Thalaivaa

Just now watched film!!!Simply awesome!!!Mind blowing performance.Story may god father based but execution was simply superb.I just entered into theater the movie gonna typical political drama & punch dialogues from vijay.It just kicked me off,not at all a single scene related to political,its complete clean entertainer.Vijay performance is awesome.Sathyaraj chanceless performance.Those who say negative about the film just get away,learn to appreciate don't down a person its really awkward.No over hyped scenes for an introduction,really its very normal and awesome.Second half may lengthy but not at all boredom.Overall its a complete family entertainer.Don't miss it!!!!

This venture is different from Vijay's previous films like ''Nanban'', ''Thuppaki'' and ''Velayudham'', but still, it keeps what it has promised. Like Indiaglitz.com stated, Thalaivaa is something between a classy gangster flick or a racy action drama.

People say Thalaivaa has brought Vijay back to the bottom again, but that's wrong. Some people really have a problem with looking at an actor's films (specially Vijay's) in different angles. Okay, as a fan I admit that Vijay slipped a time when films like ''Azhagiya Tamizh Magan'', ''Villu'' and ''Sura'' came out, but still he came out with four blockbusters in a raw, which are ''Kaavalan'', ''Velayudham'', ''Nanban'' and ''Thuppaki'' and what happened to these films? Aren't four blockbusters in a raw good enough for the actor to come back in track. The fact that people really can't accept this, kind of freaks me out at times. So, here's the fact: This is the truth: Thalaivaa is a different genre, and as everybody know Vijay does an excellent job in his usual genres which are action and comedy. Thalaivaa is a decent gangster drama which tells the story about the change of a common man's life. Simple as that. ''How?'' is the question. There's no doubt that the film was completed beautifully.

The first official combination between Vijay and G.V. Prakash Kumar was awesome. The soundtrack is energetic and the choreography was mind-blowing. The costumes that are used in this film were also pretty good, specially those that are used in Sathyaraj sir's character and those that are used in Vijay's character in the second half of the film. Santhanam's sense of humor hasn't sunk a percent at all and Amala Paul has shown another side of her acting skills. Abhimanyu Singh was also faithful to his role as Bhima. The film also has another benefit: Unexpected, but needed twists.

As a Vijay fan, I believe Thalaivaa will be a film all Vijay fans will remember. Perfect title for both the story and the actor and you see the character is born to win. It might not be as great as ''Nanban'' or ''Thuppakki'', but still it's satisfying!

''Once we pick up the knife, it will either protect or destroy. But one thing we know for sure is that it's impossible to drop it down.'' - Sathiyaraj

A.L.vijay started the narration with stating many great leaders of the world. And in the next 10 minutes,our brain knows the total script of the movie. Next,screenplay is the only area of concern for A.L.vijay. He handles with care in the first half but will be losing his plot in the later half. Vijay-Santhanam combo worked again with a quality leg shake makes the first half worth. Excellent cinematography! A.L.vijay confusion starts here. Slow screenplay make us to feel bore except some instant relief. The difficulty in handling the script(DON) like this is criticism will be higher unless it is perfect. G.V.Prakash work can be half-praised. Editing should be justified since it is a lengthy movie. A good one for vijay since he shows some maturity in acting. Overall, it is an old movie with some new ingredients.

According to Irresistible force paradox "What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?" .This is best suited to flicks in which a successful director meets a successful actor. In this venture either one of them is bound to go out of their way to satisfy the other. In case of "Thalaiva", the director sacrifices and becomes a savior bigger than the one pictured throughout the film.

For how long will a savior be symbolized by a slow motioned- sun etched silhouette and a trademark dress that becomes the savior's uniform? This is one of the many questions that arose during the movie. There are many such obvious flaws which make the movie less interesting than it should have been.

For a start, the first half runs on two factors, the protagonist's romantic track and his dance competition. But, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how both the tracks are likely to end and this creates a vacuum between the viewers and the viewed. Santhanam tries to fill this vacuum but after a while, the "bro" factor loses its charm and becomes another speed breaker in the already slow screen play.

The second half is nothing but the old coffee brewed under a new outfit but the essence and odor remains the same. The unnecessary addition of characters (Australian gang that competes with Vijay) questions the credibility of the director, this is the first time that the director has used violence to this extent, the only reason being the hero himself.

Sathyaraj plays a calm mannered Don similar to Velu Naickar (Nayagan) but his presence is felt mostly through his chant "Anna" and his snapshots. Amala paul plays two shades of Grey in the two halves and ends up as the better half.

Actor Vijay should pay the same attention to the screenplay that he does to his character. After a rejuvenating success of "Thuppaki" that pulled in repeat audiences, this film is bound to disappoint. The flick lacks pace, never gives the audience a chance to guess, lacks a powerful villain and is scripted for the hero rather than being the other way around.

When Vijay and Santhanam are offered a hot drink, they identify it as Black Coffee but the chef calls it "RASAM" (Curry). The same goes for the movie.

Tamil Cinema desperately needs better scripts and powerful villains.

Until we get another Thuppaki, "I AM WAITING", thuppaki style.

Watched the first show of Thalaivaa. From the trailer itself, it was clear that the movie was going to follow the much beaten path of "Nayakan", "Devar Magan", "Sarkar" and the Malayalam hit "Naduvazhigal". Rehashing a familiar storyline is not a crime in itself, all you have to make sure is to present it in a convincing and different way. If rehashes and remakes were considered bad, a movie like "Nayagan" or "Sarkar" would have had no takers. AL Vijay has to a large extent, succeeded in giving a convincing movie to Vijay fans and to Tamil moviegoers in general.

The story, as we all can guess, is about a much-scrutinized, la Robinhood don (played brilliantly by Sathyaraj), going with his life keeping his only son in Australia under the pretext that he is a businessman who is too busy. The son (Vijay, who else!) leads a regal life, taking care of water supply business and doubling up as a dancer. He meets the heroine (Amala Paul, in a cute role) one fine day and love blossoms after a while. One day, circumstances force him to travel to Mumbai to see his father and how he gets involved in all the goings-on there forms the rest of the story.

The movie is leisurely paced, which might not find agreement with all sections of Vijay fans. The love story is a drawn out one, but then there is enough spice in it to keep you involved. The interval is called for with a bang, which gives a clue as to what might happen next. What happens in the second half is a complete deviation from the first one, and can be termed "mass" in the fan language. Even then, it's not happening at breakneck speed which many might expect. However, I thought that the pace was right here (there is no point in sacrificing logic for pace), what was needed was some trimming of some irrelevant portions. The movie achieves what it wants to, in the end.

The technical front is impressive, with Nirav Shah leading from the front to capture some great shots of Mumbai in the second half. The screenplay is tight and we have a mass movie which does not let go of logic, to an extent. The villain disappoints, and what we wanted was not a menacing looking one, but someone who was capable of standing up to the hero. The songs were absolutely a blast while the BGM could have been used to better effect in the second half. AL Vijay could have exercised more control over the proceedings in a more gripping manner, but he has done his best, we feel. It's easy to crib about the minute details, which we feel as aberrations.

Performance wise, Vijay shoulders the movie and gives out a mature performance. Both the halves demanded different get-ups and acting styles from the actor, and he obliges in his own, unique style. Here is an actor who has potential which has yet been under utilized. Sathyaraj performs well, being the seasoned veteran he is and Amala Paul gets a good role, rather than being the regular eye candy in usual movies. His character sketch failed Abhimanyu Singh but everyone else did their roles well.

Overall, the movie is an entertainer in the usual mould of masala movies, but after the movie ends, we feel that there was something different and that it was for good. Much, much better than Singam - 2!!