Although I am a big Thalaivar fan (who isn't?)His movies after Sivaji The Boss and Endhiran haven't really lived up to my expectations. After those two large scale movies Rajni has tried to experiment with scripts and directors over the last decade. Some of them did achieve a bit of commercial success but barely any of them connected emotionally with the fans the way they used to apart from the initial week hype.
I was a bit reserved about Nelson directing Jailer, considering his outing with Beast. But the announced cast did spark some interest after all. The movie indeed lives up to the expectations and probably exceeds too in terms of its presentation. The story is pretty simple and nothing extraordinarily new but the screenplay and well integrated humour along with cameos make Jailer a cracking entertainer. It goes without saying that Anirudh's background score plays a major role and the songs are well placed along with the screenplay. The movie does tends to deviate off track in the second half but Nelson manages to bring it back well. The action set pieces are beautifully overdone and they do not look insane or stupid. It has been a while since I have seen the comedic bits integrated well into an action movie and a big kudos to Nelson for that. The choreography for Kaavaala song is exceptional and is brilliantly shot including the Rajni part ;)
The best part about Jailer is how Nelson seamlessly manages a large supporting cast and also cameos without making them seem unnecessary apart from a very few. I wouldn't wanna reveal too much about who's who for obvious reasons. Rajni's character is well written and Nelson plays to Rajni's strengths perfectly. The best part about Rajni's character is the looks and after a long time we see that going well for him especially for his age. As usual, Thalaivar excels in all the emotions while smiling through many tricky situations in the movie. Me being a Shivarajkumar fan was elated to see Shivanna's little but impactful presence in the movie. I am pretty sure many theaters in Karnataka have erupted for his appearance in the second half. Mohanlan and Jacky Shroff also play small but vital roles and their look works really well for this movie. It is Malayalam actor Vinayakan's role as antagonist Varman which brings a unique flair to the movie. He eats up the screen just by his presence and antiques and it doesn't feel like he is overdoing it. Yogi Babu is refreshingly funny especially in the first half. The standout surprise for me was the character Dhanraj who is one of Varman's main henchman. While I am still trying to figure out the actor's name (I may come back to edit this), he is absolutely brilliant. His comedy feels over the top to start with but eventually ends up adding so much to the movie.
Jailer is both mass and a family entertainer. It's been a while since I had a ball of a time at theatres for an Indian cinema and I am glad it was Thalaivar's movie which brought me that joy.
I was a bit reserved about Nelson directing Jailer, considering his outing with Beast. But the announced cast did spark some interest after all. The movie indeed lives up to the expectations and probably exceeds too in terms of its presentation. The story is pretty simple and nothing extraordinarily new but the screenplay and well integrated humour along with cameos make Jailer a cracking entertainer. It goes without saying that Anirudh's background score plays a major role and the songs are well placed along with the screenplay. The movie does tends to deviate off track in the second half but Nelson manages to bring it back well. The action set pieces are beautifully overdone and they do not look insane or stupid. It has been a while since I have seen the comedic bits integrated well into an action movie and a big kudos to Nelson for that. The choreography for Kaavaala song is exceptional and is brilliantly shot including the Rajni part ;)
The best part about Jailer is how Nelson seamlessly manages a large supporting cast and also cameos without making them seem unnecessary apart from a very few. I wouldn't wanna reveal too much about who's who for obvious reasons. Rajni's character is well written and Nelson plays to Rajni's strengths perfectly. The best part about Rajni's character is the looks and after a long time we see that going well for him especially for his age. As usual, Thalaivar excels in all the emotions while smiling through many tricky situations in the movie. Me being a Shivarajkumar fan was elated to see Shivanna's little but impactful presence in the movie. I am pretty sure many theaters in Karnataka have erupted for his appearance in the second half. Mohanlan and Jacky Shroff also play small but vital roles and their look works really well for this movie. It is Malayalam actor Vinayakan's role as antagonist Varman which brings a unique flair to the movie. He eats up the screen just by his presence and antiques and it doesn't feel like he is overdoing it. Yogi Babu is refreshingly funny especially in the first half. The standout surprise for me was the character Dhanraj who is one of Varman's main henchman. While I am still trying to figure out the actor's name (I may come back to edit this), he is absolutely brilliant. His comedy feels over the top to start with but eventually ends up adding so much to the movie.
Jailer is both mass and a family entertainer. It's been a while since I had a ball of a time at theatres for an Indian cinema and I am glad it was Thalaivar's movie which brought me that joy.