Aadu 3 Review: Ambitious Comedy, Funny in Bursts

Aadu 3: Part 1 feels like a film trapped in its own ambition. While it expands the universe in an interesting manner, it loses sight of the tight, irreverent humour that made the previous films click in the first place, notes Sreeju Sudhakaran.

Aadu as a franchise has had a fascinating trajectory. The first film (2015) underperformed at the box office but found a second life through television reruns, eventually attaining cult status.

Characters like Shaaji Pappan, Arackkal Abu, Shameer, Dude and Satan Xavier became household favourites, giving the makers enough confidence to push ahead with a sequel.

Aadu 2 (2017) not only justified that decision but also emerged as a funnier, tighter film and, now that I have watched the third instalment, it still remains the best of the lot.

With Aadu 3 arriving six years later, Writer-Director Midhun Manuel Thomas takes an unexpectedly ambitious leap. In a franchise already known for its eccentricity, he adds parallel timelines, portals and time travel into the mix.

The scale of this ambition is such that the film has been split into two parts, a rarity for Malayalam Cinema. But as you sit through the excessively long first instalment, you can't help but wonder if this ambitious setting comes at the cost of consistent humour.

The plot of Aadu 3

Aadu 3: One Last Ride -- Part 1 opens in the year 2350, introducing us to a futuristic doppelgänger of one of the franchise's familiar characters. He speaks of a mysterious organisation called, well, 'Organisation' and a mythical object capable of disrupting timelines.

The narrative then oscillates between two primary timelines.

In the present day, we reunite with Shaaji Pappan (Jayasurya) and his gang, whose streak of misfortune now seems contagious, affecting even characters like Shameer (producer Vijay Babu), Satan Xavier (Sunny Wayne) and Dude (Vinayakan).

The second timeline, set in 1750, reimagines these characters in vastly different avatars -- though their inherent idiocy remains intact. Shaaji Pappan appears as an impoverished ruler under threat from Tipu Sultan's general, Azam Khan, who is Dude's doppelgänger in this period.

An ambitious price to pay

While this sci-fi infusion lends the film an interesting new texture, 'interesting' doesn't necessarily translate to 'engaging'. The franchise staples remain -- characters chasing a MacGuffin, peppered with one-liners -- but the central object here, a time-travel device, feels frustratingly abstract.

We are given only fleeting glimpses of its function, and the motivations of the many characters pursuing it -- most of whom don't even understand it or have even seen it -- remain unclear.

Midhun Manuel Thomas is certainly saving the answers for Part 2, but this decision leaves Part 1 feeling like an extended setup (nearly three hours long at that).

What does work are the sporadic bursts of humour and a handful of sharp one-liners. Two standout sequences include the gang's visit to an astrologer and a confrontation with Satan Xavier over a contract that hilariously escalates into a bidding war.

But these moments are offset by long stretches where the film labours to manufacture humour, often unsuccessfully. The (re)introduction of the gang, for instance, involves an overextended setup featuring Cleetus' foolishness, fake dollars, Donald Trump, and a courtroom gag. It's a bloated sequence that simply doesn't deliver enough laughs.

The 1750 timeline initially piques curiosity with its costumes and setups, but the humour there feels erratic. Characters like Jayasurya's Padmanabhan Thamburaan seem tonally confused -- unsure whether to be comic or serious -- and the performance doesn't land either way. The already sluggish first half is further weighed down by its length and an unnecessary glam item number featuring Vedhika.

The second half spikes with the entry of Dude, and Vinayakan absolutely steals the show here. The plot sure gets going, but is rendered into a series of contrite chases. The film only begins to truly engage towards the end, and just as you get invested, it abruptly cuts off, asking you to wait for the next instalment. That's a frustrating payoff.

Vinakayan steals the show

Performance-wise, the ensemble does what it can. Jayasurya, Saiju Kurup, Indrans, Vijay Babu, Dharmajan Bolgatty and others manage to evoke occasional laughs, but there's a visible strain in trying to recreate the magic of the earlier films.

I cannot say the same about Sunny Wayne, who also tries too hard -- including a forced English accent in the period portions -- but fails to register any real comic impact.

The only consistently amusing presence is Vinayakan, whose Aadujeevitham-inspired entrapment and subsequent 'resurrection' provide some genuine laughs, even if the writing doesn't quite match up to the brilliance of the demonetisation track in Aadu 2. That said, even he struggles to make an impression in his Azam Khan avatar.

On the technical front, Aadu 3 is a mixed bag. Akhil George's cinematography lends the film a polished, big-screen appeal with well-lit frames. But the editing leaves much to be desired, the film's lag and lack of narrative grip are hard to ignore, though the uneven screenplay shares equal blame.

The background score leans heavily on Shan Rahman's familiar character themes for present-day portions, while Dawn Vincent introduces new compositions for the newer settings. This constant switching, however, becomes repetitive after a point.

Ultimately, Aadu 3: Part 1 feels like a film trapped in its own ambition. While it expands the universe in an interesting manner, it loses sight of the tight, irreverent humour that made the previous films click in the first place. Let's hope that Part 2 redeems this elaborate setup and brings it to a fun conclusion.

PS: Bring Back Pinky!

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