross and fire. The background score is another disappointment, but the reuse of the score from the previous film was effective in the forest fight scene. Prithviraj Sukumaran should have scrapped the script written by Murali Gopy in the first place to save himself and his film from this disgrace. L2E is a prime example of how not to make a sequel that will disappoint not only critics but fans as well. Sukumaran’s vision was wrong and outdated. Lucifer worked because it was rooted in Kerala, and the Malayalam audience connected to its genuineness, but here L2 completely broke that link and took the film into international affairs and the political turmoil of the state. That’s so childish, and so is the film. Guess what, he’s thinking of Part 3 now. LOL.

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