If you ask me, I should have probably walked in just in time for the second half of the movie. Of course, I wouldn't have understood all that much, but anyway.
I will be dividing this review into two parts everywhere. The first half and the second half!
1. Direction - First half - It was crude, slapstick and down right boring. Right from the beginning fast and furious like sequence all the way to the intermission, it was a drag. Samantha down right got on my nerves. So much so, I wished to god I could slap her right across the screen. Second half - The direction was pretty much the same. Bad sequences and badly down fights. Of course, one thing that always amazes me is how Indian cinema forgets blood. A guy will be hit right across his face with a sharp object and when he falls to the floor, there will be no blood around him!
2. Writing - First half - Puts you to sleep! Second half - Perks up a bit. The story finally stars unraveling. And the plot starts making sense.
3. Acting - Vikram - Wasn't exceptional. Was just like any other tamil actor. Trying to act cool and macho with his lame jokes. Trying to take on way more bad guys than he can deal with etc etc.
Samantha - This girl blew me away. She is the sole reason I enjoyed the second half of the movie and the sole reason I am rating it a thumping 8. Her acting as the usual dumb damsel in distress wasn't exceptional. But in the second half when she rose as the warrior princess of the clan, my god, I was really impressed. She did herself and the tamil cinema proud. I hope she gets to act in more domineering roles like that rather than the usual mousy ones women are always subject to.
4. CGI - Forget it. It was so boring, it was like a bad video game.
5. Sound - Irrespective of what the public says, I quite liked the sound track and the song sequences.
Bottomline - If you are a guy looking for "hot masala" this movie is not for you. If you are a woman who believe in women empowerment, go for the second half.
