Patriot Movie Review | Vishal Menon | THR India

Vishal Menon reviews Patriot, the Mahesh Narayanan-directed Malayalam spy thriller that reunites Mammootty and Mohanlal on screen after over a decade. Mammootty plays Dr. Daniel, a charismatic figure with a drinking problem — a Malayali Julian Assange of sorts, brought in old, tired, and exhausted, just to save the day — while Mohanlal’s Col. Rahim Naik is the brawn to his brain, with the two veterans communicating through Morse code in a charming old-school flourish. Set against a country ruled by a corrupt politician and his even more corrupt nepokid Sakthi, the film centres on Periscope, a Pegasus-style spyware whose spread is treated like a flesh-eating virus consuming everything in its path.

Vishal traces the film’s roots to the I.V. Sasi-T. Damodaran era of Malayalam cinema that Mahesh has cited as inspiration, and explains why the director’s surveillance obsessions — first glimpsed in C U Soon — find a fuller expression here, with some of the best scenes unfolding entirely on screens as multiple eyeballs hunt Dr. Daniel. He highlights Darshana Rajendran’s brilliantly edited backstory, the layered villainy of Rajiv Menon and Fahadh Faasil, and respectful screenspace for Kunchacko Boban and Nayanthara. A few verbose patches and action scenes that work better in hindsight aside, Patriot stays slick across its 180-minute runtime — miles away from greatness, but a whistleblower thriller with plenty of whistle-worthy moments. Watch the full review for the THR India bottomline.

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