Pendulum 2023 Movie Review

So, there's this guy, Dr. Mahesh Narayanan, who goes on a family trip for just one day. But here's the twist – he experiences some really weird stuff during that trip. His family finds him somewhere else, completely knocked out, and he has no clue how he got there. The crazy part is, he had a dream that he's trying to figure out, and it involves kids with specific names. The rest of the movie is all about Mahesh trying to uncover what the heck happened to him and how it all plays out in "Pendulum Movie."

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The beginning of the movie focuses on two teenagers, but unfortunately, the writing isn't great and it doesn't give a good first impression. As the story unfolds, there's a big shift between the Dr. Mahesh storyline in the present and the flashbacks, and it feels a bit off. In the first half, the director, Rejin, brings in the idea of lucid dreams and ties it to time travel. There's a cool part where they explain it through a character played by Prakash Bare. It's like a mini lesson for the audience, but not too basic. The movie gets into why Dr. Mahesh is caught up in all of this, and it turns out time isn't straightforward in this fantasy world.

The writing, especially how the characters talk, is the weak point in Rejin S Babu's style. There's a cool scene with a lucid dream, but it could have been even better with more interesting dialogue. Surprisingly, there aren't a ton of fancy visual effects in the film, considering the dreamy theme. If the characters talked a bit more freely, it could have made the audience more curious. Also, if you're a fan of Pingami and Manichitrathazhu, you might notice some familiar scenes in Mahesh's journey to uncover the truth.

Vijay Babu does a good job playing Dr. Mahesh in the movie, and he manages to make the dialogues feel more natural. Devaki Rajendran also handles conversations in a practical way. Now, directing child actors is a skill, but in this case, having them deliver overly dramatic lines exactly as prompted doesn't work well. Even Anu Mol, who's experienced, struggles with the right tone for her character's exclamations. The movie has other familiar faces like Shobi Thilakan, Indrans, Jolly Chirayath, Ramesh Pisharody, and Neena Kurup in its small cast.

Pendulum let clear

 "Pendulum Movie 2023" isn't a perfect or groundbreaking film. It takes inspiration from many other movies and books that delve into time travel and lucid dreaming. However, Rejin S Babu's story isn't a lazy copy of those ideas. It falls into the category of films with untapped potential—you sense it could be great, but it only reaches that potential partially.