Shankar's films are known for their entertainment, imaginative visuals, music and messaging. After watching the songs of the film, I was extremely intrigued to watch this film and know the story behind all those crazy visuals, but after finally watching the film, all my excitement has vanished because the movie just didn't live up to the expectations I had.
WHAT'S GOOD:
1. Vikram's acting is phenomenal in the film. The actor has portrayed every single emotional state of 'Lingesan' beautifully. The physical transformation that he went through to play the various characters that he does in the film is just unbelievable. The thin and small sized hunchback that you see in the film, wasn't just achieved through make-up and special effects, Vikram actually lost a tremendous amount of weight to play that role. So much dedication from an actor is truly admirable and deserves some appreciation from the audience.
2. The music by A. R. Rahman and the way all songs have been shot is absolutely astonishing. Every time a song starts, you just can't take your eyes off the screen. The scintillating locations, a gorgeous actress (Amy Jackson), a handsome actor (Vikram), highly imaginative visuals and special effects turn every single song into a piece of marvel. You may or may not want to go back to this film again, but you would definitely want to experience the music videos again and again.
3. The advertisements shown in the film are quite entertaining and imaginative. The director should actually release every single one of them separately.
4. The make-up team has done a great job in making the various looks of characters realistic.
5. I am glad the movie unfolded itself in a nonlinear style, as it kept the curiosity alive.
6. The central theme of loving someone unconditionally and accepting them with all their flaws is quite noble. Watching this film might just inspire someone to acknowledge the real beauty of their partner. It may not be understood by a lot of people, but there's nothing wrong in putting up an effort to make everyone understand the actual meaning of love and beauty.
WHAT'S NOT SO GOOD:
1. The basic storyline of the film is quite simple and there is absolutely nothing unique or exceptional in it. In the first few minutes of the film itself, you get an idea as to what this film is about. The trailer gave the wrong idea that there may be fantasy elements in the story or perhaps the lead character plays multiple roles, but no such thing happens in the film. The story is not as complex as one might have expected after watching the trailer. Having a simple story is not a problem if it's engaging, but unfortunately the screenplay of 'I' tests your patience and tires you out.
2. The movie is way too long and the pacing is too slow. There was absolutely no reason for it to go on for three hours. The director should have kept the runtime to just about two hours. So many scenes had no reason to be there in the movie, they should have been left at the editing table. The action scenes just went on and on for no reason at all! Also, why did Upen Patel turn into a boxer every time he had to fight someone?
3. The character Lingesan plays an old man in the later part of the film, who is a hunchback and extremely weak, and yet is shown to be jumping on trains and outrunning a fully fit young man! Now how is that even possible? The kind of strength movie characters are shown to have is just crazy, but this was just beyond the realms of possibility. The movie tries hard to be scientifically and medically accurate and yet ends up showing these kind of things.
4. The movie tries to induce comedy at various junctures but fails every single time. Santhanam has been given a number of scenes that go on forever but none of them manage to make you laugh. The movie could have actually done without all of them.
5. Amy Jackson looks drop dead gorgeous and extremely sexy in every single frame, but unfortunately that's all what the director has limited her role to be. I wish Amy had a much more inclusive role in the film, a lot more depth in her character. Her role almost comes across as an extended cameo in the film.
'I' is an age old story of revenge told with the help of mesmerizing visuals. It's nice to see that director Shankar is a man with an imagination, but there is absolutely no doubt that the script will always remain the King as well as the Queen of a film. Unless you have a story that engages the audience, there is absolutely nothing that can save your film. 'I' is a fairy-tale of sorts, but not the kind you might have been expecting after watching the trailer.
WHAT'S GOOD:
1. Vikram's acting is phenomenal in the film. The actor has portrayed every single emotional state of 'Lingesan' beautifully. The physical transformation that he went through to play the various characters that he does in the film is just unbelievable. The thin and small sized hunchback that you see in the film, wasn't just achieved through make-up and special effects, Vikram actually lost a tremendous amount of weight to play that role. So much dedication from an actor is truly admirable and deserves some appreciation from the audience.
2. The music by A. R. Rahman and the way all songs have been shot is absolutely astonishing. Every time a song starts, you just can't take your eyes off the screen. The scintillating locations, a gorgeous actress (Amy Jackson), a handsome actor (Vikram), highly imaginative visuals and special effects turn every single song into a piece of marvel. You may or may not want to go back to this film again, but you would definitely want to experience the music videos again and again.
3. The advertisements shown in the film are quite entertaining and imaginative. The director should actually release every single one of them separately.
4. The make-up team has done a great job in making the various looks of characters realistic.
5. I am glad the movie unfolded itself in a nonlinear style, as it kept the curiosity alive.
6. The central theme of loving someone unconditionally and accepting them with all their flaws is quite noble. Watching this film might just inspire someone to acknowledge the real beauty of their partner. It may not be understood by a lot of people, but there's nothing wrong in putting up an effort to make everyone understand the actual meaning of love and beauty.
WHAT'S NOT SO GOOD:
1. The basic storyline of the film is quite simple and there is absolutely nothing unique or exceptional in it. In the first few minutes of the film itself, you get an idea as to what this film is about. The trailer gave the wrong idea that there may be fantasy elements in the story or perhaps the lead character plays multiple roles, but no such thing happens in the film. The story is not as complex as one might have expected after watching the trailer. Having a simple story is not a problem if it's engaging, but unfortunately the screenplay of 'I' tests your patience and tires you out.
2. The movie is way too long and the pacing is too slow. There was absolutely no reason for it to go on for three hours. The director should have kept the runtime to just about two hours. So many scenes had no reason to be there in the movie, they should have been left at the editing table. The action scenes just went on and on for no reason at all! Also, why did Upen Patel turn into a boxer every time he had to fight someone?
3. The character Lingesan plays an old man in the later part of the film, who is a hunchback and extremely weak, and yet is shown to be jumping on trains and outrunning a fully fit young man! Now how is that even possible? The kind of strength movie characters are shown to have is just crazy, but this was just beyond the realms of possibility. The movie tries hard to be scientifically and medically accurate and yet ends up showing these kind of things.
4. The movie tries to induce comedy at various junctures but fails every single time. Santhanam has been given a number of scenes that go on forever but none of them manage to make you laugh. The movie could have actually done without all of them.
5. Amy Jackson looks drop dead gorgeous and extremely sexy in every single frame, but unfortunately that's all what the director has limited her role to be. I wish Amy had a much more inclusive role in the film, a lot more depth in her character. Her role almost comes across as an extended cameo in the film.
'I' is an age old story of revenge told with the help of mesmerizing visuals. It's nice to see that director Shankar is a man with an imagination, but there is absolutely no doubt that the script will always remain the King as well as the Queen of a film. Unless you have a story that engages the audience, there is absolutely nothing that can save your film. 'I' is a fairy-tale of sorts, but not the kind you might have been expecting after watching the trailer.