Vivegam movie reviews

Director: Siva

Cast: Ajith, Vivek Oberoi, Kajal Aggarwal and Akshara Haasan

Rating: 2.5/5

Ajith’s highly anticipated Vivegam is an ambitious film, both in terms of scale and making, but not all such attempts, particularly in this case, deserve praise. Siva and Ajith have teamed up for the third time in Vivegam, and they desperately try to take things up a notch by setting their story against a lavish, international backdrop, only to fail miserably in the process and churn out a half baked product which is fuelled by great action.

Ajith is his effervescent self as he plays an agent, Ajay Kumar. He leads the anti-terrorist squad whose members include Vivek Oberoi, Aarav Choudhary, Amilia Terzimehic and Serge Crozon-Cazin. They make quite a team and their friendship is the pillar of their relationship. They’re on a mission to stop a nuclear attack but things don’t pan out the way they anticipated, especially for Ajith.

Siva’s intention to make an international film, on a scale Tamil cinema hasn’t witnessed so far, is truly commendable, but his writing is a huge let down. Despite great action, which is the film’s saving grace, the twists are very predictable and it gets worse post interval. The pre-interval portion, especially the stretch that leads to Akshara Haasan’s introduction, is easily the film’s best sequence. It builds the tension effectively and is followed by a breathtaking chase sequence on the streets of Serbia.

Vivek Oberoi, despite his earnest performance, is made to look like a joker in a poorly written role. He repeats his dialogues way too many times, and it’s quite irritating. Kajal Aggarwal, in a surprisingly decent role where more is expected of her than just looking good, plays the hapless wife of Ajith to the T, and it’s easily one of her better performances yet. Akshara Haasan is merely cast in a cameo of a hacker, and one really wonders what drew her to this project.

It’s Ajith’s show all the way and he packs a solid punch. Going by the visuals, the effort he has put in to play the part is quite evident. There couldn’t have been a better star to play his character and he is a treat to watch. It’s sad that all that hard work gets lost in a film that needed better writing.