Robinhood movie review: Nithiin, Sreeleela headline a tepid comedy that needed more highs and laughs

So, we have Ram aka Robinhood (Nithiin), who grows up in an orphanage, and decides to rob from the rich to ensure no one in need suffers. Starting off with petty crimes, he moves on to bank heists, rich house heists, and the likes. Just when the cop Victor (Shine Tom Chacko) almost catches him in the act, which he escapes due to the makers’ belief that logic is not a requisite in such films. Nevertheless, he finds another gig to earn an honest living, but somehow, scams his way to making a billionaire believe that he is part of a top-tier security agency. And why do we buy into this conceit? Because… we don’t have a choice.

ALSO READ: Veera Dheera Sooran Movie Review: A terrific Vikram anchors a gritty actioner that walks the tightrope between realistic and masala elements

And suddenly, the narrative is about a lawless village where really bad people are terrorising the villagers and growing cannabis in the soil. Now, what brings Neera (Sreeleela) and Jyothi (Vennela Kishore) to this village, and why Robinhood and Jon Snow (Rajendra Prasad) tag along with them? Why does these lawless henchmen and villains who have no qualms in killing and maiming people like it is just another Monday not do anything to Neera and Co? Why does the main villain Swami (Devdatta Nage) and his rugged henchmen suddenly become comic relief? And how does the hero and heroine break into a song and romance routine right after seeing people be killed and beaten mercilessly? And why does the film break into a ‘special’ number, which is as random as the choice of the leads breaking into a dance for the same ‘special’ number in another location? It is all due to the makers’ strong belief that stringing together a few scenes, and peppering them with jokes would make us forget the glaring gaps in the narrative. And they might have pulled it off too… But the gags don’t always work, and the laughs don’t always come, and we are left with no choice but to see through what they think is their best shot.

The biggest problem with Robinhood is not the disappointing VFX, the immediate submission of blood-thirsty villains after a regular slo-mo action sequence, misplaced songs, or even the flippant characterisation of Sreeleela’s Neera. The biggest problem with Robinhood is that it merely goes through its motions. Even in a film like Kick, there is an extra layer of temporary memory loss that does the trick and elevates the proceedings. In a film like Ready, it is the family structure in the village that acts as the source of comedy that does the trick and elevates the proceedings. In Robinhood, however, with the portions in the Rudrakonda village falling flat, there are no highs whatsoever despite the cannabis connect to the terrain.

The outlandishness is never a problem in comic capers, especially since exaggeration is the bedrock of certain styles of comedy. It is okay if a character randomly calls Zebra the oldest animal because it is still in ‘black and white…’ and another character says seconds before that he doesn’t know about the oldest animal, but the newest is Ranbir Kapoor. But it doesn’t gel well in a film that is torn between a premise that is ‘noble’ and a lead character who is unidimensional and borderline boring. Nithiin’s Ram is too straight-faced in a film that has randomness written all over it. Of course, you need a grounding factor in any film, but with the protagonist being… well let’s say boring, it doesn’t bode well for its fortunes. Although Neera is let’s say… an endearing doofus, and you have Jyothi and Jon Snow bringing the roof down with hilarious one-liners and gags that mostly work, Ram being a straight arrow doesn’t work, and it is sad that the titular character of a film ends up being the biggest distraction. Oh, and there’s a David Warner cameo that is outlandish, random, caricaturish, and perfect for the world of Robinhood.

ALSO READ: When David Warner turned into Pushpa’s Allu Arjun at Robinhood event. Watch

Robinhood needed to dial up the outlandishness considering one of its sidetracks is about a cancer cure with cannabis as its primary ingredient, and India giving the license to a company to produce medical marijuana. It has villains who think bringing the only daughter of a billionaire pharma company owner to India is the only possible way to ‘get’ the license in their names. It has a hero who thinks police won’t, for a second, doubt a person just because he cried ‘Thief’ first. It has a comedian who thinks Google provides the right answers, and transfers crores of rupees without doing even a simple background check. You see, none of these make sense… but it would have been still okay if the writing imbibed the randomness of it all. But in its attempt to impart logic, reasoning, and an overarching sense of preachiness, the makers end up breaking the first rule of cons… They started believing in their own con.

Robinhood Movie Cast: Nithiin, Sreeleela, Vennela Kishore, Rajendra Prasad
Robinhood Movie Director: Venky Kudumula
Robinhood Movie Rating: 2/5 stars