Mrinal Mendon

Indian cinema always clamors for a gripping, intelligent action movie and Mr. Kanagaraj delivers one here. After the success of movies like Kaithi, Master here is another mass entertainer from the director. The movie is an absolute treat to witness with a story that goes from hunting murderers of police all the way to uncover a conspiracy of evil policemen under the payroll of drug lords. Kamal haasan’s acting is a sight to behold with his action sequence, dance and expressions and mannerism all taking centre stage in the movie. Fahad Fasil almost steals the show from Mr. Hasssan in his own movie with his brilliant portrayal of Black ops esque officer that tries to solve cases by using underhand tactics and going completely off book. With his ruthless demeanor and witty one liners he evolves with every role and has an unbeatable impact on the audience. Last but not the least, after his brilliant portrayal as a villain in master we are again treated to the absolute joy that is Vijay Sethupati. The actor of the masses brilliantly playing as the Drug Lord with three wives and huge family. With his spectacular entry my only gripe is unlike Master where he too had chirpy dialogues here Vijay is left to fend for himself in a movie with such solid performances from everyone. He nearly sails through because he is Vijay and his onscreen charisma and charm are unbeatable. The music by Anirudh is griping with metal riffs blowing as the action takes place on screen. The cinematography and editing of action is also noteworthy with the actions in tight spaces like a corner, corridor, stairs come off like a well-choreographed sequence of events that feel natural. There are a lot of decapitations in the film from the get go. Unlike Kaithi where the story was always on an upward trajectory between edge of the seat action and spaces to take a breather Vikram’s screenplay has an up and down trajectory especially for the first half of the film. The second half is when all hell breaks loose and we are treated to delightfully choreographed action sequences right out of the Hollywood movies. Mr. Kanagaraj saves the best surprise for last where he connects Kaithi to Vikram and brings out the big bad drug lord as Surya. He looks ferocious and acts ruthless and will be a challenge to overcome for kamal hassan, fahad fasil and karthi in the next movie.