'Malaikottai Vaaliban' Review: What's Good, What's Bad; Find Out From Viewers' Words

Mohanlal has joined hands with Lijo Jose Pellissery for his ambitious Malayalam film 'Malaikottai Vaaliban' which has hit the screens on Friday.

The much-hyped film has Sonalee Kulkarni, Hareesh Peradi, Danish Sait, Manikandan, Shanta Dhananjayan and others in the cast. Prashant Pillai has scored the music, Madhu Neelakandan's cinematography and Deepu S Joseph's editing.

'Malaikottai Vaaliban' Story

The story of the movie talks about Vaaliban, a wandering warrior accompanied by his brother and mentor, They together travel from place to place engaging in battles to establish his dominance. The story gets a twist with an unexpected twist, introducing an adversary who stands in stark contrast to the honourable Vaaliban. Vaaliban then returns home to face his greatest challenge ever. What follows next should be watched on-screen.

Lijo Jose Pellissery has incorporated elements inspired by larger-than-life, dream-like heroes of the silver screen, drawing from characters like Toshiro Mifune's Ronin in Akira Kurosawa's films, Clint Eastwood's roles in Sergio Leone's movies and it is evident when we look at the presentation and the characters. In short, the story has romance, treachery, romance, and redemption.

As far as the performances of the actors are concerned, Mohanlal has done a superb job in the lead role. The villains are equally good and notably Danish Sait performed his role of Chamantan brilliantly. Hareesh Peradi, in the role of Vaaliban's mentor, adds another layer to the narrative, allowing the actor to showcase a different facet of his talent. The supporting cast, including Sonalee Kulkarni, Katha Nandi, Sanjana Chandran, and Manoj Moses, deliver commendable performances in their respective roles.

The artwork and cinematography departments add huge value to the overall product. So, what do the viewers say about the film? Find out:

Check out what netizens say about the film:

AmuthaBharathi: #MalaikottaiVaaliban First Half - Too Average so far🚶

• Making of the movie is good💥
• Very slow screenplay. No Emotional connect & No Highlight scenes, Too Flat 🙁
• Mohanlal screen Presence saves the movie to extent 👌
• Interval point leaves with a good note...need a too good 2nd half to save the movie🤞#MalaikottaiVaaliban [#ABRatings - 2.5/5]
• The movie didn't totally work for me😐
• Making, Visual, Sound effects & #Mohanlal screen presence are the good in the movie 👌
• The screenplay is too flat and nothing was exciting, even couldn't able to connect with the Emotions too !!
• - Disaponment from Dir Lijo Jose🚶Overall a below average one

аshwiи: wammala this is cinema✨
Lijo has utterly deconstructed the conversational cinematic grammar again with his latest outing #MalaikottaiVaaliban . this visual extravaganza deserves a theatre watch🤌 A pure cinematic masterpiece🪄
wammala this is cinema✨
Lijo has utterly deconstructed the conversational cinematic grammar again with his latest outing #MalaikottaiVaaliban . this visual extravaganza deserves a theatre watch🤌 A pure cinematic masterpiece🪄

Front Row: #MalaikottaiVaaliban :A trademark LJP film with his uniqueness visible right from the backdrop to frames. Slow but steady, unconventional but engaging. LJP saves few good mass scenes also which will work equally with fans & audience. British fort sequence is superb. Good film 👍

Christopher Kanagaraj: #MalaikottaiVaaliban - 😐
100% LJP Style of Presentation. Lalettan Apt. Sound Design, Production Values, Edit & Visuals superb. Pure Experimental, No Entertainment / Emotions. 'Just' a Different Cinematic Experience!

Forum Reelz: #MalaikottaiVaaliban (2024)
LJP's latest venture, Malaikkottai Vaaliban, stands as his most ambitious work to date, though it also ventures into his most incoherent territory. This deliberately paced, intricately layered drama showcases top-notch technical finesse, yet intertwines an equal measure of impactful, tedious scenes, creating a mixed bag. Mohanlal's performance is unwaveringly solid, and at 63, the level of physical acting he brings to the table leaves the rest of the actors in awe.

As is the norm with many of Lijo's creations, expect a highly polarizing response.

Unbiased Malayalam: #MalaikottaiVaaliban
A decent offbeat film with a top-notch technical side and visuals, that is neither very engaging nor very entertaining.
Good performance by everyone.
Felt like the visual language and overall storyline were not seamlessly matching.
Can be watched.

Akhila Menon: #MalaikottaiVaaliban - my review
This is not a @Mohanlal mass padam It's a #LijoJosePellissery film that stars the legend in lead role
The movie worked me for me in parts
The character build-ups, stellar visuals, design, music , and costumes make it visual spectacle
#Mohanlal
What didn't work for me - The extreme slow pace (even though it's intentional), artificiality in dialogues, insignificant female characters.
Some action set pieces were not enjoyable as expected - Theatre kulungilla
This is a slow, comic book-esque film which we've never seen before.
If you became a @Mohanlal fan after watching Pulimurugan and Lucifer, stay away kids, This is not for you...