‘Agent’ Movie Review: Akhil Akkineni’s Ultra-Energetic Act and Mammootty’s Stiff Performance Make a Weird Combo in This Tepid Action-Thriller (LatestLY Exclusive)

Agent Movie Review: The most intriguing aspect of Surender Reddy’s Agent is that the person who leads the good forces - aka RAW in the film - is nicknamed the Devil, though his real name is after a god. Meanwhile, the antagonist calls himself God, while our hero is named after two gods. I could delve deeper into the metaphorical nomenclature of these characters, but that would mean putting more thought into it than the makers did in conceptualising this lacklustre action thriller. Mahesh Babu Goes Gaga Over Akhil Akkineni’s Transformation for Agent, Calls It ‘Stunning’ (View Post).

Starring Akhil Akkineni in the lead, Agent casts him as an ethical hacker named Ramakrishna, aka Ricky. Ricky behaves as if he injects himself with 10 shots of caffeine every morning - he’s that hyper-energetic. The movie constantly reminds us of this overflowing energy by having him or someone close to him exclaim, "Wild Saala!" He’s also desperate to join RAW and idolises its chief, Mahadev, aka the Devil (played by Malayalam superstar Mammootty).

The Devil, meanwhile, has his own headache in the form of a former mentee and RAW agent who now calls himself God (Dino Morea). God heads a shady terrorist organisation called Syndicate and is planning something big for the country. Realising he needs someone unpredictable to take him down, Mahadev unofficially recruits Ricky to infiltrate the Syndicate and uncover God’s plans.

Watch the Trailer of 'Agent':

There’s a side romantic track involving Ricky and the lissom Vidya (Sakshi Vaidya), whose presence in the film is as essential as the appendix in your body. Does that make the rest of the film any better? Well, Agent certainly has ambitions, and thanks to the super-success of Pathaan, spy thrillers are currently in favour with audiences. It also helps that Agent shares some traits with Pathaan - secret agencies, rogue agents gone bad, relentless globe-trotting, and over-the-top action sequences (along with plenty of green screens and below-par VFX).

There’s also the fact that Akhil Akkineni seems to be having fun with his role, and his over-the-top exuberance does add some chutzpah to the film’s first half. This leads to an interesting action sequence near the interval mark that unleashes the wild saala side of Ricky. Unfortunately, this is also where the film peaks, and from here on, it begins a steep decline from which Agent never recovers.

Ironically, these are the portions where Agent should have smashed the ball out of the park. The second half fully embraces its spy thriller sensibilities, but lackadaisical writing and editing undo the film. The action sequences hardly impress, whether it’s the utterly tension-free chase sequence in Kashmir (why worry when the hero is protected by plot armour?) or the ludicrous fight sequence in the climax.

To add to our misery, songs drop in at random intervals, with the main culprits being "Rama Krishna" and "Wild Saala", the latter being an item song featuring Urvashi Rautela. After all, how can you make a masala potboiler in Telugu without including an item song, no matter how annoyingly misplaced it may be? Agent Song Wild Saala: Akhil Akkineni and Urvashi Rautela Are Killers on the Dance Floor in This New Track by Bheems Ceciroleo.

Akhil Akkineni is a mixed bag in the film. There are moments where his charm shines through, and others where he feels like he’s overdoing it. That said, his screen presence and confident body language work well for his part. Mammootty’s performance feels stiffer compared to his masterful roles in Malayalam cinema, and those turtlenecks don’t help either. Still, it’s a worthwhile performance, and I was glad to see that Mammukka dubbed for his character (unlike in the trailer, I assume). Dino Morea is quite good as the villain, though at times, you can’t help but draw parallels with his antagonistic turn in the series The Empire. I wasn’t entirely convinced by the reasoning behind his character’s descent into villainy - one of the many illogical elements the film tries to cram in.

'Agent' Movie Review - Final Thoughts

Agent struggles to live up to its lofty ambitions of being a high-octane action entertainer, let down by a listless screenplay, unexceptional action scenes, and below-par technical aspects. Akhil Akkineni’s energetic performance aside, the film doesn’t channel enough of that energy to become even a passable action flick. It’s just not wild enough to make any noise! Agent is now streaming on Sony LIV.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 14, 2025 02:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).