Leo

Short Review: Good - Music, Stunts, Cinematography, Acting

Bad - Weak story, Weak villain

The whole movie was a character Intro forcefully extended into a film. Absolutely unnecessary.

Long Review: The Intro and biting into the movie was good. Fight stunts were really good (Vijay did his part well). But chase scene in the mid of movie was awful to watch with over the top physics and Many of the fight scenes were really exaggerated like 1 vs 1000 people, really stupid.

VFX on some scenes were really exceptional but in some other scenes (mid chase) were really awful to watch, looks like they rushed the post production here.

Cinematography in overall movie was done really great(Loki Trademark) even though the VFX failed in certain portions.

Story & Character building were absent in this movie which was the biggest disappointment that basically bored and killed the enthusiasm of the audience.

There was only one thing to which the Movie was hanging on to until the end i.e. If Leo is in LCU( Lokesh Cinematic Universe) or not. That's pretty much it.

This is Loki's worst movie in his career so far. One time watchable for the fans and nothing more.

I felt this movie is definitely better than Master but not upto Kaithi/Vikram level. More than 10mins could have been trimmed. The flashback scenes should have been shown as only glimpses because it did not justify the build-up. The build-up & hype for flashback was more than Rolex which the director failed to fullfill.

Still definitely - 7.5 to 8/10 Good to see Vijay is finally focusing on character rather than just flexing heroism.

Villain character were not strong as the background music. Could have added more scenes to it to justify their ferociousness.

LCU connect is just fine. Hope Lokesh has answers to all obvious questions from fans which may appear as forced scenes in the next part.

I would like to say this is a must watch theatre experience movie. We can see the best Vijay Film comparing to previous movies. I would like to give a big clap to Lokesh for giving a visual treat. The cinematography is brilliant and we can feel every scene and goosebumps overloaded. As always Anirudh was fire with his music. We can't imagine this movie without him. First half of the movie is very interesting because we get very much curious over every scenes. But the climax portion is not that much good from my point of view. The graphic designers worked very hard to make it realistic and also they achieved it. You have to watch the movie to find if this movie comes under 'LCU'. I'm saying again theatre experience is must for the film and if you miss that it will be a big loss for you.

Lokesh Kanagaraj once again proves his prowess in filmmaking. His name is enough to say that you would have a unique experience in the cinema hall. The single shot fight sequence at the factory made me to leave my mouth wide open for its entirety! I admire Lokesh for the efforts he puts to push the boundaries of tamil cinema.

Vijay really needs a round of applause for his performance and I really appreciate the fact that he agreed to do it in Lokesh's way. I never imagined that Vijay would pull of certain things as these are not something his typical film would have.

Throughout the film you could see the hardwork of the crew be it the cinematography, editing or the CGI. And the result as expected is top notch. Anirudh's score has received a lot of mediocre reviews. Even though it's not upto the mark, I really liked the score made for Arjun and Sanjay Dutt. It's kind of underrated in my opinion.

Having watched David Cronenberg's A History of Violence, I know the twists, turns and whatnot. Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed Leo. Although I agree that the Das brothers were not intimidating enough and the flashback potion is written poorly, it is not something that would stop the film from being enjoyable.

On the bright side, we get..

• One of Vijay's finest performances (not as a star, but as an actor): The first half is replete with moments where Vijay showcases emotions as a doting father, husband, cafe owner, and animal lover.

• The writing in the first half: Superb, even when it's A History of Violence contextualized for Tamil sensibilities. Every scene carries a decent tempo, and the developments make you sit up. The whole hyena angle is beautifully executed, and its payoff in the climax is wonderful. The title card placement is a nice creative touch on Lokesh's part.

• Brilliant cinematography: Manoj Paramahamsa's frames wonderfully capture the Kashmiri locales (even though the film is "set" in Theog, Himachal Pradesh) with Parthipan's (Vijay) cafe looking remarkably aesthetic in that first fight sequence. When the film gets action-heavy, the use of the mocobot camera is put to fine effect.

• A pretty solid supporting cast: Whether it be Trisha (who looks absolutely dashing), Gautham Menon, Arjun Sarja, Sanjay Dutt, or Mathew Thomas, they deliver what the writing expects them to. It's just that the antagonists (Dutt, Sarja) lack sufficient fleshing out for us to care about their motives.

• Anirudh's music: While I feel he overdid the score a bit in the film, the elevation points (particularly a 10-15 minute pre-interval stretch) are fabulous, courtesy of his compositions. Badass Ma is the clear standout, but Naa Ready also worked thanks to the choreography. The English bits in the score were tremendous, and I can't wait to blast them on Spotify for my workouts once the OST is uploaded.

On the not-so-bright side, we get..

• A lackluster second half: The whole flashback segment suffers from tepid writing. A key character is introduced only to be killed off just a few minutes later. The writing doesn't give us any time to register this character, let alone connect emotionally. This then becomes the driving force for the protagonist's subsequent actions. The whole "identity crisis" aspect also wears out, because there's only so much you can do with it. In totality, this is a 75% Lokesh, 25% Vijay film.

• Some tacky CGI: While this doesn't hamper the viewing experience overall, you'll come across not-so-great CG work in certain parts. This is especially the case in a car chase sequence.

• The LCU connect: Felt somewhat inorganic and forced. Given the film takes place geographically far away from the proceedings of the LCU, I felt it stood a better chance as a standalone piece. There are some interesting cameos yes, but nothing that gives you the wowness of Vikram, or even Kaithi for that matter. Lokesh definitely reserved his best for Aandavar.

Middle-of-the-road aspect: Anbariv masters are quite well-known for their innovative set pieces. I loved the first set piece (at the cafe) - it felt raw and real, with fantastic cuts and zero slo-mo. There are plenty more in various locations, but only the climactic showdown (which also includes a 1v1 between Vijay and Arjun) lingers in my mind after leaving the cinema hall.

P. S. - I enjoyed Loki's tribute to Sly Stallone. If you know, you know.