Vettaiyan - School Daze

 

Movie: Vettaiyan (The Hunter)

Language: Tamil

Year: 2024

Director: T J Gnanavel

Stars: Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan, Manju Warrier, Fahad Fasil, Ritika Singh

Mohan's Measure ⭐⭐⭐

It is just shy of Heaven for me to occupy a theater with my loved ones and friends and pass the time with popcorn and a good movie.  To top it a all off, today's movie featured my favorite actor, the Legendary, Unequaled Rajinikanth.   In interviewing them after the screening, however, I find that like most critics, the folks in my brood have mixed reactions to the latest from our inimitable Thalaivar.

It is unfortunate that the actor is now showing inevitable signs of age.  While he still has the charisma to capture our attention, he just doesn't have that punch effect he once did, particularly in the action scenes.  Nor, can I dare say, that he has the talented set of sidekicks he once had to add the comical flair we all are so used to.

Nonetheless, I like Vettaiyan.  What it lacks in action, it possesses in good acting, a well written script, and a cast of actors that could make this movie the stuff of legend.  Particularly telling is when Bachchan Sir and our Thalaivar appear on the screen at once.  The camaraderie they share often takes on a knowing look shared between the two.  Both men play roles that fit their years, philosophical, world-weary, yet still tough enough to make the villains sweat bullets.

Bullets fly everywhere but the gore remains relatively mild compared to what we see today.  We can only speculate that the audiences are finally seeing the light on the harm that dystopian cinema brings. This is nonetheless a violent film about a violent topic. Director Gnanavel is known for message films and he holds no bar on ensuring we are presented the multi-layered issues he wants to hit us with. Rajinikanth and his strong support cast make the message sink, but we cannot help but contrast this with the days of the magical, fun movies of Rajni's past.

Mr. Fasil does a beautiful job in bringing his own eccentric humor, and I found myself really enjoying a character who offers a certain playful innocence to assuage the serious tone.

Overall, though, we have to admit that Rajinikanth is no longer a kid. Thalaivar is now offering a more sedentary, philosophical version of himself onscreen.  But, personally, I still wouldn't want to get on his bad side.