2.0 Review

2.0 is a film co-written and directed by Shankar. The teaser for the film didn’t get me excited but the trailer actually got my hope back up. Also, being a Shankar fan, I wanted to see this film. Finally, last night I did watch the film in 3D and the movie fan in me was happy after leaving the cinema.

Plot: Dr Vassegaran reassembles Chitti when a person punishing everyone who uses cellphones arrives in town.

Story and direction: I actually saw the film in Hindi since I don’t know Tamil. The underlying message of the film was very apt of we as human beings so invested in our technology that we don’t even realise as to what harm we are doing to other species. Also, another great thing of the film is the visual effects. Yes, at two or three places is felt a bit fake but for the most part I had goosebumps at the attempt made by Shankar and his VFX team. The starting credits and the logo of ‘SUPER STAR RAJNI’ were visually appealing. The cinematography was just awesome. Also, the action scenes and choreography were great. The main problem where the film faltered was the story itself. I get it that Shankar wanted to put across a particular message and you can actually sympathize as to why the villain is doing those things. But the way the screenplay is structured limits the villain and shows the hero more. Also, the romantic track felt forced and more like a marketing gimmick. The sub-plot involving Bohra’s son felt unnecessary and didn’t add anything to the film. The story does throw logic out of the windows at times.

Performances: Rajinikath is just awesome. From Dr. Vassegaran to Chitti and another character (which I don’t want to spoil), he is just fabulous and lights the screens on fire. Akshay Kumar was equally great and sometimes gave competition to Rajni is some scenes. Amy Jackson was decent. Adil Hussain and Sudhanshu Pandey were OK and didn’t contribut much to the film. I wish they could have retained the voice of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the scenes involving Sana.

Music: This time A R Rahman decided to go on a more background score rout than the song route, which I appreciate a lot. While the background music was engaging and made the film more engrossing, the sons (which were only 3 in number) were just about OK. There was no X factor about those songs which is normally expected out of any film that involves the scoring by A. R. Rahman.

Favorite Scene: Not to spoil anything, but it was a scene involving Vaseegaran, Pakshirajan and Chitti. That scene involved a lot of conflict and dilemma faced by Chitti which I loved a lot.

Verdict: This film may not be great at its story, but on a VFX level it will go doen as one that many people will look up to. This film does show that even we Indians can give a CGI fest and give tough competition to Hollywood.

I am going with a 7.5/10.