My Review - without any Spoilers
In case you are still wondering the movie is good or bad.. well, if you keep the movies Mudhalvan, Anniyan, Endhiran in mind and are expecting the next level from Shankar, you are in for disappointment. But let me tell you, the movie is not bad - in the sense that there is no really dull moment. It is a complete entertainer and a visual treat. Of course, there are logic loopholes and some cliches but what do you expect in Tamil movies. Just sit back and enjoy it. Your money will be well spent if you are not expecting another Anniyan or Endhiran.
Now for more details:
First of all, be attentive throughout. This is a long movie with many scenes and dialogues going a bit too fast. The movie starts before the titles and continues during the titles, and even during end credits..!
The movie starts like in Indian with the intro of the mysterious character - Koonan. The difference is, as Shankar already mentioned during audio release, the flashback is interleaved over the current day sequences. Makes it more interesting but I got reminded of Nepali (*ing bharath) which was in a similar non-linear style.
I liked the bodybuilder Ligesan part of the flashback. Vikram's father is 'Azhagu' - clever choice or a coincidence? Santhanam makes a much lesser impact here. Vikram has more scope for comedy. Power star also becomes the scene stealer. Whistles during his intro scene here in Singapore
Two songs during this portion: Ladyo - song picturisation is fantastic; Mersalaayitten - much more mersal material in the full version. The morphings are so cleanly done. Amy is of course gorgeous in every scene. The movie starts to drag a bit from the competition scene, with the fights and all. Vikram appears with full makeup upto neck and sweaty body below. First I thought, graphics la face-ai maathitaangalo?!
Next portion of the story starts when Vikram becomes a model and goes with Amy to China. Ojas Rajani (Santhanam calls her Nine-thara) is introduced here and makes up for some laughs - though not very tasteful. The China visuals and 'pookale' song are breathtaking but that's the good part. The romance portions look cliched and even the cycle stunts are a bit boring. Fortunately, the koonan's deeds go in the parallel storyline to keep the interest alive. The lovers have happy moments + a duet, the villains fume and get together, and the revenge drama unfolds. Now the whole movie picks up pace and builds up to the climax. This is the best part of the movie. I won't reveal too much here. See and relish on the big screen.
Vikram - Need I say anything?! Has given life, soul and yes Shankar sir..body to the character. Probably saved this movie.
Amy Jackson - Nice fit. Super gorgeous! Tried her best to lipsync but some scenes are way off.
Upen Patel - Has lot of scope. Was better than the other villains, but lousy lipsync. Sadly he had to lose fights even against the koonan.
Ramkumar - Ayyo paavam! No scope except to show off.
Santhanam - Comes throughout the movie with his typical one-liners. Steals the show in the last part.
H4N2 Virus - I think the scientific facts are wrong. Only kyphosis has relevance (Hunchback). We miss you Sujatha sir!
Camera - Easily the best part of this movie.
Songs - All are masterfully visualized. The 'ennodu nee' beast song could've been edited out. Spoils the narration. The female reprise at the end is fine though.
Makeup - One of the biggest pluspoints of the movie.
Stunts - Wish they were all more interesting!
Subtitles - Didn't notice it really. Midway was looking randomly and I realised it was good (Nandini karky), for a change. "Naan indha vilayaattukku varala" -> "I am not game for it".
Story & Screenplay - Story idea is simple & neat. Good that it is none of the umpteen no. of stories I read/heard. But the screenplay could have been tauter, then it would've been more engaging
Kid friendliness - Strict NO! PG13 to be taken seriously. Some scenes border on vulgarity. There are some gruesome makeups also - worse than koonan.
Direction - Shankar still shows that much thought and hard work goes into every scene of his movie. But seems he was kind of confused where to focus: romance or thriller. In the end, only the comedy and revenge drama stand out and the romance became a bit too artificial. A bit disappointing for the class he has shown thus far but I won't harp on him based on this one aspect. Still, a different attempt and so job well done for giving us yet another visual treat.
I - Beauty, Pretty and Witty though a little bit Sluggy (Rating: 3.5 Stars)
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