Director: Mohit Suri
Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Jacqueline Fernandes, Prashant Narayanan
Release Date: 2011-07-08 12:00:00
Quick Take: A murder worth witnessing
 

If you’re planning to watch Murder 2 keeping the original in mind, then drop that idea. For this sequel has hardly anything in common with Anurag Basu’s Murder (2004). Sure there’s sizzle and oomph, in abundance, but this time the story has an altogether different tone and style. It shows much more brutality and bloodshed. Maybe the makers of the film wanted to do justice to the title. And to an extent they succeed in doing so.

The plot of Murder 2 bears many similarities to the 2008 South Korean film The Chaser. An ex-cop Arjun (Emraan Hashmi) is trying to solve the mystery of serial killings happening in Goa. Prashant Narayanan plays the havoc wrecking-drag queen-serial killer Dheeraj Pandey who brutally murders call girls. Problems start for Dheeraj when he captures teenager Reshma (Sulagna Panigrahi) and Arjun steps in to save the girl. The movie is directed by Bhatt camp loyalist Mohit Suri and he does a fair job in providing the edgy moments required in a thriller. But the film is less of a suspense thriller and plays more with the abnormal characterization of the psychopath killer. The enjoyment the killer gets in butchering the girls is sure to give you goosebumps.

The first hour of the film is well paced. Many things unfold and they keep you hooked. But the pace goes inconsistent in the second half. Other short comings of the film are its contrived screenplay and poor dialogue. Jacqueline Fernandez steams up the screen in the first fifteen minutes. But that’s about it. She has nothing more to offer in a role which seems more like a lengthy cameo. However, Emraan Hashmi delivers a competent performance. Prashant Narayanan steals the show with his badass act. His effortlessly wicked performance makes him the real lead of the film.

Murder 2 isn’t an OMG! What a killer film, but it’s gripping enough to let you kill some good time.