Jailer is black comedy-action film written and directed by Nelson and produced by Kalanithi Maran of Sun Pictures. Rajinikanth and Nelson join together after mixed responses to both their previous films.
Nelson has an intriguing presentation when it comes to the screenplay of his movies. The plots of his films have been flaky and in this film it is evident too. Nelson doesn’t compromise much on his style of writing much, though he does realize he has a task on hand with Superstar in the proceedings. He does his best to supervise a balance in keeping the Rajinikanth euphoria down mostly to let his template do the talking and yet manages to effectively raise the tempo of Muthuvel Pandian whenever necessary. The first half is rather subdued with a few cracks at jokes here and there. The well crafted interval block raises the temperature hoping for a intense second half. It is in the second half that Nelson takes the back seat and lets Muthuvel Pandian lead the way. The other superstars too walk into the script and Nelson deserves praise for handling their characters well, minimal and yet impressive. As expected the second half is formulaic with Sunil’s episodes being the highlight. The comedy is far and few but is good fun at a few places. The climax is what redeems the film big time.
Rajinikanth doesn’t have age on his side and it is becoming apparent. The costume designer deserves a rap on wrist for a very ordinary misfit Rajinikanth especially as the police officer in uniform. Rajinikanth makes up for the misses with his expressions and towards the end of the second half in action salvaging his reputation. With a host of supporting cast and superstars in very brief cameos, Mohan Lal takes the cake for his swag. Shivraj Kumar has little to do. Sunil is fun while Jackie Shroff is in a blink and miss role. The women surprisingly have little to do but neat. Tamannah scorches the screen with the already viral song. Vinayakan is menacing while Yogi Babu is good after a long time.
Technically the film elevates the somewhat dull proceedings. Vijay Kartik Kanna’s cinematography is top notch. Anirudh has time and again proved why he is the one mass film directors go to. He elevates every scene with his amazing background score and the songs too prove his numero uno status in Tamil Cinema. Dialogues are decent. Editing by Nirmal is average as the length could be an issue. Direction by Nelson is standard.
JAILER isn’t gigantic, it is a very passable fare !!
JAILER – JUSTTTTT !!
B.U.Shreesha
