"Style can compensate for substance" seems to be the thought process of many directors working today. Bandi Saroj Kumar is definitely better than many of his peers at the style part since he manages to give Porkkalam a unique look that actually serves a purpose. But it still does not compensate fully for the flimsy, familiar story.

Karna(Kishore) is a loner living in Chennai with his assistant(Sathyan). Sneha(Smitha), from Lanka in Andhra Pradesh, is on the run from Dronam Raju(Sampathraj) since he wants her to wed his younger brother and hitches a ride to Chennai. Karna saves her from some rowdies and she also takes up residence at his house. But when she reveals that she has developed romantic feelings for him, he wants nothing more to do with her.

Considering its uncomplicated, familiar story, it is pretty clear that Porkkalam has placed emphasis on style over substance. But the film proves that there is such a thing as "too much style" . When used effectively, slo-mo shots can elevate a character's heroism or increase the suspense level in important sequences. But the director overdoes it by picturizing every other shot, including regular shots like Kishore walking to his car, in slo-mo. So after the first couple of instances, we are already at the point where it becomes irritating because it simply slows down the movie. Same thing happens with the cinematography. With desaturated colors and diffused lighting, the film starts off by creating a different atmosphere. But it then goes overboard by making things too dark. There are scenes where we see only the characters and the backgrounds are shrouded in darkness.

The film creates a somewhat interesting character in Kishore. While many of the things he does are over-the-top, it keeps him interesting amidst other stock characters like the friend who is used for comic relief and the heroine who depends on him for protection from the bad guys. The midpoint revelation is a fantastic twist that energizes the story. It doesn't do much considering the big picture and from that point of view, it is more a gimmick than a genuine plot point that changes the direction things were moving in. Still it works because it explains many things that seemed unnecessary or silly earlier and like the real good twists, it is an unexpected surprise that when explained, also makes us wonder why we didn't catch on sooner.

Unfortunately, the momentum gained because of the twist isn't maintained and the movie quickly returns to the same lethargic pace that it adopted earlier. The new information about Kishore isn't really used as he taunts Sampath and plays games with him. Completely unnecessary sequences (like the kabaddi match between Kishore and Sampath's brother) and characters who don't end up playing a big part(like the corrupt but honest cop) are introduced with the sole intention of padding the running time. The climactic fight is staged in a good location and picturized very stylishly but the bizarre weapons employed by the participants snatch away any chance of realism or tension arising from the battle.

Kishore easily makes the transition to a commercial hero, especially since the role plays to his strengths as he speaks more with his glares than his mouth. Sathyan gets a few laughs from his position as Kishore's servant while Smitha, a Kannada actress, is adequate. Sampathraj plays another typical baddie role while Tinnu Anand is barely recognizable in his getup.