najib-02749 Reviews

Darbar (2020)

Great Tribute to Rajini, but could have been better

[7/10 · 10 January 2020]

Great Tribute to Rajini, but could have been better

Like Petta, Darbar is yet another tribute to Rajini-isms, made by a Rajini fan, for Rajini fans.

Pros: 1. Rajini - This man still has his charms, style, persona and energy intact. Even in his 70s, this guys can still pull audiences to theatres to watch a typical mass action movie. Watch out for the gym workout scene which stands as a testament to his fitness, a great ode to the shirtless scene in Padayappa 2. Nivedha Thomas - Hands down the best performing actor in this whole movie. She successfully brings the emotional arc to the story. 3. Yogi Babu - After Vivek in Sivaji The Boss, finally Rajini has a good comedy sidekick after a long who can deliver counters and punches. 90% of Yogi Babu's jokes work in this movie and the director has used him adequately without overdoing his antics. 4. Make-up & Costumes - All characters in this movie look at their absolute best, especially Rajini and Nayanthara. Rajini's looks in this movie r even better than Petta. Kudos to whoever designed his costumes. 5. BGM - Anirudh has proven his mettle yet again with background score that elevates the scenes, especially the bit song & Bgm for the train station fight scene was marvellous. 6. Stunt Choreography - Though other reviewers are criticizing this aspect, I particularly enjoyed the fight scenes, especially the train station one

Cons: 1. Editing/Story flow - Darbar's story is quite generic - a ruthless cop takes law on his own hands to eradicate drug mafia and crime syndicate in Mumbai, invoking the wrath of several villains. But this story is adequate to churn out an entertaining mass movie. But what's puzzling is the jarring sequences. a. In the first 15 minutes, the scenes change quite abruptly without enough build-up for the hero's entry and the chumma kizhi song. b. I also don't understand ARM's intentions to reveal the 2 major plot twists to the audiences quite early and later on showing the backstory of how it happened. Because of this, the surprise factor went missing. c. The villain's backstory - that he burnt an entire police station and its police officers alive 27 years ago and fled Mumbai to become a drug lord - seems to be a crux for the entire story. But why is it only mentioned in passing and shown through split second flash sequences? This scene could have been set up as the opening act for the movie and story could somehow connect the hero to this particular scene (maybe his father is one of the police officers burnt alive and that's why he took on police officer role to seek revenge and to bring fear among drug lords etc.). This could also have been a good opportunity to show the younger versions of both Rajini and Suniel Shetty and establish a personal connect between the Hero and Villain. 2. Art Design - Darbar's production budget is said to be 180 crores (on par with Enthiran and Bigil) but in no way it looks that expensive. If Shankar or Rajamouli has spent this much money, they'll make sure they show it in every frame of their movie in terms of grand sets. For a story that is set in a dense state like Mumbai, not a single frame in the movie has shown the massive scale or population of the city. It's quite apparent they didn't shoot the movie in real locations and this affects the authenticity of the movie. The repetitious locations also cause a monotonous feel to the movie. At least the song sequences should have been shot in a different backdrop like the "Aathi" song in Kaththi which is pure VFX but adds a bit of color to the overall dull tone of the movie. 3. Dialogues - Unlike previous AR Murugadoss movies, this movie lacks Fiery, thought-provoking dialogues. Not even one clap-worthy punch dialogues from either the hero or the villain. 4. Lip Sync - For such a generic cop story, why does Murugadoss have set up the movie in Mumbai and hire a lot of non-tamil speakers as supporting artists? In the entire movie, only 5 actors (Rajini, Nayanthara, Yogi Babu, Nivedha and Sreeman) can speak Tamil. The rest are caricatures. Because of the lip sync issues, some crucial scenes lost its effectiveness. In many scenes, you will feel like you're watching a dubbed movie. The director should have just hired tamil-speaking actors for the important roles. Look at Baasha for example which was also set up in Mumbai. All the important actors in that speak fluent Tamil and especially the conversation between Hero and Villain is very effective. Imagine if some random Mumbai actor played the Mark Anthony role instead of Raghuvaran, the entire flashback episode of Baasha would have flopped. 5. Villains - The trend of having weak villains for Rajini continues yet again. Sivaji The Boss was the last Rajini movie to have a proper villain. Suniel Shetty, despite his expensive suits and trendy hairstyles, still look like a nice guy and hence, do not possess enough threats for Rajini. Nawab Shah, who played Vinod Malhotra (Villain #2) looks more effective and terrorizing than Suniel Shetty with his Hulk physique and deep voice, he could have played the main villain's role.

Overall though, a good follow up to Petta and treat for Rajini fans. I just wished the movie to be more wholesome satisfying like Sivaji The Boss

Darbar (2020)

Amazing Treat, but could have been better

[7/10 · 10 January 2020]

Yet another tribute to Rajini, for Rajini fans, made by a Rajini fan.

Pros: 1) Rajini - This man still has his charms, energy & Style intact even after so many years. Watchout for the gym workout scene that stands a testament to Rajini's age-defying demeanor 2) Yogi Babu - After Vivek in Sivaji The Boss we get to see a good comedy sidekick for Rajini in the form of Yogi Babu. ARM has used him adequately without overdoing it and 90% of his counters to Rajini works. Have to appreciate Rajini to allow new comedians like Yogi Babu to tease or troll him. 3) Nivedha Thomas - Hands down the best performing artist in the entire movie. She successfully brings the emotional arc to the story. 4) Make-up & costumes) - All the characters in the movie, especially Rajini and Nayanthara look stylish like a million bucks. Rajini's makeup and costumes in Darbar is even better than in Petta. 5) BGM - Anirudh has proven his mettle in BGM yet again, which are better than his songs. Especially the BGM for Train fight scene is goosebumps inducing 6) Fight Scenes - Some reviewers have criticised the fight scenes as being over the top but for me, I find them to be quite impressive. The train station fight is a highlight. 7) Interval twist reveal - This scenes set up the intro for main villain and it works to a great extent

Cons: 1) Story Flow/Editing - The story of Darbar is nothing new - a ruthless cop takes law into his own hands to eradicate drug mafia & crime syndicates in Mumbai, invoking the wrath of several villains. But this is perfectly adequate to churn out a perfect entertainer for Rajini fans in Dabangg style. But the story flow doesn't sync well. Scenes change quite abruptly in the first 15 mins with no proper build up for hero's entry or the chumma kizhi song. And I don't understand ARM's intentions to reveal the 2 major plot twists early to the audience and show the flashback sequences and backstory. By doing this, the surprise factors went missing. The villain was shown as having burnt an entire police station and the police officers alive before escaping from Mumbai 27 years ago. This could have been set up as the opening scene for the movie and somehow connect Rajini's character to this incident (maybe his father was one of the police officers burnt alive and to seek revenge, Rajini took on police officer role etc) to establish a personal connection between the hero and villain. But instead, this scene was mentioned in passing with no real weight to the proceedings. 2) Art Design - Darbar's production cost is said to be around 180 crores, on par with Bigil and Enthiran. If Shankar spent this much on his movie, he'll make sure he shows it in the screen. But Darbar looks cheaper than it is. For such a populated city like Mumbai, none of the frames have shown the proper scale of the city, most of the settings looked artificial and its quite apparent they didn't shoot any of the scenes in real locations in Mumbai. Moreover, the repeatitious locations gives the movie a monotonous feel. At least the songs should have been shot in a different landscape to add colors to the movie (like the Aathi song in Katthi which was purely VFX but colorful) 3) Lip Sync / Supporting Characters - For such a generic cop-villain story, why ARM had to choose Mumbai as the backdrop and worse, why did he have to choose so many non-Tamil speakers to speak tamil dialogues? In the entire movie, only 5 actors can speak Tamil (Rajini, Nayanthara, Nivedha, Yogi Babu & Sreeman). You will feel like watching a dubbed movie in many instances. Because of the lip sync, some of the crucial scenes have lost its effectiveness. Why can't the director just put Tamil actors to play these roles in Mumbai? Take Basha for example which was also set up in Mumbai, all the supporting characters and villain speak proper tamil. Imagine if they've put an outsider to play the Mark ANTHONY role played by Raghuvaran, the entire flashback episode in that movie would have flopped 4) Villain - Rajini's have not had a proper villain since Sivaji The Boss. And the trend of imported Mumbai villain trend continues in this movie also. If the villain can't even speak the same language as the hero, how will he pose a credible threat and utter punchy dialogues to the hero? And suniel shetty still looks like a nice guy even with pony tail get up and doesn't match the Ruthless drug mafia character. Nawab Shah who played a sub villain Vinod Malhotra in the first half looked more terrorizing with his hulk body and deep voice. He could've played the main villain instead of Suniel Shetty. 5) Dialogues - Not even once clap-worth punchy dialogues

Overall, the movie is missing ARM's signature story telling magic and fiery dialogues like what we saw in Thuppakki and Kaththi. But it's somehow offset by Rajini's charisma.

Ayogya (2019)

DOES NOT SUIT VISHAL!

[5/10 · 25 June 2019]

This movie is a remake of Telugu movie 'Temper' enacted by Jr NTR, about a corrupt police office reforming after a personal loss. Despite its flaws, it was a great commercial movie with good social message and enough scope for Heroism.

BUT

This character does not suit Vishal at all!! In many instances, you can notice he is trying too hard to imitate Jr NTR to be a corrupt police but.....he FAILS!

VIshal is more suitable for a positive, honest roles like in Satyam and Irumbu Thirai. Even the song 'Vera level', which is a remix of megahit Telugu song 'Blockbuster', requires a powerful fast dance choreography which VISHAL will definitely cannot match!

I personally think someone like SIMBHU or AARYA would have been a better choice to play this role. It's a missed opportunity!

Petta (2019)

Celebrating THE Super Star

[8/10 · 25 January 2019]

From the trailers and promos, it was evident that this movie is a tribute to Super Star from his fan boys (Karthik subbaraj and the entire Petta Team). And this movie is exactly that! Do not expect any hard-hitting story or a thought-provoking screenplay.

PROS:

1) Rajinikanth - Whatever you enjoyed from the superstar in the 80s and the 90s, you can find them all here. Rajinikanth fights, dances, romances, kills, jokes and advices his fellow comrades. The only thing perhaps missing here is a duet song with the lead actress. But I personally do not miss seeing Rajini dancing with heroines half his age.

2) Costumes & Make-up - Ultra-stylish makeover for Superstar and he looked at his absolute best after Sivaji. This is the Rajini we love to see, not Kaala or Kabali.

3) Technical Department - Cinematography, Sound Design, Music, Editing are all top notch

CONS:

1) Wasted Talents. Sasikumar, Bobby Simha, Vijay Sethupathi, Guru Somusundaram, Trisha & Simran are all excellent actors but not given the opportunity to shine. Especially for Trisha, her character Saro is a disappointment after seeing her as Jaanu in the recent cult-favorite 96. But surprisingly, lesser-known actors such as Sananth Reddy and Malavika Mohanan were given bigger scope and scenes in this movie than the aforementioned actors.

2) Weak Villain. This has been the biggest problem in a Rajinikanth movie since Sivaji The Boss. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is a great actor, but he has been miscast in this movie. His character is supposedly a 'madurai-kaaran' but Nawazuddin neither looks the part nor the speaks the accent. A more seasoned actor who can speak fluent Madurai slang would have been a better choice. Irony is that the other 3 big male actors in this movie - Vijay Sethupathi, Bobby Simha and Sasikumar - could very well fit this role perfectly. Maybe Karthik should have tweaked the screenplay a little bit and replaced the villain character.

3) Story. Those who expect Baasha-type gangster movie will sure feel disappointed. At the core of it, Petta's story is nothing but family greed and rivalry. We have seen this story countless times in Indian movies. This reminds me of Ajith Kumar's 2010 movie Asal which, like Petta, also promised a stylish gangster movie from its promos but the actual movie is only about sibling rivalry over his dad's assets (kinda like Chekka Chivantha Vaanam).

4) Characterization. Rajinikant's character were shown to have a mysterious past and having influence up to the Ministerial level. But the flashback episode shows Rajini is only a village ruffian. How does he command so much power is not explained or shown clearly. At least in Baasha, the flashback episode shown him as the biggest gangster in Mumbai city. Maybe in Petta also the director should ave shown Rajini in a bigger and more powerful role.

In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

A Visual Spectacle!

[9/10 · 6 July 2018]

HOW ON EARTH DID THIS MOVIE BECOME A FLOP??

Only USD$25 million in the US and less than US$100 million worldwide?

This movie needs to be celebrated and deserves far better credit. It's a tale of survival, grudge, jealousy. fear and agony. And the director managed to showcase the glory of Moby Dick and reality of the London oil business in the 1800s.

Pros: 1) Story 2) Casting 3) VFX 4) Background Score

Cons: 1) Maybe Too Political?? 2) Whale has minimal screen time

Kabali (2016)

What was Ranjith Thinking? He ruined Superstar for us. ANGRY!

[1/10 · 22 June 2018]

Pros: 1) First 5 minutes 2) Radhika Apte's acting 3) Sai Dhansika's role and acting 4) Attakathi Dinesh's acting

Cons: 1) EVERYTHING ELSE

What was Ranjith thinking? What was Rajini thinking? How could the producer cheat us with the misleading trailer? This is not the Rajini that we want to see!

Kabali's teaser is probably one of the best teasers to come out from Indian Cinema. It highlighted Rajini's persona, the slow-mo scenes, his BADASS Gangster look and the catchy "Neruppu Da" Theme. And the teaser is the main reason why the Expectations were so high on this movie!

After seeing the teaser, everyone expected Kabali to be the next Baasha for Rajinikanth. But sadly, it was all a LIE! I was so angry with Kalaipuli S Thanu (the film's producer) after watching this movie. He purposely misled us by compiling all the best scenes from the movie into a short clip and released it as a teaser. The actual movie looks like a low budget documentary.

Though I am not a fan of Pa Ranjith's earlier works, I appreciate his ideologies. But to me, he used Rajinikanth to infuse his ideologies on us. Being a Rajini fan himself, he should have known the kind of Rajini that the audience wants to see on the screen.

People loved to see Energetic Rajini who can fight, who can make jokes, who can romance the heroine and who can be a savior. Case in point - Baasha & Sivaji the Boss - Rajinikanth's best movies! But in Kabali, Rajini just looks lazy. He spends 80% of the time just sitting on chair, sharing his stories with youngsters, looking for his wife, chit-chatting with his gang members, chit-chatting with his daughter, chit-chatting with the villain etc. This is not what we came for. Watching Rajini's interview and his stage speeches on Youtube is more fun than watching these scenes!

The entire sequence about "Free Life Foundation" does not add any value and further adds to the documentary feel of the movie. The youngsters, especially the "Tiger" character, are irritating to the max!

VILLAINS are a big joke in this movie. Forget about Rajinikanth, these villains do not even deserve to go against Powerstar Sreenivasan. The Taiwan guy's tamil pronunciation made my ears bleed!

Cinematography also looks extremely poor. I felt like watching a local Malaysian movie and not a 100cr+ Rajinikanth movie. Is this Intentional? I don't know.

This whole idea of showcasing Malaysian Indians plight are also unnecessary and stirs negative ideas and mindsets to the youngsters in Malaysia. Being a Malaysian myself, I can surely say the government here has given ample opportunities and does not oppress them as shown in this movie. There is a strong unity between the Malays, Chinese and Indians living in Malaysia.

The problem here is the people's mindset and reluctant to change. Some Indian youngsters here think they are "cool" if they joined a gang or have weird haircuts and tattoos. This is exactly what's topping them from improving their quality of life. The parents are also to be blamed. Generally, the tamil boys are not supervised strongly. Education is not given enough importance by these households. Despite living in crime-ridden environment, the parents refuse to move out for the sake of the children because they don't want to leave their comfort zones. This is a sad reality! If the mindset does not change, no one can improve. Does not matter which race they belong to.

Therefore, I highly condemn Pa Ranjith to showcase as if the Malaysian govt has been oppressing and discriminating the Malaysian Indians. If you ask me, the Malaysian Govt. has done more to the Indians than what the Indian Govt. has done for its people. They have access to public schools, education loans, scholarships, job opportunities and housing.

The director has also thrown a negative light on the Chinese. There is a scene in the movie where Rajinikanth says he will wear Coat suits, shoes and sit on the couch with his legs crossed if Chinese thinks Indians should not do all these. DUDE!!!! This is wrong on so many levels! In the end, Rajini kills all the Chinese gangsters. This is again not the right solution to solve the plight of Malaysian Indians!

Overall, from my banter, you should have known I REALLY HATE THIS MOVIE! And yet, Rajinikanth's next movie is again with the same director. *Sigh

AVOID THIS AT ALL COST!

Thani Oruvan (2015)

This is how you write a Screenplay!

[10/10 · 22 June 2018]

Pros: 1) Flawless Screenplay! No Loopholes, No unnecessary romance, No dedicated comedy scenes etc. Everything is packaged tightly. The facts are also well-researched. 2) Role Selection - For action thrillers such as this, the characters will make or break a movie. Thankfully, all the actors fit their roles nicely. Even heroine's role is not wasted. 3) Arvind Swamy - This man is a revelation! From a chocolate boy to a Menacing Villain, his transformation is Extraordinary! 4) Villain's role - For any action movies, the villains need to be stronger and smarter than the hero so that audience will be engaged. THIS MOVIE IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE ON HOW VILLAIN ROLES SHOULD BE WRITTEN! A villain does not need to look terrifying, no need to have six packs, no need to have fighting skills, does not have to shout at everyone around him etc. He just needs to have an evil mindset and does not stop at anything to achieve his dreams. An interesting thing in this movie is that there are no fight scenes between the hero and villain and the villain does not even utter a single cuss word. Heck he won't even raise his voice to the hero. But yet, he is the greatest evil. In the villain's own words - "I'm not bad, just evil" (Telugu cinema should learn to improve their villain roles from this movie) 5) Hip Hop Tamizha - This young chap is the GREATEST ASSET of this movie! Right from the BGM, the songs and the movie's theme "Theemai dhaan vellum", he has further elevated this movie to a different level. His BGM everytime Arvind Swamy appears on screen is worth special mention. The usage of the theme song as BGM for the interval and climax scenes is a MasterTouch! He deserved a National Award for this movie. 6) Nayanthara - Unlike typical heroines, Nayanthara's role is rather important and she provides some of the comic relief in this movie. 7) Thambi Ramaiah - This is his best role since Myna. As a naive father to the world's greatest villain, his counter-punch and the way he shivers infront of his own son are praiseworthy.

Cons: 1) NONE

This is one of the best Tamil movies ever made. Actually scratch that, this is one the BEST INDIAN MOVIE ever! A case study on how cop thrillers should be made, how villain roles should be written, how a BGM should sound like and how to include Mass elements without going over the top. DO NOT MISS IT!

Veeram (2014)

Pakka Mass Masala Entertainer

[9/10 · 22 June 2018]

Pros: 1) Ajith's Mass Presence 2) Neatly packaged screenplay with enough dose of Comedy, Action and Family Sentiments 3) Devi Sri Prasad's BGM elevates the mass scenes 4) Fight scenes - Has its moments without going over the top

Cons: 1) Ajith's get-up - In some scenes, especially in the 2nd half, he looks very old (almost similar age to Nassar who plays his gf's father). Atleast his mustache should have been dyed black. His costumes in the songs are also an eyesore. Whoever was Ajith's stylist need to be fired! 2) Tamanna - while she looks sweet and bubbly and has put on a good show, her chemistry with Ajith does not work. She looks too young compared to Ajith. 3) Video songs - While the songs themselves are passable and could grow on you on repeat listening, the video songs are UTTER CRAP. It further highlights the mismatch between Ajith and Tamanna.

Overall, a pakka treat for Ajith's fans and family audiences!

Rampage (2018)

Got what I paid for - Great Action Spectacle and Entertainment!

[10/10 · 19 June 2018]

Pros: 1) Great VFX 2) Climax battle scene 3) Dwayne Johnson is entertaining 4) Emotional Bonding between the lead actor and the animal

Cons: 1) Villain's motive seems "illogical" 2) Some forced comedy scenes

Not sure why there were many negative reviews for this movie. I mean What Did You Expect? An oscar-worthy emotional melodrama?

Its a monsters movie, that's what you'll exactly get - 3 VFX-enhanced Mega-Monsters destroying a city and fighting each other. Especially, the crocodile is MARVELOUS!

A GREAT POPCORN ENTERTAINMENT! DON'T MISS IT!

*Still couldn't believe this movie did not even clear USD$100 million in the US box-office. Craps like Independence Day: Resurgence, The Smurfs and Cat in the Hat made more money than this.

Bharath Ane Nenu (2018)

A Great Attempt at socio-politics from Telugu Cinema

[8/10 · 19 June 2018]

Pros: 1) Mahesh Babu's underplayed role 2) Kiara Advaani's charm 3) Romantic scenes have been portrayed with utmost dignity 4) Pleasant songs and BGM 5) Vibrant Cinematography 6) Managed to address most of the common issues faced by general public (Traffic, Education, Rural Development) 7) Assembly scene 8) Theatre fight scene - though unnecessary to the plot, it elevates the mass image of Mahesh Babu

Cons: 1) Some typical Koratala Siva-style mass masala scenes. E.g the theatre fight scene, pre-climax fight scene 2) How does Mahesh Babu knows so much about Indian Politics despite being an outsider? Atleast the director could have shown that out of the 5 degrees obtained by the hero, one or two of it is political science or governance related 3) How does a thin and lean hero manage to fight several well-built goons? Atleast the director should have shown other than great academic achievements, the hero also excels in martial arts or boxing (this worked for Pawan Kalyan in his early days since the public knows he is trained in martial arts) 4) Some core issues such as GST and TASMAC have not been addressed

Overall, I would still say "Mudhalvan / Okkade Okkadu" is the gold standard for socio-political movie. But BAN comes close.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

Not as "Grand" as JW1, but more intense and scarier

[8/10 · 19 June 2018]

Pros: 1) Superb VFX 2) Better plot than JW1 (Dinosaur Conspiracy VS Park is Open, Again) 3) Intense Screenplay, with several nail-biting and heart-pumping scenes 4) Technical Capabilities - including Background score 5) Tight Running Time, with no laggards 6) More importance given to the lead actors 7) No silly scenes or plot development like in JW1 (e.g Checking the missing dinosaur by going to the cage, security guard opening the gate to escape, Lead actress running in high heels, Two kids wandering off on their own with no proper safety measures or supervision, The same 2 kids fixed a decade old jeep jst because they have experience fixing their grandpa's truck etc)

Cons: 1) Biggest Con - The main Dinosaur (Indoraptor) does not look as scary or magnificent as the Indominus Rex from JW1. As such, the sense of "threat" is missing. 2) Absence of large scale Action Sequences. In JW1, the climax fight scene between the mighty T-Rex and Indominus Rex was a major highlight. But in here, mostly it's only Dinosaurs chasing humans. Due to this, despite this movie having bigger budget than JW1, it does not look as "BIG" as its prequel. 3) Overall Darker Tone - though this gives a more intense feel throughout the movie, it somehow dilutes the spectacle of the dinosaurs. Plus, if you watch this movie in lousy screens, the entire first act will look blurry 4) Under-used T-REX

Let me start by saying I am a big fan of Jurassic World 1 and all 3 prior Jurassic Park movies (yes, including Jurassic Park 3). So naturally I had great expectations from this one.

But did it fulfill my expectations? Yes, but only partially.

Compared to JW1, this movie was more intense and can be categorized as a "suspense thriller". Plus, the short running time means there are generally no lagging scenes.

However, on the downside, the Indoraptor hyped up by the villains just does not look as terrifying or exciting as the Indominus Rex from JW1. Not sure what they were hyping about.

Plus, the capabilities of the Indoraptor was not properly explained or demonstrated. The Indominus Rex from JW1 had pretty cool "superpowers" - Camouflage, Intelligence, Alpha Raptor etc. which made it a GREAT Threat! But Indoraptor just looks like a slightly modified raptor.

Compared to the "Indominus Rex vs. T-Rex" battle in JW1, the "Indoraptor vs Raptor" fight in JW2 just looks childish.

If only they have changed the main dinosaur to something else, this movie would have been much much better IMO.

Overall, still worth watching on the big screen.