VIKRAM – Tamil Movie Review

Let’s familiarise ourselves with the movie first

Name: Vikram
Release Date: 03/06/22
Featuring: Kamal Hassan, Vijay Sethupathi, Suriya, Arjun Sas
Running Time:2 Hours, 55 Minutes
Director: Lokesh Kanagaraj
Genre: Action/Thriller
Music: Anirudh Ravichander

Honestly, it’s a tad complex for my peabrain to explain but here goes…

PLOT BREAKDOWN (WITH SPOILER):

A black ops team is called in to track down and eliminate a gang of masked murderers. These murderers are targeting high up officials involved in the Narcotics division who are partaking in organised crime. As part of a take down, the leader of the masked gang (who has been living a double life as murdered victim Karnan but also former black ops member Vikram) steals large containers of drugs worth millions, if not billions, in value. 

Karnan, before his calculated "death" portrayed to lead a life as a drunkard, addict and womaniser yet held a soft spot for his infant grandson. However, this was all a ruse to allow him to run his own mission. 

Santhanam (local villain) owes Rolex (top dog drug smuggler) the missing containers of drugs or his entire family is at risk of death. This contributes towards a violent and vengeful pursuit. 
 
Karnan/Vikram runs loops around Santhanam and starts eliminating all the corrupt people involved in the drug trade, whilst Amar eventually pieces it all together. Oh, and the death of Vikram's son, and also now Amar's wife is due to these drug lords. One seeks revenge whilst the other claims to not be seeking revenge but rather fulfilling the work his son started by using any means. Questionable...but we'll let it slide.

Shall we meet some of the main characters?

SANTHANAM

This dude was frustrating. He’s supposed to be a local thug yet he’s only intimidating and able to throw some punches when he’s high on drugs. He’s not a man of many words or emotions and I personally feel like it would have been nice to see his personality exposed a little. The only occasion we see a little depth is when his entire family are at risk of dying. Overall his character just felt two dimensional to me.

AMAR

I loved how thorough he was but I found him quite cold hearted. He had a lover but he seemed so detached and void of emotion. It felt like a useless subplot; the only time we see real pain is when his wife gets kidnapped and murdered. Other than that, he showed no empathy or raw emotions on occasions such as missing his OWN wedding or barely being able to spend time with his wife or the guilt from not being able to tell her the truth surrounding why they’re constantly relocating or what his real job is.

ROLEX

The villain’s identity who everyone works for is revealed at the end. A premise for a sequel is setup with a bounty being put on Vikram’s and Amar’s head…jokes on them though…because Vikram has snuck into the meeting unknown.

VIKRAM/KARNAN

Ruthless and picks up the task his son died trying to achieve…apart from he goes off the grid and breaks all the laws.

AGENT TINA

My favourite character. Completely unexpected but I guess her gushes of praise for Karnan makes sense now! She is badass and sacrificed her life selflessly and without hesitation and fear to protect innocent collateral damage of lives.

SOUNDTRACK

Okay sue me but I LOVE Anirudh…my favourite track has to be the BGM “Shield Fight” and his compositions were fitting for the vibe and plot occurring.

FINAL THOUGHTS (if you don’t want to get heartbroken by my unimpressed ass…run…to the next heading!)

It was an interesting watch for sure, and the first half was more enjoyable and kept your mind questioning things. The second half was more focused on fight scenes and just blood thirst really.

I found it disappointing that the supporting cast didn't draw out any hidden flaws or strengths of the leads. At times, it felt like the supporting cast of both Amar and Santhanam were just ghosts fading into the background. They could have narrated more from their perspective or spoken more freely; I felt it would have made the movie more balanced or provided food for thought.

(Shout out to the short dude whose name I've forgotten! He was sneaky and always trying to sabotage Vikram/Amar - sometimes successfully. He kept me amused and I was sus of him from the start so always had a wandering mind to his whereabouts. You when you sometimes look at someone and think hmm you're a bad cookie...it was one of those prejudiced moments oops).

At points, it definitely felt cliché. For example, Amar going berserk after having his wife killed by the villain or Vikram suddenly finding the strength and resilience after being whacked around brutally the moment he sees his grandson alive.

I also found it a bit confusing because I couldn't pick a side or character to support. I don't even think I could classify Vikram or Amar as morally grey characters.

Overall, I did enjoy the movie but didn't think the plot had a wow factor. The dialogue was a bit meh. The film a bit abrupt and can we even conclude Vikram was successful it fulfilling his son's pure wishes?

Want a second opinion…here’s a review that I found fascinating to read

This blogger specialises in writing reviews and I often myself reading their content for fun because you always get the brutal truth with a flavour of personal opinions mixed with facts.

You can read their review of Vikram here.

Have you seen Vikram? What’s your rating and feelings about it?