Taapsee impressed Bollywood audience with female centric experimental films, off late. Game Over is also projectes as unique psychological thriller where Taapsee will be seen as wheel-chair bound. Will she continue her B Town success streak here in T Town with Game Over?
Rape victim Swapna (Taapsee Pannu) tries to regain her valor through her work diverting from the haunting past. An avid gamer by profession, she has fear of darkness and is looked after by affectionate house help Kalamma (Vaidyanathan). Like in video games, she has got three lives to survive from serial killers which forms crux of the story.
Video Game enthusiasts generally fight for survival from all the threats in order to achieve highest score, before their game is over. Don’t give up until you achieve the final goal is the motive they strictly follow in game. Likewise, in real life as well, one needs to fight for existence and do not give up so early is the message director Ashwin Saravanan conveyed with ‘Game Over’.
The plot is though unique and intriguing as line but not the narration. The slow-paced, complexed and illogical screenplay, coupled with negative vibes all through made the narrative painful. Cinematographer and music director gave their best but their efforts go vain because of poor writing and direction. Even the 102 minute run time feels too long, with not enough thrills or chills. Production values are decent for the genre.
Onto artists, Taapsee Pannu is terrific throughout as a girl suffering mental anguish. Vinodhini who played the house-help is equally impressive. No other artist is given significance. It must be said that giving no space to all other characters to facilitate protagonist is beyond doubt an idiocy.
Taapsee Pannu
Screenplay
Direction
Illogical Writing
Inconclusive End
Taapsee Pannu has become care of address for female centric films in Bollywood. Game Over also focuses completely on one character- that is Taapsee Pannu. The elements we expect from a film of thriller genre are missing in Game Over. Except for couple of genuinely scary moments, rest of the film is too stretched.
Movie begins with gruesome murder of a young girl at city outskirts followed by series of murders shown in newspapers cutting hints at the film is all about serial killings in the city. Taapsee is introduced as a videogame developer, and she is extremely in the depths of despair. Memories of her rape incident keep flashing in her mind and she's unable to overcome that. She even decides to end her life, but an unknown force stops her doing so. The tattoo story is inspiring, but it was narrated in the most possible boring way. Towards interval, we are prepared to see how Taapsee deals with serial killers who entered her house.
Second half is all about Taapsee surviving from the serial killers. The film then turns to a narrative technique of repeating the same situation as it happens typically in a game. This set-up of revisiting the same incidents again and again with dissimilar outcomes will only test our patience. The movie ends in inconclusive manner, with a message of one should give best fight for their survival.
All in all, Game Over is a pathetic film with no engaging elements. Except for good performances from Taapsee, Vinodhini and couple of terrifying episodes, the film offers nothing. CJ goes with 1.75 stars and we recommend you to skip this film.