Director: Nelson Dilipkumar
Star Cast: Rajinikanth, Ramya Krishnan, Vinayakan, Mirnaa, Tamannaah Bhatia, Mohanlal, Jackie Shroff, Yogi Babu
Music: Anirudh Ravichander
Rating: 2.5 Stars
A Rajinikanth film is considered to be a treat for a moviegoer. The South superstar carries mass hysteria with his timeless charm. Whenever the actor appears on the screen, you are bound to get mesmerised by his persona. But, even his impressive acting chops and charming screen presence can't carry a muddled yawn fest that will disappoint even die-hard fans of Thalaiva. Jailer is the worst film of Rajinikanth in the recent time.
Jailer starts on a promising note. The movie is a usual Superstar film, with the tried and tested formula of his character living with a dual personality, with a past that leaves baddies terrified. The first half of the movie is predictable, yet, you enjoy it because of Rajini's larger-than-life persona, the sinister smile, and the ease with which he carries tense moments and performs gruesome action scenes. Jailer suffers majorly due to a muddled and terrible second half. Writer-Director Nelson tried to take the predictable film in a new direction, and that's when the narration went directionless. Wasted cameos, unnecessary sub-plots, and a sluggish screenplay drag the movie to such an extent that, after a point, I was waiting for the movie to end. A few twists in the third act left me scratching my head.
Even in the most emotional part of the film, you feel disconnected, and that's because Nelson killed the movie with his experimental writing. An action thriller which starts as a feel-good family drama turns into a revenge saga, and it then, becomes a heist film. There is a big fall in the second half as the story focuses on a wasted Sunil, Tamannaah Bhatia, and their filmy world. The story goes haywire and that's where Jailer disappoints.
Nelson proved again that he can give the worst films with the greatest actors. Last year, he gave Beast with Vijay, and this year, he maintained his record by spoiling a potential Rajinikanth blockbuster with his disjointed writing.
Talking about performances, Rajinikanth owns the film from start to end. He's the only good thing in the movie. After Rajinikanth, Yogi Babu did well with his limited screen timing. Vinayakan looked menacing as the baddie, but he became a joke after the interval. Rest, the cameos of Jackie Shroff, Mohanlal, Shivarajkumar, and Tamannaah leave no major impact and they all are wasted.
Being a Rajini admirer, I admit that Jailer is the worst Rajinikanth film of recent times. It's better to enjoy Billa, Baasha, Petta or Annaatthe
