Jailer Movie Review

Superstar Rajinikanth has been waiting for a solid success. He teams up with Nelson who made Beast with Thalapathy Vijay. The duo’s Jailer garnered good buzz. Rajini’s fans are going gaga over the film. Will Rajini make a comeback and deliver a blockbuster? Let’s check out.

What is it about?

Muthu (Rajinikanth) is a retired man who has no big goals in life, but leads a normal life with a beautiful family. His son Arjun is a sincere police officer dealing with dreaded criminal Varma (Vinayakan). Arjun risks life and fights against Varma and goes missing. Muthu learns about his son Arjun’s death. He shifts to violence path. He takes revenge against his son’s killers and goes against Varma. But things aren’t easy as Varma threatens Muthu’s family. Muthu has a past. What is his flashback? How Muthu takes on Varma and what are the shocks that he gets in between. The rest of the film is how Muthu deals with Varma.

Performances:

Undoubtedly, Rajinikanth excelled in his role. He single-handedly pulled off the film. His style and swag are what entice his fans. Director Nelson made sure there are elevations for Rajini and gave some fan moments. His look and dress are impressive. His old getup is terrific in particular. Even in vintage character, Rajini didn’t miss his swag. It’s a treat to fans to see him in different shades. His dialogues and subtle performance is the strength of the film. Sunil’s sequence is wasteful and irritating. The film has an ensemble cast and significant cameos like Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar, Naga Babu. Jackie Shroff is seen in a decent role. Yogi Babu’s comedy is alright. Some comedy scenes in the first half are engaging. 

Technicalities:

Nelson weaved a very old story and presented it by making some fancy touch ups. He failed as a writer and does a decent job as a director. But that is not enough to steer the film of this magnitude. Anirudh Ravichander shines and rescues the film. The Hukum song is well composed. The background score adds weight to the crucial sequences. Visuals are appealing. Action scenes have been shot well. The scale of the film is large and grand.

Highlights:

Rajinikanth’s Style & Swag
Action Scenes & BGM

Drawbacks:

Villain’s Characterisation & Conflict
Failed Emotion
Dragged Portions in Second Half

Analysis:

Jailer starts well, without wasting time. Rajini makes a simple entry as a family man. The plot of the hero’s son being a sincere guy and facing problems is as age old as hills. How the hero takes control to protect his family and takes revenge is the Jailer’s plotline. This is packaged with a lot of other factors. The packaging is where some worked and some failed miserably.

The emotion of father-son is not handled well and it backfired. The villain’s characterisation is irritating at portions. He is crooked and gruesome, but he is not taken seriously. The comedy portions in the first half are decent. But they could have been better. 

The writing of Jailer is where the problem is. It is formulaic and predictable. The scenes lack enough gravity to hook to the film. The Sunil episodes in the second-half are very forced. That’s where the film nosedived. And then it travels on a predictable path. Rajini couldn’t rescue the film owing to its writing. The film appears to be dragged and stretched.

The climax is somewhat decent though. The guest appearances of Shivaraj Kumar and Mohanlal are not effective enough. Director Nelson made a futile attempt despite getting such a solid cast and crew. He tried to make Vikram-like film but couldn’t deliver it. On the whole, Jailer is strictly made for Rajini fans. Barring this, it has nothing much to offer.

Verdict: Only For Rajini Fans!

Rating: 2.5/5