Story 

The movie story takes place in Yanam. Ramesh (Rao Ramesh) is a Minister who inaugurates a hockey stadium which is named after a local legend, Chitti Babu who had once played hockey against French to save the land. Coach Murali (Murali Sharma) is an ex-army officer who is a hockey coach for Lavanya Rao (Lavanya Tripathi). Sundeep Naidu (Sundeep Kishan) falls in love with Lavanya and tries to woo her. Then, Sundeep gets a chance to showcase his Hockey skills. What happens next? Will Lavanya accept Sundeep's love forms the rest of the story. 

Review 

The movie starts off really well. The director took some time to introduce the characters and all the actors performed really well especially Murali Sharma. The flashback episode is also really good. Though the first half is somewhat slow, the interval episode is gripping. The hockey scenes are also shot well. Though the emotional sequences are relatable, sometimes the audience will feel that there is too much drama. The slow narration and routine story are the major setbacks of the film. 

The cinematography is decent. The background score by Hip Hop Thamiza is the soul of the film. It uplifts all the crucial sequences in the film including the hockey match portions. The production values are super-rich. Director Dennis has executed the script properly. He has given much importance to the emotional sequences and created more drama among the characters. Also, there are some predictable scenes in this film which might irk some audience.  

Sundeep Kishan as Sundeep Naidu delivered an energetic performance. Be it the hockey sequences or the emotional scenes, Sundeep has delivered a remarkable performance. Lavanya Tripathi is also good in her role and she looked gorgeous in the film. Murali Sharma delivered an honest performance and justified his role. Rao Ramesh shined in a negative role in the film. Rahul Ramakrishna and Priyadarshi are too good and their comedy timing worked out well in the film. 

Verdict

An engaging one-time watch sports drama which showcased how politics affects the lives of hockey players.  

Click below for the video review of A1 Express movie