Beast
Director: Nelson Dilipkumar
Cast: Vijay, Pooja Hegde
Thalapathy Vijay brings forth a certain grace and swag in all his films, and Beast is no exception. The actor plays a RAW officer with an affinity for kids, and promises a suave and stylish action film with the first scene. However, as we move further into the film, we realise how inconsistent the writing is. It reaches a point where even Thalapathy fans might feel let down.
Vijay plays officer Veera, a man who singlehandedly manages to capture a dreaded terrorist even when nothing in his favour. But in the process, he loses someone, which leaves a deep impact and he eventually leaves his job and lands into a psychiatrist’s office. One thing lead to another, and our man gets a girlfriend (Pooja Hegde) and lands into a mall that gets hijacked by terrorists. What ensues is Vijay taking down all the terrorists, singlehandedly again, despite adversities (read foolish people in his team).
Vijay is one of the talented actors not just in Tamil industry but all over the nation. Needless to say, he plays Veera with a swag, and he kills in style. His effortlessness is laudable. While it is a treat for all his fans, it also poses the problem where the protagonist cannot be challenged by just anyone. All the terrorists, in his comparison, looks like a child playing with a gun. They are there to just pose with the guns, and have no intention to kill it seems. The antagonist needed to be stronger, to make Vijay look better!
What his style and the brilliant action sequences also cannot save is the inconsistent writing. The film suffers from lethargic writing, so much that things become repetitive and stretched. Post interval feels too long, and even with the perfectly sequenced action sequences, the audience might feel bored. Inside the theatre, the seetis and taalis lessened significantly.
Nelson uses his signature humour and quirk to give his films an edge. While unlike his previous two films, Beast does not have that much of humour laced into it but it does have specks. Veera himself has that dark humour, even though in bits, and the negotiator Altaf Hussain (Selvaraghavan) is full of that.
Pooja Hegde is there, just for the sake of being there and we wish there was more to her character than being the arm candy. The other laudable aspects of the film are definitely Anirudh’s music, and Paramhansa’s camera work.
If you are a fan of Vijay, Beast is most definitely the film for you as you might want to see the hero in this suave avatar. If you aren’t, you can still give the film a chance if you are willing to put logic at bay for 2 and a half hours.
