Rating: 7/10 (Hilarious Entertainer)

Cast: Venkatesh, Varun Tej, Tamannaah Bhatia, Mehreen Pirzada, Rajendra Prasad, Prakash Raj, Jhansi, Vennela Kishore, Priyadarshi Pullikonda, Raghu Babu, Srinivasa Reddy, Pragathi, Pradeep, Pruthvi, Hari Teja, Annapoorna, Y. Vijaya, Nassar and others

Story-Screenplay-Dialogues-Direction: Anil Ravipudi

Music: Devi Sri Prasad

Producer: Dil Raju

Banner: Sri Venkateswara Creations

Format Watched: Theater (Empire Cinemas Columbia Park)

This is a review that has been in the cans for 10 months and only coming just now. I watched F2 way back in January and just never got around to it. The film was a blockbuster and made about 80 crores at the box office during Sankranthi. Starring Venkatesh, Varun Tej, Tamannah and Mehreen in the lead roles, F2 was directed by Anil Ravipudi.

Plot: Venky (Venkatesh) and Varun (Varun Tej) narrate the stories of why they escaped their houses and came to Prague during a police interrogation. What ensues is a hilarious turn of events and that forms the rest of the F2.

Performances: After Nuvvu Naaku Nachav and Malliswari, the audience has been missing a vintage entertainer from Venkatesh. And in this movie, he is incredible. His classic comic timing and expressions are impeccable and Venky does an outstanding job and makes you sympathize with him throughout the movie. The scene where he explain his situation to a dog is outright hilarious. Overall, this movie is Venky's show from start to finish and he is back after a long gap with a universal entertainer that will please everyone.

Varun Tej is apt and shows impressive comic timing as Venkatesh's partner in crime. His Telangana accent is definitely a bit odd but this film serves extra mileage for Varun's talents as an actor. He does a surprisingly good job.

After 12 years in the industry, Tamannah probably has her career best look and delivers a solid performance as a cunning wife. She is simply sensational in Girra Girra and will make the frontbenchers go crazy. Credit to her team as she looks ravishing throughout the entire film.

Mehreen overacts and her characters get on your nerves. Yet the actress delivers her best performance of her career and proves with the right director, she can pull off a decent role.

Raghubabu as a local MLA is hilarious. Rajendra Prasad is equally as funny though his Fasak track with Hariteja is in bad taste.

Prakash Raj is alright. Srinivas Reddy is hilarious in his awkward role. Pragathi, Annapurna, and the other elderly woman who plays the other grandma are all hilarious.

Nasser gets a good cameo though the message appears forced.

Vennela Kishore is also hilarious in his cameo as John Stro, King of the North.

The real highlight of the movie is the guy who plays Tamannah's father and just says Anthega Anthega the ENTIRE movie. Kudos to Anil Ravipudi for designing such a funny character.

All the other actors do a great job especially Brahmaji who also has a hilarious cameo.

Direction: This is Anil Ravipudi's 5th movie. It's safe to say the director doesn't have much when it comes it to creativity in terms of storyline. The story is once again routine. But the way he differentiates himself is coming up with creative comedy. All of his movies are hilarious and F2 might be the funniest of them all, if not one of them. the situations he creates through Venky's character are so funny and talks about double standards of women in society. Most of the stuff is relatable as a guy and if you are married then you can relate to it even more. Everything in the first half will make you laugh so hard. The problem lies within the 2nd half as the core point of the men leaving their wives seems illogical and unconvincing. Which results in a disjointed and superficial 2nd half. While the comedy is hilarious in the 1st half, it's pretty much just the same situations repeated between Varun and Venky from Pellichoopulu scenes to the romantic scenes and everything else. The banter between Venky and the in laws is very funny too. Overall, F2 doesn't have much of a story and has a very average 2nd half where nothing makes sense, but for the overall entertainment value and hilarity of the narrative, Ravipudi succeeds in that manner and delivers one of the funniest movies in recent times.

Technicalities: Music and BGM by Devi Sri Prasad is ok. Girra Girra stands out from the rest of the songs with it's raucous picturization. Cinematography by Sameer Reddy is good. The visuals look rich throughout the movie. Dialogues by Anil Ravipudi are a laugh riot. My favorite one was you can make two enemies friends, but you can never get two women to agree in a saree shop. Costumes and Styling needs a mention because the lead actors look superb throughout the movie. Production Design by AS Prakash is flawless as usual. The house sets in both halves are grand. Editing by Tammiraju is ok. Movie feels slightly dragged. Production Values by Dil Raju are extravagant. The movie looks rich and vibrant throughout and the money spent can clearly be seen.

Positives: 

+ Venkatesh 

+ Varun Tej 

+ 1st Half comedy 

Negatives:

- Routine Story

- Superficial 2nd Half

- Forced Message

Analysis and Final Take: If you're reading this review, then you've probably seen F2 by now. In some magical land or by chance you haven't, then I can assure you this movie is funny as hell. COmbined with all the other movies around it flopping and the content actually connecting and entertaining people, F2 gets the job done. It is a laugh riot from start to finish if you can excuse the 2nd half.

The film starts off with hilarious episodes and continues to the interval despite repetition of scenes and dialogues. The interval is unconvincing and Prakash Raj's track in the 2nd half seems forced and unbelievable. Hence the overall impact feel slighted. Despite this tho, F2 has something for everyone.

The basic theme of the film is all about time commitment and how to treat and respect women. The message in the end feels very forced and unnecessary.

Anil Ravipudi is one director who knows what he's going for and doesn't try too hard to be unique or creative. It's fine for now but when you have a film with Mahesh Babu in the pipeline, then taking care of the weaknesses becomes a necessity. His ability to generate comedy is unprecedented in this day and age and he succeeds in all his movies by having a hilarious hook line which audiences will remember at the end of the day.

He extracts a superb performance from Venkatesh and the actor is back with a bang and carries the movie from start to finish and it's so nice to see him back in that type of form and range after a very long gap.

Overall, F2 is a hilarious entertainer that is powered by Venkatesh's amazing performance and comic timing. The performances, funny comedy, and decent music are the plus points of this Pongal movie. If you can excuse the superficial 2nd half, then this movie is definitely a fun ride.