HIT 2 Movie Review: This Adivi Sesh starrer is engaging and thrilling

The temperamental, pyro-phobic sleuth Vikram Rudraraju (Vishwak Sen) makes way to Krishna Dev or simply KD (Adivi Sesh). ‘HIT: The First Case’ is behind for now. In ‘HIT: The Second Case’, the antagonist is fiery but not whimsical.

KD works as a cop in Vizag. A high-profile murder case stumps him when he discovers that a serial killer is behind the mind-numbing crime under investigation. A young girl named Sanjana has been mutilated; her dead body has been pieced together with the torn body parts of other women. Meanwhile, KD’s girlfriend Aarya (Meenakshi Chaudhary) may also be the serial killer’s target.

Advertisement

The thriller, executed with aplomb by Sailesh Kolanu, wants to be a consummate whydunit, in the sense that it shifts its focus away from who committed the crime to what are the killer’s motives for committing it. ‘HIT: The First Case’, the worthy predecessor of the film under review, too, had this quality of not taking the whodunit part too seriously.

The aura of the Homicide Intervention Team (HIT) is intact. There is an air of melancholy as well. The landscape is captured in its downcast self by S Manikandan’s cinematography. John Stewart Eduri’s background music adds to the intimidating feel of the edgy proceedings.

The film finds its feet when KD is at his wit’s end. In other words, the second half is way better. His intelligence is not proof positive, but when he is pushed to the corner, he can be really brainy. A smattering of crosstalk makes the early scenes worthwhile.

The climax is revved up by the introduction

Do you need to catch up with ‘HIT: The First Case’ before watching the second case? It wholly depends on how intimate an experience you want. This one works even as a standalone film despite a callback to the first part. The climax is revved up by the introduction of the protagonist of ‘HIT: The Third Case’. We are told the police department needs to be on guard, for he is going to be dangerous. One hopes the third edition is going to be far edgier.

Adivi Sesh shines in the role…

Adivi Sesh shines in the role of a cold individual who slowly becomes highly invested on the emotional level in the case. His studied portrayal adds a sense of heroism to the protagonist, who has to deal with a dastardly criminal with a penchant for playing mind games. Even though ‘HIT 2’ doesn’t match the intelligence of Sesh’s previous blockbusters (read ‘Kshanam’ and ‘Goodachari’), the actor solidly amps up the feel.

Rao Ramesh gets to play a stock character and doesn’t go beyond what we have seen of him in the trailer. Tanikella Bharani is limited to a scene, while Posani Krishna Murali as a TV journalist has a limited part. Suhas, who stole the show in last year’s ‘Family Drama’, gets a good part.

Director: Sailesh Kolanu

Cast: Adivi Sesh,Meenakshi Chaudhary

Rating: 3 / 5