a review of

Lokesh Kanagaraj tries to balance the story while also following the "Rajni formula" and barely makes it work. The film starts off as his, becomes focused on avenging a friend's death, and then shifts into a surface-level sci-fi zone, followed by a series of twists that become bland. The characters are underdeveloped, and many initial scenes and reactions are never explained. Nagarjuna looks amazing as a villain, but even his character, despite starting off great, becomes a template villain by the end of the movie. Soubin is amazing in his role, but the writing for his character is all over the place by the film's end. The second half follows the Jailer template, but at least Jailer was aware of its presentation style. Here, it doesn't work and feels very forced. The song placements are odd and unnecessary. Amir Khan is there just for shock value, straight from the books of Vikram. The agent Tina-like surprise works well at first but becomes jarring as it gets too predictable. Shruti Haasan is an amazing performer, and I had hoped she would get an emotional scene to flourish in, but for the most part, she's barely used as bait throughout the movie. Rajinikanth's performance shines more in the film's lighter moments than in its action sequences. The movie struggles with writing that often feels too convenient, and it lacks the kind of genuinely thrilling, memorable moments that have defined Lokesh Kanagaraj's previous work.