Mersal (Tamil, 2017)

Vijay’s sheer presence is enough to liven up the entire scene as he captivates each frame he is part of. The character sketched for Vijay encompasses a full spectrum of feelings like a responsible doctor, a convincing magician, a seething avenger, a charming lover, a loving father and a caring husband – throw in anything and he manages to pull it all off with unbelievable ease!

The movie is replete with theatre moments such as Vijay’s deft magic stunts, numerous scenes that build up to his dialogues and those that glorify his entry. All these moments light up the festive atmosphere to send the fan frenzy into overdrive and the outcome is an unforgettable electric reception.

The sterling visuals are an embodiment of Atlee’s perception of style and fashion, as has been the case with his previous films too. G. K. Vishnu creates the director’s world in truly mesmerizing frames of color and detail that is ably supported by the art direction team. The surreal magic acts performed by Vijay look convincing on screen with seamless editing from Ruben – a really commendable team effort!

Despite being probably the most under achieving album from his stable, A R Rahman’s ‘Aalaporan Tamihan’ is quite the energetic number we hoped to see on screen and doesn’t disappoint! The impactful background score was equally tall in stature and his trademark hums underlining key moments on screen were positive takeaways from an immersive audio experience.

This Atlee movie has all the elements for an entertaining watch and a corroborative commercial success as well, but as a story it falls flat with wandering ambitions that look all over the place. A crusade against corrupt medical practices, evolves into a typical revenge story, only to transform again to preach better governance and public service – all indicators for a lack of focused writing that tries to impart a phony sense of a film that has a message while it only tries to justify the misdeeds of the protagonist and portray him invincible.

The screenplay could have been an attempt at a non-linear narrative, but fails to establish the timelines of events convincingly in a quest for a complex make-up. The irrelevant importance to wearing traditional attire (only in the opening scene and nowhere after that) and a Tamilian winning hearts in Paris and Punjab is just reflective of the writer’s insecurity. The only thing it managed to do was drag along the movie for a 172 minute long ordeal.

Because the movie tries to be many things it isn’t, the sense of Déjà vu evolves into a sense of being cheated by unimaginative writing that strings together blatant rip offs from numerous block buster films – so many that we actually lose count of! Though it’s easy to blame the writer, equal responsibility lies with the producers and even the audience who invariably ignore movies with original content over such movies just for the star value they carry!