10/10Vikram- This Lokesh Kanagaraj's gangster film is a buffet feast of Action, Emotion, Suspense & Thrill.
Having 3 fantastic star performers in the film & cameo by another start actor, I still felt the whole movie completely belongs to the Director.
There are multiple whistle-blowing high moments in the film. An ultimate high moment comes from the unexpected character and all the high moments are well crafted as part of the story.
The first half of the film has an intellectual narration that if you miss a few moments of it, you can't understand where the movie is heading at times. Though the latter half majorly runs on Hero vs Villain conflict, it has its spine thrilling moments.
Fahadh Faasil got the meaty role in the film, which he delivers in his style. Vijay Sethupathi impresses as the lead antagonist.
Ulaganayagan Kamla Haasan, as usual nails the performance in the given character. His swag & presence is felt throughout the film, though his screen time is less compared to other leads. The ideology of Vikram's character is more powerful than the character itself.
Music & BGM by Anirudh elevates the film to the next level. In the Telugu version at times, few words are not so clear because of sound mixing.
The action choreography by Anbariv is stunning. The high-octane action episodes are beautifully designed to look rustic & realistic, which makes them more special to watch on screen.
Cinematography by Girish Gangadharan has a dark theme like Batman films which impressed me, however, it's way too dark at times.
The Writing & Direction of Lokesh for this film is good enough to create a universe of drug mafia-based films. The way how naturally he connects the dots with Kaithi's(2019) plot mesmerized me. The best part of his writing is with multiple stars in the film, he never let any one of them come out of character or story.
The last shot of the film redefines the film's theme "Once up on a time, there lived a ghost".
Final Word - A brilliant action thriller & a tribute to Kamal Sir by his fan(Lokesh).
7/10Vikram is one of the Best Action Mysteries which I have seen in recent times. Technically Vikram is Standard but it would have been much impactful if it had a Demystifying Screenplay. There are Three Elements which Grabbed My Attention, here are those elements:
1. Music
Background Score by Anirudh Ravichander Brov is just Remarkable. He delivered Whistle Worthy Moments with the Music. His work elevated many Scenes to another level.
Still few tunes are floating in my head. Without a doubt his work is the fulcrum of the Movie Vikram.
2. Action Choreography
By looking at the Vikram's Posters, Teaser and Trailer we can easily identify it's Genre. If we heard the Title Vikram, Action will echoes in our Head. Action is the Medial of Vikram and Action Sequences are just Stunning. Huge Appreciation to the Action choreographers Anbariv. Anbariv also known as Anbumani and Arivumani or Anbu and Arivu are the duo Action Choreographers and Stunt Coordinators.
Anbariv Created mayhem at the theatres with their Power Packed Action Sequences and made audience to Screech.
3. Direction
I know it's a very challenging Script to deal with such a Star Cast, Multiple Characters, Sub-Plots and also on the other hand doing Justification to the Genre.
Special Mention to the Director Lokesh Kanagaraj sir. You justified to the Genre you chose sir. I personally felt that there are few flaws in the Writing but Lokesh Kanagaraj sir, your command on the Craft Direction over shadowed the flaws and made the Audience to Celebrate. Especially the way you showed the Weapons and Blood is Tremendously Real. Eagerly waiting for your next Projects sir.
Actually the Scene between Kamal sir and Mask Man at the initial portion Grabbed me and I was Awestrucked. Also there are few wow moments here and there like Tina Sequence and Suriya Sir's Cameo.
Performances :
No words to Praise the Legendary Actors. Each one of them did their best to their Characters. I was exalted by watching Vikram sir on the screen after long time. Vijay Sethupathi sir Enhanced the Character with his Terrific Swag and Acting. Fahadh Faasil sir is Good as Amar.
Suriya Sir's Cameo Mesmerized the whole Theatre. Just with few minutes of screen time he made us feel the Evilness and Ruthless Nature of his Character. That's the beauty of his Acting. Other Supporting cast did their parts well.
Cinematography is Good and the shots with Robotic Camera are stylish, but didn't add up to the theme or emotion being conveyed. One Good example of Robotic Camera usage is from the movie Trance(2020), which was very effective, stylish and also had a Visual appeal to the storytelling.
I personally felt that in some portions Screenplay was Fuzzy. I guess it's because of Multi Perspectivity and Rapid Editing Pace. Second Viewing may give us more clarity in few portions.
The Sub-Plot involving Baby and the insights about the disease is pretty interesting but in the Action-Packed Vikram Emotional Sequences are not very Impactful.
In Kaithi, Dilli wants is to Reunite with his daughter Amudha. Kaithi is also an Action-Packed Film and it had little room for Emotions but still we could connect to it. But in the Case of Vikram it didn't work out well.
Even at the Pre climax Baby's CPR Sequence adds no tension to the Proceedings.
Bottom Lines :
Vikram is a kind of Easy-to-Guess Mystery binded with Compelling Background Score and Good Action Sequences. Technically Vikarm is Standard especially Music. But Sporadically I felt high. Screenplay and few portions in Writing could have been much better. Personally I loved Kaithi in terms of Screenplay and Emotional Impact. Without a Comparison Vikram is Definitely a Worth Watching movie. I suggest you to watch it in Theatres.
