Jailer

After the colossal misfire that was Beast, Nelson strikes back with a well-cooked, deliciously violent entertainer that once again features a bunch of quirky characters and his signature dry/dark humour, coupled with spectacular fan service. I don't want to get into the plot or its details. Let's just talk about what worked and what didn't. The story is actually pretty straightforward. Nelson's films have this mission-driven approach, and that's the case here too.

WHAT WORKED:

• The treatment of the protagonist: This is an area where multiple directors have struggled in recent times. There are soft, emotional moments, and then, there are HIGH VOLTAGE MASS moments. Muthuvel Pandian is the kind of protagonist that's tailormade for Thalaivar. He doesn't have to beat up a hundred goons to prove how powerful he is. He has connections, and knows how to effectively use them.

• Anirudh's score: Such an integral component to this film's success. In a film with several elevation moments, the score had a lot to live up to. And it did! The next time you see "An Anirudh Musical" title card, you know it's gonna make a huge difference to the overall viewing experience.

• The cameos: It took several years and a Tamil director to present Mohanlal in such a classy avatar that made you crave his character's presence more. Shivanna's cameo is also incredibly placed and superbly executed in the climactic showdown. Jackie Shroff shows up post-interval in a pivotal flashback sequence, and he also gets his shining moment. Furthermore, the cameos are actually written into the screenplay quite well.

• The portrayal of the antagonist: Vinayakan's Varman is an extremely violent and eccentric antagonist. For this guy to stand up against Muthuvel (and his connections), we feel he's weak somewhere. But the character is written in such a way that he somehow keeps getting the upper hand. Varman is one of the most vicious antagonists you'll see in any Rajini movie, subtly transitioning between someone who dips his enemies in sulphuric acid and simultaneously breaking into a dance with his gang. Fantastic performance by Vinayakan - that's all I can say!

• The big screen experience: Such a clichéd thing to say in a review, but a film like this really needs to be experienced in a packed crowd, with all the hoots, cheers, and screams. It is packaged in such a way as to elicit all of these, alongside some incredible goosebump moments. The climax is absolutely terrific; the tail-end takes a route that's not usually taken in Rajini movies. Also, please don't bring kids/infants to this flick and ruin it for everyone.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK:

• Casual misogyny: This has been repetitive on Nelson's part, since KoKo. The women characters (including that of Ramya Krishnan) are conveniently pushed aside for Rajini & Co. To shine. They're perceived heavily through the male gaze and only act as placeholders. It wouldn't have hurt to attribute some heft to Ramya Krishnan's character (Muthu's wife). Give her some powerful dialogues, at least, mate!

• Subplots: The subplot involving Blast Mohan (Sunil), Kamna (Tamannah) and those guys felt like a random addition. Even the Kaavala song is not the sizzling wonder you probably expected. Many might find Redin Kingsley wholly annoying. I wasn't one of those, but I can understand if that's the case. Even the quality of humour took a dip here when compared with the antics of Yogi Babu and VTV Ganesh in the first half.

Concluding note -

I think Jailer is majorly for those who have grown up watching Rajini movies (sorry, Gen Z), but Nelson hasn't made any major compromises in the way he wanted to tell this particular story. From a storytelling standpoint, it isn't as refreshing as KoKo or unique as Doctor, but it also comes with that special sauce that was heavily lacking in Beast.