awantha_93

I have always had a soft spot for Indian movies. At their best they produce stylistic entertainment while taking some artistic liberties to cater to their target audience. Vikram is Indian cinema at its best.

Vikram manages to keep the perfect blend of style and substance most the time. The first half of the movie runs as an investigative thriller building up the story while building up Kamal Haasan's character. Fahadh Faasil does a really good job alongside Vijay Sethupathi compensating for Kamal Haasan's lack of presence in the first half. The first half ends on a really high note even though the big twist is predictable.

The second half goes all in on the action and thrills, constantly raising the stakes while managing a grounded and emotional angle. Kamal Haasan really shines in the second half except in the action sequences. Lokesh Kanagaraj does the impossible by managing the heroism of a star actor and making the audience feel that things are still at stake. However, in my opinion, some parts of the third act of the movie could have been written better.

Vikram is a fantastic movie. Despite some minor issues the movie can be enjoyed by any type of movie fans. Hat's off to Lokesh and Kamal Haasan. Waiting for the "Lokeshverse" to expand.

I don't understand the reviewers here glorifying this as the best Sinhala movie ever. Don't get me wrong. This is a good movie but definitely not the best Sinhala movie. Aloko Udapadi marks a milestone in Sri Lankan cinema. It is ahead of any Sri Lankan movie ever created in terms of technology. Hats off to Chatra Weeraman for stepping up.

The movie has good camera-work and decent music. It gives the chills to any Sri Lankan who is watching it.As I mentioned before the technology used is next level for Sri Lankan cinema. The acting is decent. Uddika Premaratne does a good job with the screen time he is given and the supporting cast is also good. The action could have been better in terms of choreography but is still good. The plus points stop there.

The story is very bad. There is no real plot development or depth. The movie just takes some scenes from the history books and join them together. There is no flow from one scene to another and the viewer isn't really made aware of how the story leads to each scene. The power struggle between the antagonists are highlighted in the movie but isn't shown in depth and isn't believable. The characters are not developed well. They just do things the plot wants to do without any backstory or development. The main character should and could have been shown in depth. The movie is definitely inspired from Game of Thrones. It tries to be a historical character drama of power struggle and fails in that aspect. It tries not glorifying the main character and fails in adding depth to the characters. It tries all the right things and fails in some of the most important areas.

In summary Aloko Udapadi is definitely a good movie and marks the next level in Sri Lankan cinema. But the movie lacks a good story and character depth among other things. Next movies should improve on what Aloko Udapadi has done right and learn from it's mistakes.

Finally I should say that this movie doesn't deserve a 9.9. For all the Sri Lankans out there trying to glorify this as the perfect movie, I ask you not to be satisfied with this. Give a score this movie deserves so that the makers will improve on it in the next projects. This shouldn't be the peak of Sri Lankan cinema.