The pivot in the second half towards retribution lays bare the friction between its high concepts and reliance on conventional tropes. You see its novelty and nobility starting to wear off when the film brings Mohanlal and Mammootty together onscreen. This is where the folly of the marketing efforts behind the film becomes quite evident. For example, you do not want to know that a major fight scene is around the corner when Mammootty, Mohanlal and Kunchacko Boban get into a particular car. By releasing a poster hinting at it before the release, the makers of the film have not done themselves any favour. It sucks out whatever little excitement the film could have generated from these ‘fan-service’ moments. Further, such sequences go against the makers’ claim about Patriot being a plot-driven story. Anyone with some familiarity in mass masala cinema in the South can tell that these are attempts to cater to the two big stars at the centre of the story. The same applies to the presence of heavyweights in the narrative, such as Nayanthara. Why are they even part of the project? Of course, the plot does drive the story, but this is also part of what makes it heavy-handed. The rigidity in the narrative makes the performances mechanical, leaving little room for emotional resonance. Take Fahadh Faasil, for example. It adds salt to the wounds when he puts on a bad impression of an evil Fahadh Faasil character.
It feels like Mahesh has not fully understood the assignment. Let us compare Patriot with the blockbuster from last year. The multistarrer from Prithviraj Sukumaran may be a bloated affair, but at no point does the film give us the impression that it suffers from an identity crisis. Prithviraj clearly markets it for the big star, Mohanlal, and offers some thrilling hero elevation moments in the film, notwithstanding its screenplay flaws. Ultimately, Patriot is a film sabotaged by its own messaging—a manifesto for bad marketing.
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