Ajith Kumar took a long break after Vedhalam to prepare himself for Vivekam. Ajith has worked on his physique to play the role of an international agent. Siva’s latest film in his V-trilogy (Veeram, Vedhalam, Vivekam) is a stylized action entertainer with loads of action and racy thrills. Let’s see whether it live up to the expectations or not?
Story :
AK (Ajith), Aryan (Vivek) and their team are after Natasha (Akshara Hassan), a hacker who has the codes to launch nuclear weapons. AK finally gets hold of her, but gets betrayed by Aryan and his team. AK comes back from the dead to avenge. How does AK put an end to Aryan and how AK does save his wife Hasini (Kajal) from his enemies and ultimately save the world from nuclear destruction forms rest of the story.
Performances:
Ajith Kumar’s screen presence and his style is the main asset of the film. Director Siva knows how to use Ajith’s screen presence to full effect. Although this is the third film in their combination, Siva has presented Ajith entirely different from his previous two films. Kajal Agarwal is competent as Ajith’s wife. Vivek Oberoi’s portrayal of the antagonist character is unconvincing. He couldn’t match the charisma of Ajith. Akshara Hassan has a small but important character. She fails to make an impact with a bad performance. Bharath Reddy, Sharath Saxena and others didn’t get impactful roles.
Technicalities:
Director Siva moves out of his comfort zone and tries his hand at slick action thriller. His efforts to make an action thriller on par with Hollywood actions are commendable. However, care should have been taken about the design and execution. Also the script is very weak to hold audiences interest despite the high octane action.
Anirudh’s background score stands out. His songs are ordinary though. Cinematographer’s shaky camera work will not please everyone. Editing also is too flashy. Production design doesn’t give the desired output on screen. Production values are good.
Thumbs Up:
- Ajith Kumar
- Production values
Thumbs Down:
- Script
- Direction
- Camera work
Analysis:
Vivekam is an attempt to make an action thriller with Hollywood standards. Most of the Hollywood action thrillers are illogical but they are too exciting and thrilling enough to make us ignore the logical errors. Siva took a cue from Hollywood action films and threw the logic out of the window.
However, the action part in Vivekam is too cartoonish and clumsy that we couldn’t ignore the logical flaws. A high budget chase sequence on the European roads looks like it is straight out of a video game. Visual effects and camera work are very poor that Vivekam never rises above the mediocre levels.
There are a few exciting moments here and there, but Siva couldn’t hold the audiences interest at least for five minutes at a stretch. Ajith and his team’s plan to catch the hacker Akshara Hassan are interesting, but things go downhill once the job is done.
First half of the film is bearable to an extent. Second half turns out to be a bore fest as it turns into a revenge thriller. The game between Ajith and Vivek is very boring as it is totally one-sided with Ajith having the upper hand all the time. We can only realize that the protagonist has done something brilliant after the antagonist acknowledges it by saying ‘brilliant move’.
The film was supposed to be a slick action film. However, it ends up being a clumsy, confusing and jarring action saga that goes on and on. Vivekam seems pointless after a point as it becomes impossible for the villains to throw a challenge to the protagonist. It could have been a thrilling ride if the director had a proper script on hands rather than relying upon unexciting action episodes. It will be a challenge to sit through this film unless you are an Ajith fan.
Verdict: Fast Paced Bore Fest.
