High On Films’s review published on Letterboxd:
Movies based on a gaming premise are nothing new for cinema enthusiasts. In the cult favorite “Ready Player One,” the Chinese blockbuster drama “Love O2O,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” or “Free Guy,” world-building acts as the strongest fulcrum, elevating the immersive quality of the movies. The 2025 Malayalam language thriller “Bazooka,” written and directed by debutant Deeno Dennis, is one such genre-bending film that merges multiple genres, including action, gaming, heist, and thriller. But does the film with flying colors? Or does the execution make the idea on paper look foolish and unbearably tiresome? Let’s find out.
“Bazooka,” as intriguing as the name sounds, has an equally intriguing premise. It follows a serial robber, a monomaniac gamer, who commits multiple challenging robberies in the city and comes out unscathed, proving to be a menace to the city police. Enter Kochi A, the prestigious, decorated police officer Mr. Benjamin Joshua IPS, and his well-trained team that has been cleaning up Kochi of its criminal facades for the last few years.
Tarnishing their goodwill within the department is someone who introduces himself as Mr. Mario. He commits repeated robberies in and around the city, mirroring popular games like Snake & Ladder, Temple Run, Super Mario, etc. Following the modus operandi of Inform and Rob, he challenges Benjamin and the team’s efficiency time and again. This is when Benjamin teams up with a retired Forensic expert, John Caesar (Mammootty), to lock Mr. Mario.