Vikram Tamil Movie

Feature Film | 2022 | Action, Drama | 2h 50min
Critics:
Audience:
Lokesh Kanagaraj's Vikram may be a bit derivative but works as a piece of pure spectacle. The action, acting, direction and music all make it a good time at the movies.
Jun 4, 2022 By Sreejith Mullappilly

Where To Watch:
Streaming:
   Simply South    Disney+hotstar

For an hour or so, you wonder what is going on in Lokesh Kanagaraj's Vikram. There is a cop, played by Chemban Vinod, giving instructions to his subordinates who are trying to rescue a seemingly undercover cop played by Kamal Hasan. There is a drug lord played in flamboyant style by Vijay Sethupathi. And there is Fahadh Faasil as an undercover cop trying to solve the seemingly random yet mysterious killings of many bigwigs in Tamil Nadu. A group of men in masks do the executions, and Chemban Vinodh's character enlists the help of Fahadh Faasil's Amar to find out the truth behind the killings.


It takes a while for the movie to reveal who these characters are and what it is all about. To understand the film and its characters a bit earlier, you should watch the director's last film Kaithi. I have seen Kaithi, but it was a long time back, so I was in the dark about the goings-on in Vikram for a while.


Nevertheless, it does not take a lot to understand the first big twist that comes around the intermission point. The action sequence is really well shot but is devoid of the surprise element that we expect it to have.


At first, we think of Vikram as a movie about undercover cops and drug lords but soon realize that there is more to it than meets the eye. Soon, it becomes a universe of drug agents and people with multiple identities.


As a drama, much of Vikram seems pretty generic. Amar likes a woman and wants to marry her, but we do not feel anything for the two. It seems like the movie has the love angle for the sake of it. When something happens to these characters, we do not feel the same tension that we are supposed to feel then. We feel little even as some of the characters try to rescue a baby with a heart condition. Part of that is because Vikram is a bit too action heavy. The story and the script are only serviceable at best.


The things that stand out here are the acting, action sequences, and some of Lokesh Kanakaraj's direction. Fahadh Faasil gives another effortless performance. For a gentle man, Fahadh seems ominous on screen. Vijay Sethupathi's dialogue delivery sometimes makes it tricky to understand what he is saying, and the actor is saddled with a one-note role. But the performance of Vijay Sethulathi makes the character more alive and colorful than on paper. Chemban Vinod offers a bit of comic relief whenever you feel like the movie is getting a bit too grim. Even Suriya is terrific in a cameo role.


You feel like you have not seen this kind of intensity from Suriya in a long time. But Vikram is a Kamal Haasan show from the beginning to the end. With his subtle mannerisms and intensity, Kamal shows why he is still the Ulaga Nayagan (universal star). It is Kamal's best film and best performance in years. There is no bad performance in the movie, which tells you a thing or two about its direction too.


As a pure action film, Vikram is good. For all the gun-toting and wall-to-wall action, the set-piece that takes our breath away happens in a house involving a character I do not want to discuss. It is the best scene with the biggest surprise in a movie that tries to startle us now and then. Anirudh Ravichander's background music is also a highlight. Virtually every scene of the film pulsates with his music.

Sreejith Mullappilly

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