Thursday, November 29, 2018

ROBOT 2.0 (SPOILER FREE) REVIEW


This is India’s best comic book movie till date -






2.0
Director- Shankar
Cast- SUPERSTAR, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson and others

What makes a good modern comic book story? Let me be clear, am not talking about a Disney (read Marvel) formula that has been so popularized that in fact it is considered the ONLY way a comic book movie must be made and anything that deviates from that is a sin (according to most critics). But I digress, I am talking about you know…an actual comic book story. Well, it consists of interesting characters, elements of science fiction, villains reflecting our modern day fears, gory but imaginative deaths, appealing visuals, the story taking such twists and turns that former foes must join forces against a common new enemy (Loki and Thor, Batman and Joker, Superman and Lex Luthor) and whole sale property destruction topped with an over- -the -top spectacularly bonkers climax! You could pick any good comic book from Kingdom Come to Injustice to Dark Knights Metal (or you know actually GREAT and memorable comic book movies like Batman V Superman...or what the original version of Justice League actually is.  
#Releasethesnydercut) I don’t know if Director Shankar actually had this comic book story template in mind when writing this movie but they do carry all of the above traits.
2.0 is the sequel to Enthiran/Robot (2010). Like a good sequel it not only ups the ante in terms of scale and story but what it does is also learn from the earlier one and adapt to a changed sensibilities. Director Shankar has always been expanding boundaries of creativity and spectacle in Indian cinema…right from Gentleman to Hindustani to Nayak and Sivaji. The scope of his vision and ambition has always been growing. Karan Johar recently said in an interview while talking about producing 2.0 that “Bahubali was a slap to our (Bollywood’s) face” and he is right. While Bollywood is still working on producing a good superhero/sci-fi/fantasy movie (Krissh…Drona…really??) with its seemingly bigger budgets….regional cinema particularly in the south has always been looking to do something different. (check out the trailer of new Kannada/bilingual film ‘KGF’ on youtube) Shankar did it with Enthiran in 2010 with some pretty good SFX and a great story (albeit with typical south Indian drama and craziness…which I love btw)  and he really does it here again in 2018. When I said that the movie also adapted to changed sensibilities of an audience fed on an almost quarterly dose of big sci-fi superhero movie, I meant it has most of the things a good comic book movie should have but it also learns to tone down the Indian melodrama/love story aspects that usually drag the story down.
A mysterious force is sucking cellphones all over Chennai and also killing people in horrificly imaginative ways. Dr. Vasigaran (Rajni’s scientist character from the first one) has no other option but to revive the now decommissioned robot Chitti to fight this new threat. The pace of the story never slows down in 2.0 and although that can sometimes make the pace a bit jarring still it has enough things going on screen to keep you hooked. The effects although may seem lacking in some scenes if you compare them to Hollywood but am willing to forego that since at least someone in India is trying to do something different than make a dumb launch vehicle for the next star kid. But the 3d is the best I have seen for an Indian movie till date. However, it’s not just spectacle and visuals but the story has also has its heart in the right place. And that heart is Akshay Kumar.
I have always believed that Akshay Kumar plays villainish characters better than heroic ones and I would actually love to see him play a morally ambiguous character like Clint Eastwood’s Man With no name from The Dollars Trilogy. However, even as an over-the-top villain he is still great. But it’s his origin story (which is exactly what you think it is gonna be) that gives the movie its heart. He really gives a gem of performance that can go overlooked in such a grand movie starring Rajni. What the script does well is to give Akki’s character more backstory and make him the emotional core of the movie since you already know rest of the characters. As for Rajni…well even in Robot I felt that he had given a great performance with such ease as only he can bring on screen. The scientist and the robot appear to be to different characters and particularly towards the second half, he seems to be having a lot of fun as well. Amy Jackson is a pretty looking robot with zero expressions. No that wasn’t a description of Amy Jackson in real life…that’s just her character in the movie. Probably, the most natural role for her.
Although script does not pause for even a second except for a big battle, the ending to such a grand movie seems like really wrapped up. I mean it almost feels like they just ran out of things to say and just finished it in a snap. I mean they just expanded upon an earlier created universe with more characters and newer ideas…I wasn’t expecting a post credits tease for the next one or whatever (although that would have been fucking awesome…we could call it the RRCU Rajni Robot Cinematic Universe and have him fight and kill G.one in the next one) …but you know a less-hurried one.

I said this is our best comic book movie coz we obviously haven't had any till date. 2.0 is a good step in that direction. Except for the ending, the movie is swift, full of great visuals, some chuckle-worthy dialogue, great performance by its two leading stars and enough twists and turns to keep you hooked.

The movie definitely is Total Timepass!

PS- SERIOUSLY CANT WAIT FOR AQUAMAN TO RELEASE! DEC 14TH!!!!!