Ace

Ace" is a Tamil heist comedy-drama, starring Vijay Sethupathi and Rukmini Vasanth, that blends romance, crime, and humor. While the movie has some enjoyable moments, particularly in the second half and with the performances of Vijay Sethupathi and Yogi Babu, it ultimately falls short due to a meandering screenplay and uneven pacing.

The film follows Kannan (Vijay Sethupathi), a poker ace with a mysterious past, who gets entangled in a series of events involving a loan shark, a naive young woman, and a complicated heist. The plot introduces several characters and subplots, including a budding romance between Kannan and a young woman named Priya (Rukmini Vasanth), which adds some emotional depth to the otherwise lighthearted narrative. However, the story struggles to maintain a consistent tone and often feels like it's going in multiple directions.

POSITIVES: Engaging Second Half: The second half, particularly the heist sequences, is well-executed and keeps the audience invested in the story.

Vijay Sethupathi's Performance: Vijay Sethupathi delivers a natural and effortless performance, embodying the character of Kannan with charisma and charm.

Yogi Babu's Comedy: Yogi Babu provides some much-needed comic relief and his combination with Vijay Sethupathi is a definite highlight.

Rukmini Vasanth's Debut: Rukmini Vasanth makes a promising Tamil debut, and her character brings a certain charm to the film.

Good Cinematography: The cinematography is commendable, especially considering the film's budget.

Engaging Score: Sam CS's background score enhances the viewing experience, though at times it can be a bit intrusive.

This video provides a general overview of the movie, including its plot and some audience reactions:

Ace is a masterwork of movement, light, and frame. 🎥 The motive close-ups and underwater sequences were stunning. VJS lived the role; his performance felt organic. 🙌 Rukmini was effortlessly refreshing, and Yogi Babu blended humor with emotion in a rare combo. The screenplay moved with great rhythm, and the finale had a clever build-up. Aditya Rao's score was haunting yet subtle. Sound design? Flawless. When every department clicks, this is what we get. Proud to see Tamil cinema evolve like this! 👏Climax shot slow-motion water splash - vera level! Some scenes make me a goosebumps and very unexpected climax must watch movie! Don't miss in theatre.

Ace (2025) : Movie Review -

Ace has all the right ingredients to cater to the masses, though it misses the finesse expected by the class audience. The film treads familiar ground-con dramas with mistaken identities and emotional backstories-so predictability does creep in. Fortunately, it doesn't become tiresome. The 155-minute runtime feels unnecessarily stretched for a con-thriller, which usually lands better around the two-hour mark. One unique twist here is that the identity of the protagonist is never fully revealed-even after the film ends.

The story, directed by Arumuga Kumar, follows Bolt Kannan (Vijay Sethupathi), who arrives in a foreign country and is mistakenly hired by Arivu (Yogi Babu). Taking advantage of the situation, Bolt plays along and eventually falls for Rukku (Rukmini Vasanth), who's facing abuse at the hands of her stepfather, Rajadurai (Babloo Prithiveeraj). To help Rukku escape and also repay a debt incurred while trying to double money for a dress, Bolt must navigate a world of cons, loans, and poker scams. The plot stays engaging with its many twists, though it occasionally slips into dated tropes and poor clichés.

Characters like Arivu with his silly decisions, or the overdone chase sequences and conveniently secretive leads, drag the narrative down. The comedy quotient is uneven-some jokes fall flat, but a few manage to evoke genuine laughter. Vijay Sethupathi, however, shines in a full-blown south-hero avatar after a while. He's got the full package-brawn, brains, charm, emotional depth, and a knack for manipulation. He's the savior, the lover, the fighter-practically unstoppable, as expected from such roles.

Rukmini Vasanth and Divya Pillai look stunning and deliver respectable performances. Yogi Babu, while not entirely convincing, brings enough energy to his role. BS Avinash is an effective villain, and Babloo Prithiveeraj is convincingly cruel. The rest of the supporting cast does a serviceable job. Action sequences vary in quality-some are punchy, others exhausting. The cinematography is decent, but the screenplay needed tightening. Director Arumuga Kumar maintains a steady hand but misses out on delivering that one big moment-the ace card, so to speak. With so many twists and build-ups, you expect a grand reveal, but Ace ends up playing it safe.

RATING - 5/10*

Ace is a fun and stylish entertainer that perfectly blends comedy, romance, and action. Vijay Sethupathi is at his absolute best as Kannan "Ace," delivering charm, wit, and effortless screen presence. His chemistry with Yogi Babu provides constant laughter and makes the film lively from start to finish. Rukmini Vasanth adds grace and freshness to the story, while the Malaysian setting, vibrant visuals, and energetic music elevate the overall experience. With its mix of humor, emotions, and thrills, Ace is a must-watch for Vijay Sethupathi fans and a perfect lighthearted ride for all audiences.

Bolt Kannan arrives in Malaysia and Arivu picks him up, while pretending to be a rich businessman. With his lies, Arivu is trying to woo his love interest Kalpana, who is in need of money. Kannan is hired by Kalpana at her restaurant and he even falls for Rukku after she accuses him of being a thief. As their love blossoms, he is told that Rukku is in need of money to free herself from her abusive cop stepfather. In his attempt to arrange money for her, Kannan gets in trouble with a local loan shark / goon Dharma and ends up with a larger debt to him. Now, Arivu not only has to arrange money for Rukku but also pay off Dharma. What plan does he come up with to get out of this mess and will he able to pull it off, forms rest of the story.

Arumuga Kumar's story is decent and the screenplay tilts towards keeping things light throughput. It doesn't pay off as the stakes are never that high to feel the seriousness of the situation. There is hero elevation but that is not the kind of film Arumuga and Vijay Sethupathi want this one to be, so the humor dilutes it instantly. The uneven narrative dealing with a cunning man trying to outsmart a loan shark, a corrupt cop and actually Malaysian cops after pulling off an heist, needed a tighter screenplay. In his attempt, the story stops being engaging and the songs appeared as speedbreakers. Vijay Sethupathi and Yogi Babu with generic writing can only do so much to shoulder the narrative. The convenient writing also kept the proceedings dull, especially in the second half. I am going with a lenient rating, only for the attempt to keep it a light entertainer but it deserved better writing.