Amal Neerad, who has worked in Bollywood as a cinematographer under Ram Gopal Varma and who had debuted in Malayalam first as a cinematographer (in Black) and then as a director (Big B), now impresses us and exhausts us with Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded. Amal had done a very good job of his debut directorial venture, the Mammootty film Big B. Secondly, the character that Mohanlal plays in Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded has the same name as the one he played years back in Irupathaam Noottandu, one of his earliest hits, a film that people love watching even now. (Though it was already announced that the film was not a sequel, people expected it to be one, and at least watchable like Irupathaam Noottandu). Thirdly, Mohanlal’s presence in the lead role and finally, the hype and the hoopla before release. And what do we get?. An international underworld man Sagar, alias Jackie (Mohanlal) He’s got to be a good guy, simply because he’s Mohanlal, flies to India on being called by Indu (Shobhana), the State Chief Minister’s daughter. Indu seeks his help in rescuing her husband Manu (Manoj. K. Jayan) from kidnappers. Sagar does that, the shrewd and daring guy he is. And from there begins Sagar’s war with two underworld ‘baddies’, the Dubai-based Naina (Suman) and the Goa-based Rosario (Sampath). The rest of the story deals with how Sagar, alias Jackie, the good underworld guy, eliminates his adversaries.

Technical Expertise
The film leaves us spellbound with its technical brilliance. The cinematography, editing, art-work and the slick and stylish presentation happen to be unlike anything Malayalam cinema gets to see. Amal Neerad justifies our expectations and more on this count. But when it comes to the content aspect, the film leaves us exhausted. This is simply because there is not much of a story. It’s just Mohanlal and his men moving around in style and finishing off the baddies (Suman, Sampath and their men). So, what’s Bhavana doing in this story as television reporter Arathy Menon who starts loving Sagar and dies a pitiful death? And what’s Rahul Dev doing in a half-baked kind of role as a shooter? The story and the screenplay, penned by the very same S.N. Swamy who had penned Irupathaam Noottandu, leaves much to be desired and mars the total impact of the film. Mohanlal scores as the lead player, though at times he seems to be content walking along with a wooden expression.