Allu Arjun's Race Gurram showed so much promise with the trailers and audio. Surender Reddy's previous film Oosaravelli failed to entertain. He is back to Kick mode in this film. Did he get it right this time? Did this horse win the Race?
What is it about?Lucky (Allu Arjun) is a happy go lucky guy who doesn't like his elder brother Ram (Kick Shyam) at all. Ram is a police officer and Lucky is a mischief monger. One of Lucky's naughty acts saves Ram from a fatal accident. Ram isn't aware of that, but Lucky comes to know that a politician Shiva Reddy (Ravi Kishan) is trying to kill his brother. Lucky confronts Shiva Reddy and then starts the race.
Performances: Allu Arjun owned this film in each and every frame. He just sleepwalked through the film with an amazing ease. He has excelled in comedy with impeccable timing. Deyvudaa mannerism will be the buzz word for college youth for sure. Allu Arjun did a Raviteja in terms of energy in this film. This will be remembered as one of his best performances. Kick Shyam is good as Bunny's brother. He has limited expressions though. Shruti Haasan is alright. Her dances will surprise one and all. She just mastered the mass dance moves.
Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan is one of the weak links of this film. He failed to impress in the key scenes. A powerful villain could have done world of good to this film. Prakash Raj's role was weird and abruptly ended. Brahmanandam steals the show in the penultimate scenes. Tanikella Bharani, Posani, JP, MS everyone chipped in whenever required.
Technicalities: Surender Reddy is at home dealing with comedy scenes. He made more action films in his career, but Surender offers quality comedy. There are few hilarious scenes in the film. However director failed to get the balance right. Comedy, Sentiment and Action didn't go hand in hand. Music by Thaman is good. Two songs stand out in the film. Boochade and Cinema Choopista are instant chartbusters. Background score is not up to the mark. Action is loud. They should have composed some decent fights. Those explosive action episodes are out of sync with rest of the movie. Cinematography is good. Editing could have been better.
Thumbs Up:Allu Arjun and few Comedy scenes
Thumbs Down: Beaten to death plot
Lethargic screenplay
Analysis:Race Gurram has its positives and also has its share of negatives. This film is strictly one time watch for those are craving for entertainment. Movie lovers may not be pleased with this pop corn entertainment and the film that doesn't take itself seriously. Penultimate scenes looks like they are straight out of some parody film ala Hrudaya Kaleyam.
Leave your brains at home is the theme of this film and don't ever look for logic or you will be left deeply hurt. The makers took the audience's thinking capabilities for granted and churned out some illogical and sometimes overtly stupid scenes.
Allu Arjun has come to the rescue of the film at many instances. He single handedly pulled the film to the climax.
Ever reliable
Brahmanandam took it off from there to make it an average fare. You have seen it all before. There is nothing that is better or new in this film. Most of Raviteja's movies are made this way. If you want to see someone like Bunny in a Raviteja brand mass entertainer, then this film is exactly for you. Releasing during the peak summer season will help Race Gurram's prospects at box office. We expect more from this promising combination, but what they offered was an average comedy entertainer with a silly antagonist.
