Cup movie review: an uninspiring sports drama that lacks any flair

Even an average sports movie — which follows all the worn-out templates of the genre — often ends up giving us a bit of an exhilarating high in the end due to the very nature of the narrative. But it would take some effort to void any sense of excitement or triumph from such a movie and leave us drained. Sanju V. Samuel’s Cup achieves just that. The entire title of the film reads Cup-Love All Play and one is not really sure what that means.

Nidhin Babu (Mathew Thomas), a budding badminton player, dreams of making it big in the sport. Belonging to a not-so-economically well-off background and hailing from a village with hardly any sporting facilities, he has a mountain to climb. Aiding him in the journey is his friend Anna (Riya Shibu) who is another competent player. But he has to overcome a few minor hindrances before he can achieve his dream of becoming the district champion.

The screenplay written by Akhilesh Latharaj and Denson Durom gives almost equal play to the teenager’s friendships and a hint of romance, as it does to the sport itself. But Cup lacks any serious conflict, which is instrumental in a film of this genre. The difficulties he would face due to his background are not explored much; instead, we get scenarios that seem manufactured, rather than organic.

One such roadblock for him comes in the form of a referee who has cultivated enmity towards him over a road rage incident, and another is a coaching institute manager attempting to make some quick cash out of his hunger to win. The emotional drama involving his family and his fallout with Anna,— which appears to be his biggest hindrance — feels contrived.

Basil Joseph seems to have been cast with an intention of tapping his popularity with the audience as his character does not make much of a difference in Nidhin’s journey; a short pep talk late in the day does not suffice his character’s need. Namitha Pramod, as a badminton coach, also delivers a lazily written pep talk. Karthik Vishnu, as Nidhin’s close friend and sidekick, gets a fairly interesting character arc.

To top it off, sports dramas are predominantly about the sport itself, but the badminton games in this film are shot with minimal effort and devoid of dramatic turns, tense situations or engaging play. Cup ends up as an uninspiring sports drama that lacks any flair.

Cup is currently running in cinemas

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