Cast: Rajinikanth, S. J. Suryah, Mithun Chakraborty, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Ramya Krishnan, Vidya Balan, Yogi Babu, Mirnaa, Jatin Sarna, Bagava...
Cast: Rajinikanth, S. J. Suryah, Mithun Chakraborty, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Ramya Krishnan, Vidya Balan, Yogi Babu, Mirnaa, Jatin Sarna, Bagavathi Perumal, Kottayam Nazeer
Directed by: Nelsen
Music by: Anirudh
2023’s Jailer failed to deliver on many things it had (implicitly) promised, but it did end up somehow working solely because of the screen presence that every actor brought with them, backed by their long lasting legacy in the Indian film industry; Jailer 2, on the other hand, delivers on almost everything it promises (through its trailer), whilst amping up everything that Jailer did well: what we get is the quintessential “masala” film that makes the audience go gaga over every other scene.
Rajinikanth’s films are purely theatrical experiences, and they’re made with the intention of making the crowd go berserk over Rajinikanth’s unadulterated swagger, they’re often larger than life and require no critical thinking from the audience; they’re made for the “moment”. Jailer 2 is no different. It relies heavily on Rajinikanth’s cult of personality; most of, if not all, of the scenes featuring Rajinikanth are just him sitting, or standing, or walking, or looking at someone in the coolest way possible. And that’s where Nelson’s direction excels. Coolie and Vettaiyan failed to capture what Nelson so easily captures in both this and Jailer.
Jailer 2 is most certainly a better film than its predecessor, in terms of its storytelling, writing, cinematography, editing, and performances (though this fails to capture certain performances the way it should’ve). The film feels a lot more concise than Jailer, and flows through time a lot smoother as well; the editing made the almost 180 minutes long film feel like a breeze to get through. The cinematography is most definitely an upgrade from what we saw in Jailer; the wide-angle shots looked gorgeous and the color palette complemented the shots very well. The writing is a lot “massy-er”, with the one-liners working really well; the writing, nonetheless, could’ve been a lot better with the addition of fleshing out most of the characters.
Rajinikanth, at the age of 75, manages to look effortlessly cool, and while his performance isn’t great in the conventional sense, it works excessively well in the context of the film. S. J. Suryah’s character could’ve been better written and a lot more fleshed out than what we got, alongside his character getting more screen time in the climax. Same is the case with Vidya Balan’s character; regardless of this, her performance was easily the highlight of the film: she’s menacing in a “femme-fatale” way, and it’s definitely going to be fun to see how her character develops in the (inevitable) sequel. Mithun Chakraborty barely have anything of substance to add to the film, and his performance was okay; Jackie Shroff, Shiva Rajkumar and Mohanlal’s characters fall under this category as well, since their characters barely have any scenes and the film would’ve been the film had they not been in it. Namo Narayana and Yogi Babu act as the comic reliefs, and their comic performances, whilst corny, is enough to make you laugh in the theatre. Anirudh’s music was extremely underwhelming, and the two songs in the film served neither any purpose, nor were they good. The fans are in for a surprise 'massy' 'seeti-maar' treat in the climax.
Jailer 2 is definitely an upgrade from Jailer in every aspect. The well choreographed action set-pieces are a treat to look at due to the cinematography. The film is best experienced in a packed theatre, where every sequence incites cheering.
When a dangerous syndicate expands its reach to threaten his family’s peace, retired jailer Tiger Muthuvel Pandian goes undercover as a driver. Operating from the shadows, he takes on ruthless new enemies to protect his home.
By Ravit Mishra
No comments