LEO is an action thriller film directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by S. S. Lalit Kumar and Jagadish Palanisamy. After the stupendous success of VIKRAM, Lokesh has set expectations soar with this film considering that he has signed up Rajinikanth for his next venture. This is his second outing with Vijay after MASTER, though in this film LK made it clear that this film was more his film than Vijay’s.
With his recent films LK has a strong loyal following for his kind of cinema. So the surprise is in not expecting the surprise. The not to be missed hyped first ten minutes turns out to be a damp squib. As the film eases into some serious business, the film slowly rolls into familiar territory hardly making any impression throughout with its sombre mood. What’s ironic is that the plot is still kept hidden and yet there is little anticipation for what is in store next. Even the interval block fails to make any impact. The second half is where the story gets unravelled but the regressive plot is hard to digest with some immature writing and those never ending action episodes. There is too much detailing in the scenes that is unwarranted and further slackens the tortoise pace. The flashback is unconvincing and the writing lacks any ingenuity. The pre climax car chase has bad CG while the lengthy climax is as predictable and dull as it can get.
Vijay with his porcupine wig is an embarrassment, while for a brief moment he appears his old typical cliché self and that is a relief. Trisha is dull and has little to do save for being part of the furniture in the house. Gowtham Vasudev Menon is yet to get out of his uniform hangover. Arjun Sarja and Sanjay Dutt are neat while Sandy is menacing in his brief part. The rest have very little screen space.
Cinematography by Manoj Paramahamsa saves the film while music by Anirudh is average. Editing by Philomin Raj is inconsistent. Dialogues don’t work while direction is okayish.
LEO is an assortment of fight episodes and Lokesh Kanakraj should revisit his filmmaking process while Vijay should go back to doing what he knows best, do his routine that shall satisfy his loyal fans.
LEO – LOW !!
B.U.Shreesha
